The scariosus type of peristome and the bryoides peristome were considered by Pursell and Bruggeman-Nannenga to be diagnostic for subgen. Aloma and subgen. Fissidens respectively. Several later authors did not recognize these peristome types nor did they recognize subgen. Aloma. In a recent molecular study, however, subgen. Aloma emerges as a clade of equal rank to subgenus Fissidens. Based on this and on numerous observations of peristomes the scariosus- and bryoides-type peristome are retrieved from oblivion, compared to each other, re-described and illustrated.

Sphagnum majus (Russ.) C. Jens. is a rare dioecious peat moss in its southern range, and in particular, in southern Belgium (Wallonia). Based on original field observations and revision of herbarium material, the distribution of this species in Wallonia is revised and updated. Although it is the most common of the two subspecies, S. majus subsp. norvegicum is reported from Belgium for the first time.The two subspecies are easily differentiated in the field based on macroscopic features, but high levels of variability of microscopic features were observed between the two subspecies in some populations. Sphagnum majus has a very specific niche and is nearly restricted to lithalsas, which are threatened ecological environments in the context of global climatic warming. In Wallonia, male plants of Sphagnum majus subsp. norvegicum are more common than in northern Europe. Capsule production was, however, observed at only one location.

Knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum s.l. is a large, suffrutescent, perennial forb native to northeastern Asia that was imported as an ornamental and has become a widespread invasive species in urban and rural environments of North America and Europe. Studies have demonstrated knotweed allelopathy to the germination and growth of many tracheophytes, but we have found no studies of knotweed toxicity to bryophytes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if knotweed extracts affected the growth of the gametophytes of two mosses: Atrichum angustatum and Thuidium delicatulum. Both moss species were exposed to aqueous rhizome extracts of knotweed in concentrations of 0 (control), 10, 25, 50 and 75% for a total of nine days in the laboratory. All non-zero concentrations resulted in significant losses of green biomass, with the greatest losses occurring at the highest concentrations. Samples exposed to the three highest concentrations lost 80% of green mass after nine days. These results help explain the scarcity of moss growth on or near live knotweed crowns.

Recent records of lichenicolous fungi from the Kharkiv region are provided. Twenty species were reported as new to the region. Pronectria gromakovae is described as a new species on Lecanora populicola. Didymocyrtis cladoniicola, D. epiphyscia, Epicladonia sandstedei, Katherinomyces cetrariae and Lichenoconium lichenicola are new to the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine. Physcia stellaris is reported as a new host species for Cladosporium licheniphilum. Notes on the currently known distribution of selected species in other Ukrainian regions are provided.

The lichen species of Iraq are poorly known and no accurate checklist has been produced so far. Here we carried out an extensive review of existing literature and carried out additional field work to expand the knowledge of lichens in Iraq. We present the first checklist of lichens in Iraq which comprises a total of 236 species. The field survey identified four lichen species as new to Iraq. Although this checklist is not a full checklist of the lichens of Iraq it represents the most complete list to date. It is likely that increased sampling will lead to further new records of lichen species in Iraq.

Lepicolea ochroleuca is newly recorded for Ecuador and Plagiochila cuneata is new to continental Ecuador, previously known only from the Galapagos Islands. Seventy-seven new provincial records of 62 liverwort species distributed among 15 provinces are presented. The uneven knowledge of the distribution of liverworts in Ecuador is briefly discussed and some observations on collections by non-bryologists are made.

Extracellular ice formation as a dehydrating agent is generally acknowledged as an important element of freezing avoidance in frost hardy plants, preventing the development of lethal ice crystals within living cells. While many reports on extracellular ice formation do exist for vascular plants, not much is known on ice formation for liverworts. In this study, ice formation was studied for two liverwort species occurring in climate zones with winter freezing, Conocephalum salebrosum and Marchanthia polymorpha L. subsp. ruderalis, together with taxon-specific ice nucleating temperature and seasonal concentration of ice nucleating agents. Samples were collected in late autumn from various sites in south west Germany. Afterwards the collected liverwort specimen were cultivated and acclimated in pots in the inner courtyard of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany. Ice formation was observed in the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) within the air chambers of both species, with ice crystals growing out of the air chamber pores, as well as random ice crystal formation on various sites on the ventral side for both taxa. The growing ice sheets led to dehydration particularly of the parenchymatous cells. For both taxa, the observations support the relevance of extracellular ice formation for surviving freezing conditions but the experiments also indicate a better adaptation of C. salebrosum to frost.

The intraspecific variation of the morphologically variable moss Distichium capillaceum is studied based on the nuclear marker ITS (1 and 2) and the plastid markers rpl16 and trnL-trnF for 86 specimens collected mainly in Scandinavia, using D. inclinatum as outgroup. A wider specimen set, including GenBank sequences of eight D. capillaceum and two D. hagenii, was analysed based on ITS only. Since potential reticulation was revealed and significant evidence for recombination was found, network analyses were performed. The ITS analysis revealed D. hagenii as more closely related to D. capillaceum than to D. inclinatum. The analysis based on all molecular markers identified one grade and four lineages in D. capillaceum. No lineage received strong molecular support, and morphology could not effectively distinguish the five entities. The grade and four lineages occur in different geographical areas, which were suggested to be a result either of different glacial and postglacial histories or different habitat requirements. The lack of high jacknife support for the lineages in combination with strongly overlapping morphological variation and the geographic differentiation between the entities is interpreted as indicating incipient speciation.