Three new additions to the moss flora of Sri Lanka

Mosses (Phylum Bryophyta) comprise the most speciose group of bryophytes (liverworts, mosses, hornworts) and consist of about 13,000 species worldwide. Owing to its high level of topographic and climatic heterogeneity, the tropical island of Sri Lanka supports a luxuriant growth of mosses. Compared to other groups of plants in the country, mosses remain as a poorly researched group. Lack of proper taxonomic studies and scarcity of literature sources including locality details hamper further research in the field of bryology. Present study was carried out to explore the diversity of mosses in some selected localities of Sri Lanka. Fresh samples of mosses were collected from different localities including Horton Plains National Park, Loolkandura Conservation Forest, Kanneliya Forest Reserve and Badagamuwa Conservation Forest. Samples were observed for their morphological and anatomical characters using dissecting, compound and scanning electron microscopes. Specimens were identified following recent classification systems, using the most recent taxonomic keys, and monographs. The study identified three species records new to Sri Lanka including Brachymenium capitulatum (Mitt.) Kindb., Ctenidium pinnatum (Broth. & Paris) Broth. and Fissidens crassinervis var. laxus (Sull. & Lesq.) A. Eddy. Descriptions of these new species along with photo plates are provided. With the addition of 03 new records the total number of mosses recorded in the island increases from 572 to 575