Spores of Funaria hygrometrica and Entosthodon laxus (Funariaceae, Bryophyta) from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Abstract

Spores of Funaria hygrometrica and Entosthodon laxus (Funariaceae, Bryophyta) from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.The Funariaceae Schwägr. is represented in Tierra del Fuego, by the genera Entosthodon Schwägr. with a single species, E. laxus, and Funaria Hedwig with, with F. hygrometrica var hygrometrica and F. hygrometrica var. fuegiana. They are analyzed and described, based on fresh and herbarium material sporophytes and spores of the species named, plus the variety of one of them. The observations were made with light and scanning electron microscopes. The sporophytes of both genera have capsules with different shape, color and length. In the spores differences are observed in the size and surface ornamentation. It can be concluded that the study of sporophytes, especially the analysis of the spores, provide significant characteristics that contribute to differentiation and systematics of these taxa.