Plagiotheciumtalbotii, a new species from the Aleutian Islands (Alaska, U.S.A.)

• Published in: PhytoKeys
• Main Authors: Wolski, Grzegorz J., Nowicka-Krawczyk, Paulina, Buck, William R.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2022
• Subjects: Research Article; Attu Island; Attu; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9033742/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35586326; https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.194.81652

Plagiotheciumtalbotiisp. nov. is described from Attu Island, Alaska, U.S.A. The newly-described species is not similar in appearance to any Northern Hemisphere species; only the habit is similar to P.platyphyllum. However, it not only occupies a different habitat than that species, but genetically and morphologically, it is clearly distinct from it. The results of DNA sequencing, a detailed description of the morphological features, illustrations, ecological preferences and currently known geographical distribution of P.talbotii are presented. The most important distinguishing morphological features of this species are: the size of the plant; dimensions and symmetry of the leaves; dimensions of cells and their areolation; entire leaf apex; and long decurrencies with some inflated cells. Additionally, we propose to place P.talbotii in section Plagiothecium, which is confirmed by genetic analysis and morphological features.