Morphological, Anatomical and Cytological Studies of some Moss Species from Nigeria

Abstract

Morphological, anatomical and chromosome studies of Hyophila crenulata C, Mull. Ex Dus, Thuidium gratum (P. Beauv) Jaeg., Barbula lambarenensis P. Vard., Stereophyllum nitense Mitt. and Bryum coronatum Schwaegr from Nigeria, were carried out with a view to bridging some knowledge gaps that exist in their characterization and providing insightful information that could be useful in elucidating their taxonomic status. The morphological and anatomical studies revealed several gametophytic and sporophytic attributes which have not been previously reported and which were diagnostic for the moss species studied. The chromosome studies revealed the chromosome numbers to be Hyophila crenulata n = 4; Thuidium gratum n = 12(10+2 m); Barbula lambarenensis n=3; Stereophyllum nitense n = 9; and Bryum coronatum n = 10. From the results of the study, it could be concluded that the details of the morphological and anatomical descriptions as well as the chromosome numbers being reported for the first time in this study for the moss species studied could be very useful in their identification and taxonomic delimitation.