Studies on Lophocoleaceae XXI. Otoscyphus J.J. Engel, Bardat et Thouvenot, a new liverwort genus from New Caledonia with an unusual morphology

A new genus of liverwort in the family Lophocoleaceae is described and illustrated. The genus Octoscyphus presents a suite of original characters for this family. It is placed in the subfamily Lophocoleoideae. It has, in particular, a unique feature among leafy liverworts: The leaves have a very broad foliar base forming a longitudinally inserted pocket. The feature involves several characters. This genus is represented by a single species, Otoscyphus crassicaulis comb. nov., from New Caledonia. The species is montane and occurs on the dead, rotted wood.