Calypogeia azurea (Calypogeiaceae, Marchantiophyta) in the Northwestern European Russia

Abstract

Calypogeia azurea is reported for the first time in the Leningrad Region and for the second time for the Republic of Karelia. Description of C. azurea based on alive collections from the Leningrad Region and the Republic of Karelia, and their photographs are provided. The variability of the species in studied specimens is rather broad and corresponds to the plants from Great Britain and Nordic countries. C. azurea is known in Russia from alive collections from the Northwestern European Russia, Caucasus, South Urals, South Siberia and South Kuril Islands. Ecology and differentiation of C. azurea are discussed. The revision of all kept in LE specimens from Russia, Latvia, Finland and Georgia identified as C. trichomanis, nom. rej., has shown that most of them cannot be attributed to C. azurea or C. muelleriana, which usually correspond to this rejected name. Except two specimens from Finland and one from Georgia tentatively attributed to Calypogeia cf. azurea, they represent mostly materials of C. integristipula, partly of C. neesiana and exceptionally of C. suecica and C. fissa. LE older collections of C. trichomanis from Caucasus are C. fissa, from Arctic Siberia and Arctic Far East are C. muelleriana.