Riella alatospora Wigglesw. (1937)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Globally Rediscovered (Segarra-Moragues et al., 2012; Santana de Lima, 2026)
Last record: 1932 (Segarra-Moragues et al., 2012)
Rediscovered in: February 2010 (collection); May 2011 (recognition) (both Segarra-Moragues et al., 2012)
IUCN RedList status: Data Deficient
Distribution & Habitat
near Cape Agulhas (two localities: rediscovery site and 4.5km north) & Cape Town (two localities: type locality & Blouvlei (Century City)), South Africa (Segarra-Moragues et al., 2012; Segarra-Moragues & Puche, 2014)
Type locality: Cape Town, original locality, vlei at Salt River between main road and railway line (Perold, 2000:130)
Biology & Ecology
Inhabits vleis (cf. ponds) and salt pans (Segarra-Moragues et al., 2012).
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Wigglesworth, Grace. (1937). South African species of Riella, íncluding an account on the developmental stages of three of the species. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany 51: 309-332. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1937.tb01910.x
Other references:
Arnell, S. W. (1963). Hepaticae of South Africa. Stockholm: Swedish Natural Science Council.
Cholo, F. and Foden, W. (2010). Riella alatospora. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T185470A8418003. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T185470A8418003.en. Accessed on 16 August 2026.
Cook, C. D. K. (2004). Aquatic and wetland plants of southern Africa. Leiden, The Netherlands: Backhuys Publishers.
Magill, R. E. and Schelpe, E. A. (1979). The bryophytes of southern Africa. An annotated checklist. Memoirs o f the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 43.
Perold, S. M. (2000). Studies in the Sphaerocarpales (Hepaticae) from southern Africa. 3. The genus Riella and its local species. Bothalia 30(2): 125-142.
Proskauer, J. (1955). The Sphaerocarpales of South Africa. Journal of South African Botany 21: 63-75.
Santana de Lima, Isabele Souza. (2026). The world’s rediscovered mosses / Världens återupptäckta mossor. Bachelor's thesis, Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Karlstad University. 15 pp.
Segarra-Moragues, J. G. and Puche, F. (2014). Advances in the knowledge of South African Riella (Sphaerocarpales) and a new endemic species, Riella trigonospora. South African Journal of Botany 94: 166-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2014.06.013
Segarra-Moragues, J. G., Puche, F. and Sabovljević, M. (2012). Rediscovery of Riella alatospora (Riellaceae, Sphaerocarpales), an aquatic, South African endemic liverwort previously known from a now largely transformed type locality. South African Journal of Botany 79: 32-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2011.11.006
Söderström, Lars et al. (2016). World checklist of hornworts and liverworts. PhytoKeys 59: 1-828. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.59.6261
https://vanishingflora.proboards.com/thread/2990/riella-alatospora