Lepicoleaceae is a family of

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

s belonging to the order

Jungermanniales Jungermanniales is the largest Order (biology), order of Marchantiophyta, liverworts. They are distinctive among the liverworts for having thin leaf-like flaps on either side of the stem. Most other liverworts are thalloid, with no leaves. Due to ...

. Natural compounds,

lignan The lignans are a large group of low molecular weight polyphenols found in plants, particularly seeds, whole grains, and vegetables. The name derives from the Latin word for "wood". Lignans are precursors to phytoestrogens. They may play a rol ...

s, have been found in liverworts in the Lepicoleaceae family. Genera: * '' Lepicolea'' Dumort. * '' Vetaforma'' Fulford & J.Taylor

Introduction

Lepicoleaceae is a family of

bryophyte Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...

plants, constituted by one

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, Lepicolea Dumort, pertaining to the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Jungermanniopsida Jungermanniopsida is the largest of three classes within the division Marchantiophyta (liverworts). Phylogeny Based on the work by Novíkov & Barabaš-Krasni 2015. Taxonomy * Jungermanniidae Engler 1893 ** Jungermanniales von Klinggräff 185 ...

.PERALTA, D.F. et al. Lepicoleaceae in Flora do Brasil 2020. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, 2020. Available a

In Brazil, its distribution is restricted to the area of Atlantic forest of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, but it can also be encountered in other countries of Latin America, like Peru and Chile, and on other continents, like Africa. In general, they are present in regions of Atlantic forest and in mixed forest vegetation of the type which prefers shade and humidity, where there is a

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

of trees and branches. They are

hepatics Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry onl ...

of medium size, being green, brown or reddish, and they possess a leafy life form. It is considered a primitive family of

Hepaticae Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry onl ...

, and which associates itself with different vegetal families.

Morphology

They are median hepatics, ascending, erect or hanging which can present green, brown or reddish colour. In some cases, they can possess a base lying flat like a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

, ramified irregularly, their stems are characterised by a transverse section without explicit differentiation between the cortical and interior cells. The

rhizoids Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be uni ...

when present are dispersed in tufts in the base of the leafy appendages or in the undifferentiated matter. They are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with

gametocytes A gametocyte is a eukaryotic germ cell that divides by mitosis into other gametocytes or by meiosis into gametids during gametogenesis. Male gametocytes are called '' spermatocytes'', and female gametocytes are called '' oocytes''. Development ...

in elongated shoots and

antheridia An antheridium is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes (called ''antherozoids'' or sperm). The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing one or more antheridia is called an androecium. The androecium is al ...

on the axis of the

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

. The

sporophyte A sporophyte () is one of the two alternation of generations, alternating multicellular organism, multicellular phases in the biological life cycle, life cycles of plants and algae. It is a diploid multicellular organism which produces asexual Spo ...

is wrapped in a

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

and its vegetal reproduction is unknown. In addition, they may possess ventral branches, often flagelliform, and transverse or interleaved.

Chemical components

Lepicoleaceae have been considered a primitive family in the Hepaticae being able to be associated with the

Ptilidiaceae ''Ptilidium'' is a genus of liverwort, and is the only genus in family Ptilidiaceae. It includes only three species: '' Ptilidium californicum'', '' Ptilidium ciliare'', and '' Ptilidium pulcherrimum''. The genus is distributed throughout the arc ...

and Mastigophoraceae families. Little is known about the chemical components present in plants of this group, there being two of them: frullanolide and dihydrofrullanolide, identified as principal components. Later was related the presence of sesquiterpenoide ledol, sesquiterpenoides of type aromadendrene and seco-aromadendrene were also identified.

Distribution

Its distribution is native, not endemic to Brazil. It occurs in the Atlantic forest and mixed vegetation of the forest which prefers shade and humidity, with geographic distribution in the south of the country, in the state of Santa Catarina. In Brazil, only one species pertaining to the Lepicoleaceae family named Lepicolea ochroleuca (Spreng.) Spruce was registered. Brazilian state where occurrence of the Lepicoleaceae family was registered: Santa Catarina. The species ''L. ramenrifissa, L. rigida and L. ochroleuca'' occur in Central and South America, ''L. ochroleuca'' also can be encountered on the African continent. The species ''L''. ''scolopendra'' has been registered in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Oceania and South America. In Asia, ''L. yakusimensis'' and ''L. loriana'' have been registered, which beyond Asia occur in Oceania. To finish, ''L. attenuata'' occurs in New Zealand and ''L.'' ''pruinosa'' in the Andes.PIIPPO, Sinikka. The bryophyte flora of the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. XXI. Lepicolea norrisii (Lepicoleaceae, Hepaticae). Annales Botanici Fennici, v. 25, n. 1, p. 55-57, 1988. Published by Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board.

Taxonomic diversity

Lepicoleaceae is within the order Jungermanniopsida, genus Lepicolea Dumort. Plants of this genus present ramified stems, lateral ramification, no dichotomy, absence of flagelliform branches, not

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, asexual and anacrogynous growth. It occurs principally in environments which are arid, mountainous and rocky features, being frequently observed in trunks of trees. There are 11 species known pertaining to the genus Lepicolea Dumort, they are ''Lepicolea attenuata, Lepicolea bidentula, Lepicolea magellanica, Lepicolea norrisii, Lepicolea ochroleuca, Lepicolea pruinosa, Lepicolea ramenifissa, Lepicolea rara, Lepicolea rigida, Lepicolea scolopendra and Lepicolea yakushimensis''.

Phylogenetic relationships

The

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

relationships of this family were reconstructed by means of the region of the

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

trnL-F, nuclear ITS2 and 27 morphological characteristics. By this means, it was possible to infer that Lepicoleaceae is a sister group of Vetaformaceae. The molecular phylogeny of hepatics classified the Lepicoleaceae, Vetaformaceae, Mastigophoraceae and Herbertaceae as a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group.JUSLÉN, A. Phylogeny of Vetaformaceae, Lepicoleaceae and Herbertaceae (including Mastigophoraceae) inferred from chloroplast trnLF, nuclear ITS2, and morphology. Annales Botanici Fennici, v. 43, n. 5, p. 349–362, 2006.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17276665 Jungermanniales Liverwort families