World checklist of hornworts and liverworts

A working checklist of accepted taxa worldwide is vital in achieving the goal of developing an online flora of all known plants by 2020 as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. We here present the first-ever worldwide checklist for liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) that includes 7486 species in 398 genera representing 92 families from the two phyla. The checklist has far reaching implications and applications, including providing a valuable tool for taxonomists and systematists, analyzing phytogeographic and diversity patterns, aiding in the assessment of floristic and taxonomic knowledge, and identifying geographical gaps in our understanding of the global liverwort and hornwort flora. The checklist is derived from a working data set centralizing nomenclature, taxonomy and geography on a global scale. Prior to this effort a lack of centralization has been a major impediment for the study and analysis of species richness, conservation and systematic research at both regional and global scales. The success of this checklist, initiated in 2008, has been underpinned by its community approach involving taxonomic specialists working towards a consensus on taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution

Effects of experimental increase of temperature and drought on heathland vegetation.

Effects of simulated environmental changes on heathland vegeta-tion were investigated in Oldebroek, the Netherlands. As response to strong dis-turbance, decrease of the presence/coverage of lichen species was observed; bryophytes have shown various reactions. In the drought plots the normally pre-dominant species are decreasing, while others reach their maximum coverage here

Molecular, morphological and taxonomic evaluation of the Ptychanthus striatus (Lejeuneaceae, Marchantiophyta) complex

The internal phylogeny and cryptic species of the taxon known as Ptychanthus striatus (Lehm. et Lindenb.) Nees were investigated using morphology as well as phylogenetic studies based on internal transcribed spacer II (ITS2) sequences. Both parsimony analysis and analysis based on Bayesian inference were performed. They both distinguished the African specimens from the Asian-Oceanian specimens, but resolved the specimens differently within these groups. Different alignment methods were compared, and the implied alignment obtained from the direct optimisation by program POY was found to produce a shorter tree in parsimony analysis than the DiAlign or manually improved Clustal alignments. Based on oil body characters and molecular evidence, the African population of Ptychanthus can be distinguished from the Asian-Oceanian one at the species level. The earliest applicable name for the African taxon is Ptychanthus africanus Steph

New Liverwort (Marchantiophyra) records for the Fiji Islands

Forty-eight species of liverworts (Marchantiophyta) are reported as new to the Fiji Islands. These records increase the number of Fijian liverworts by over 20%. Extension of range within Fiji are reported for an additional 39 taxa already known to occur within the Fijian archipelago. These records indicate that the Fijian flora is understudied and many localities in Fiji, including entire islands, remain under-collected for bryophytes. Metalejeunea crassitexta (J.B.Jack et Steph.) Pocs is proposed as a new combination, and Lejeunea microstipula Steph. is reduced to a synonym of Lejeunea exilis (Reinw., Blume et Nees) Grolle

Checklist and Distribution of the Liverworts of the Andasibe (Périnet) Region (Madagascar)

This updated checklist of Marchantiophyta (liverworts) of Andasibé (Périnet) region, Madagascar was compiled from the literature, from herbarium specimens and recent collections. A total of 222 species including 9 infraspecific taxa, from 62 genera are recorded. Five species: Cheilolejeunea ngongensis Malombe et Pócs, Cheilolejeunea unciloba (Lindenb.) Malombe, Heteroscyphus grandistipus (Steph.) Schiffn., Lejeunea angulifolia Mitt. and Kymatocalyx africanus Váňa et Wigginton are newly reported for Madagascar. Detailed informations on species occurrences are provided as a basis for subsequent research on species distributions and conservation

A pilot workshop on Bryophytes at the Antananarivo Herbarium (TAN) revealed the presence of seven additional species for Madagascar

peer reviewe

Lejeuneaceae (Marchantiophyta) from a species-rich taphocoenosis in Miocene Mexican amber, with a review of liverworts fossilised in amber

We describe a diverse taphocoenosis in a piece of Mexican amber that includes two morphotypes assignable to the leafy liverwort family Lejeuneaceae, an angiosperm seed, a putative bud scale, dematiaceous hyphomycetes as well as dipteran and hymenopteran insects belonging to Phoridae (genera Megaselia, Puliciphora,and Apocephalus), Cecidomyiidae, Psychodidae and Mymaridae (genus Alaptus). Liverworts are known from eight amber deposits but have only rarely been observed in Mexican amber. A perianth-bearing liverwort gameto- phyte in the piece of amber is classi\ufb01ed as Mastigolejeunea extincta sp. nov., and several sterile gametophytes are described as Ceratolejeunea sublaetefusca sp. nov. With these new species, approximately 60 liverworts have been described from amber to date. Remarkable syninclusions include a hyphomycete which is the \ufb01rst darkly-pigmented \ufb01lamentous microfungus with clear reproductive structures reported from Mexican amber. Fourier TransformInfrared Spectroscopy of a fragment of the investigated amber piece revealed a \u201cType I\u201d Mex- ican amber. A whole solubility test suggested a mature resin, although the resin was not much oxidized during the process of amberization. Available evidence suggests that the amber was produced by a Hymenaea tree and that the resin was exposed on its bark, behaving as a sticky trap for insects and vascular plant fragments, and also embedding some epiphytic liverworts and fungi