The liverwort Frullania wairua sp. nov. (Jubulaceae) from Northland, New Zealand, is described and illustrated. The combined characteristics of the leaf, stem-underleaves, cell-wall anatomy, and oil-bodies distinguish it from all other New Zealand species of Frullania. A critical comparison is also made between Frullania wairua and morphologically allied subtropical species of botanical regions elsewhere. This new species is remarkably interesting in comparison with almost all other Frullania species in New Zealand because of its apparent rarity. The conservation status of Frullania wairua in the New Zealand threat category is determined as Nationally Critical. Minor elements of the New Zealand threat classification system that are difficult to apply to bryophytes are noted.
The fern genus Davallia is represented by two taxa in New Zealand; both are restricted in their distribution. D. tasmanii subsp. tasmanii is limited to the Three Kings Islands, north-west of Cape Reinga, New Zealand. The second taxon was discovered in 1984 and is known only from a single population in Puketi Forest, Northland. It is described as a new subspecies, D. tasmanii subsp. cristata. It differs from D. tasmanii subsp. tasmanii in the presence of multiseptate hairs that are restricted to the apex of the rhizome scale, conspicuous false veins, less complex venation pattern, and the generally smaller frond features. Both extant New Zealand taxa may have diverged from a common ancestor, but a previous suggestion that D. tasmanii subsp. tasmanii is derived from D. canariensis is rejected. The conservation status of both taxa are assessed, with an outline of potential threats to their habitat.
The liverwort Frullania hattorii sp. nov. (Jubulaceae) from Tasmania is described and illustrated. A diagnostic feature of this new species is the mammillose dorsal lobe surface, bearing a single, conical to conoidal protuberance per cell, a feature unusual for Frullania. A critical comparison is made between Frullania hattorii and two allied and common Australasian species, F. aterrima and F. rostrata.
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