The species was first identified by J.J. Engel and John E. Braggins in 2010 as Chiloscyphus mediinfrons.[3] In 2013, the genus Lophocolea was revived as being separate from the wider Chiloscyphus, and the species was recombined as Lophocolea mediinfrons.[4]
Description
Lophocolea mediinfrons has a soft, spongy and waxy appearance, ranging fro pale green to pale brown in colour. Distinctive features of the species include variable leaf apices, and a leaf-free stem cell gutter.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Lophocolea mediinfrons has only been identified as occurring at Flagstaff Point at the northeastern end of Ulva Island, near Stewart Island in New Zealand. The plants formed a forest floor mat underneath a southern rātā and kāmahi-dominated forest, and were found alongside the liverwort species Zoopsis argentea.[3]
^Söderström, Lars; Váňa, Jiří; Crandall-Stotler, Barbara; Stotler, Raymond E.; Hagborg, Anders; von Konrat, Matt (17 June 2013). "Notes on Early Land Plants Today. 43. New combinations in Lophocoleaceae (Marchantiophyta)". Phytotaxa. 112 (1): 18–32. doi:10.11646/PHYTOTAXA.112.1.4. ISSN1179-3155. WikidataQ22910273.
Further reading
Engel, John J.; Glenny., David S. (2019). A Flora of the Liverworts and Hornworts of New Zealand. Vol. 2. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. ISBN9781935641162.