Herzogiella cylindricarpa Z. Iwats.

Herzogiella cylindricarpa (Cardot) Z.Iwats. (Fig. 1) NOTES

Examination of the type of Ectropothecium perrieri Thér. from Madagascar revealed that it possessed a number of features inconsistent with its placement in Ectropothecium. In particular, the long-cylindrical capsules (up to 2.5 mm long), absence of pseudoparaphyllia on stems, and long-rectangular, evenly thick-walled exothecial cells found in E. perrieri do not fit the concept of that genus. In contrast, Ectropothecium is characterized by pendulous, tiny, ovoid capsules (usually less than 1.2 mm long), complex pseudoparaphyllia (mixture of filamentous or subfilamentous and foliose or subfoliose ones) on stems, and collenchymatous exothecial cells (Iwatsuki 1992; He 2019).

Thériot (1922) tentatively placed his new species in Ectropothecium, noting that it was similar to Stereodon (Brid.) Brid. as suggested by H. N. Dixon and Mittenothamnium Henn. according to V. F. Brotherus. All of these bryologists considered it to

be possibly a new genus.However, the long-cylindrical capsules in combination with several characters, such as the absence of pseudoparaphyllia, ovate-lanceolate leaves with double costae, slightly decurrent leaf bases in the form of moderately inflated alar cells, and margins distinctly serrate to serrulate almost throughout, match well with Herzogiella cylindricarpa (Cardot) Z.Iwats. Therefore, Ectropothecium perrieri is here treated as a new synonym of H. cylindricarpa and represents a new record of the genus and species for Madagascar.