Phlegmariurus eversus B. Ollgaard 2012

2.­­­ Phlegmariurus eversus (Poiret) B. Øllgaard (2012b: 15). Fig. 11B

Lycopodium eversum Poiret (1814: 556).— Lycopodium reflexum Willdenow (1810: 52), non Lamarck (1792: 653).— Huperzia eversa (Poiret) B. Øllgaard (1988: 28). Type:— ECUADOR: (Humboldt) Nee D. D. s. n.; Tungurahua (B-Willdenow 19419 holotype).

Lycopodium reflexum Lamarck var. polycarpum Sodiro (1883: 90).— Lycopodium polycarpum (Sodiro) Underwood & F. Lloyd 1906: 105), non L. polycarpos Kunze (1835: 5). Type:— ECUADOR: Ecuador, valle de Nanegal, Sodiro s. n.; not located.

Lycopodium ecuadoricum Herter (1909a: 48).— Urostachys ecuadoricus (Herter) Herter (1949a: 59).— Huperzia ecuadorica (Herter) Holub (1985: 72). Type:— ECUADOR: Andium nemoribus humidis, Jameson 74 (P lectotype, designated by B. Øllgaard (1988: 28).

Urostachys dingesianus Nessel (1935: 69). Type:— ECUADOR: Quito, ad radices montis Pichincha, Jameson s. n. (holotype BONN-Nessel 183a).

Urostachys ringshausenii Nessel (1935: 68–69). Type:— COLOMBIA: “Dept. of El Cauca, Shrub zone (Paramilla), 1700–3000 m, Jun. 30, 1922 ” Collector unknown (BONN-Nessel 154a holotype).

Plants erect or erect from a decumbent base, soft, often forming large rich-branched clumps, to 30(–50) cm tall, to 8 times dichotomous. Shoots homophyllous, equally thick throughout, (2.5–)3–6 (–10) mm in diameter including leaves. Stems excluding leaves 1.5–2.5 mm thick at the base, sometimes tapering to 1–2 mm, prominently ridged by decurrent leaf bases (dried), sporangiate from 5–15 cm above the base and upward. Leaves uniform throughout, borne in often irregular and oblique, alternating, subdistant to densely crowded whorls of (4–) 5 (–6), these 1–4 mm apart, forming (8–) 10 (–12) longitudinal ranks, wide-spreading to sharply reflexed, usually strongly recurved, linear-lanceolate, widest in the basal half, (2.5–) 3–5 × 0.5–1 mm, softly herbaceous to subcoriaceous, adaxially convex with obscure vein, abaxially irregularly concave (dried), with obscure to somewhat prominent vein, with slightly revolute, denticulate-ciliolate margins. Leaf base with prominently decurrent vein and margins. Sporangia 1–1.5 mm wide.

­­­ Distribution:— Costa Rica, Panamá, Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia.

­­­ Habitats: Terrestrial, as a pioneer on landslides, road banks, and other open, moist habitats in upper montane forest. 2300–3300 m elev.

­­­ Notes:— Phlegmariurus eversus resembles P. reflexus, but has shorter and relatively wider leaves, which are usually strongly recurved, usually fewer together in each whorl, leaving the stem more exposed. Because of the presentation of the leaves, the shoots in plants from Costa Rica and Panamá appear much more slender than those of Andean plants. Panamanian material differs further from the Andean plants by having slightly larger leaves, usually borne in alternating whorls of 6.

Urostachys rolandii-principis Nessel (1939: 117): Identity uncertain as no type was designated, but some of the collections cited belong to Phlegmariurus eversus, and one of them is the lectotype collection of Lycopodium ecuadoricum Herter, cited above as a synonym of P. eversus.

­­­ Specimens­­­examined:—Chiriquí. Casita Alta to Cerro Copete, 2300–3300 m, Woodson & Schery 364 (GH, MO, P, US). Ridge above Alto Pineda, 3050 m, Hammel et al. 7113 (AAU)