Gertrudiella

Introduction

Andina, a new genus of Pottiaceae, is described with seven species from the Andes. The genus can be distinguished from all other Pottiaceae by a combination of characters: absence of a stem hyalodermis, axillary hairs with brownish basal cells, cucullate leaf apices, strongly recurved to revolute leaves with margins infolded at the apex, red to orange coloration of the lamina when exposed to potassium hydroxide, ventral costal outgrowths differentiated as a pad of bulging and papillose cells, filaments, or lamellae, and upper laminal cells usually bulging on both surfaces.