Studies on Colombian cryptogams. IIC. Hepaticae – Oil body structure and ecological distribution of selected species of tropical Andean Jungermanniales

Oil bodies in leaves variable in number, (2-)3-8(-13) per cell; subglobose to, more rarely, ellipsoid, 4-8(-12)x4—6 μm; colourless, rather coarsely to finely granulosepapillose, becoming homogeneous upon degeneration (Colombia, Cundinamarca, Cleef 78b, 3410b, 397b; ibid., Cauca, Cleef 679). Variation in number and morphology of the oil bodies apparently is characteristic for Lophocoleaceae, since it has been found not only in this and the other species of Lophocolea reported here but also in European material of Lophocolea and Chiloscyphus (unpubl. obs.).