Braunia
Autoicous. Asexual propagules absent. Protonema globular, mainly composed of rounded cells. Tufts of mats on rocks or on the base of trees (not in Victoria). Stems creeping, irregularly branched, stoloniferous microphyllous stems arising from near base, central strand absent. Leaves spirally arranged, erect- to wide-spreading when moist, appressed to erect-spreading when dry, monomorphic; costa absent; apex acute to acuminate, occasionally hyaline (not in Victoria); margins without a border; cells varying across leaf; mid basal cells quadrate to linear, with mulitiple papillae in 1 row, yellow to yellow-orange; cells in mid leaf and apical half quadrate to rectangular, with multiple simple papillae; apical cells similar to adjacent cells; alar cells not clearly differentiated, quadrate to rectangular. Acrocarpous, but appearing as if pleurocarpous. Capsules exserted (not in Victoria) or immersed. Operculum umbonate or rostrate from conic base. Calyptra cucullate, glabrous. Peristome absent.
23 species worldwide; 1 species in Victoria.
Braunia imberbis (Sm.) N.Dalton & D.G.Long, the sole Australian representative of Braunia, was previously included in the genus Hedwigidium. Hedwigidium was synonymised with Braunia based on a lack of morphological differences between the two (Dalton et al. 2012) and both have been shown to be closely related in phylogenetic analyses of a combined dataset of DNA sequences from all genomes (Buchbender et al. 2014).
Synonyms
Buchbender, V.; Hespanhol, H.; Krug, M.; Sérgio, C.; Séneca, A.; Maul, K.; Hedenäs, L.; Quandt, D. (2014). Phylogenetic reconstructions of the Hedwigiaceae reveal cryptic speciation and hybridisation in Hedwigia. Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution 36.
Dalton, N.J.; Kungu, E.M.; Long, D.G. (2012). The misapplication of Hedwigia integrifolia P.Beauv. and identity of Gymnostomum imberbe Sm. (Hedwigiaceae, Bryophyta). Journal of Bryology 34: 59–61.