Much attention has been focused on the moss family Mniaceae over the past 50 years, yet new discoveries continue to be made. Plagiomnium decursivum joins P. floridanum as the second new species of Plagiomnium Section Plagiomnium described in the past ten years. Careful morphological and anatomical studies, coupled with evidence from isozymes and gene sequencing, reveal that a species from Japan referred to in an earlier paper (Wyatt & Odrzykoski 1998) as “P. acutum” is actually new to science. In addition, the taxon referred to in that paper as “P. acutum-J” is in fact P. acutum, and the taxon referred to as “P. cuspidatum-F” is now named P. floridanum (Wyatt & Odrzykoski 2012). The new species, P. decursivum, is compared to its closest relative, P. acutum, and to the other four species of Section Plagiomnium. It differs in having smaller leaves with long, broad decurrencies, longer leaf cells with corner thickenings, and shorter teeth composed of a single cell. Based on isozyme data, it is concluded that allopolyploid P. cuspidatum has P. decursivum as one haploid progenitor and that P. floridanum is most likely the other. Moreover, sequencing of two regions of chloroplast DNA (rps4 and rpL16) suggests that P. floridanum may have been the maternal parent in crosses that launched the allopolyploid. The relative isolation of P. drummondii and P. japonicum within the section is apparent from both morphology and genetics.

Two corticolous species of Ramalina are described as new to science from China. Ramalina ailaoshanensis is described from Mt. Ailaoshan in southwest China. It is characterized by dichotomous narrow branches with sparse raised or tuberculate pseudocyphellae, without warts, absence of chrondroid tissue in the cortex, the tips of branchlets becoming thin, terete and curled backwards, and lacking soredia and isidia. Ramalina qinlingensis is described from Mt. Qinling in northwest China. It is characterized by broad branches with distinct pseudocyphellae, many warts and branchlets, the discontinuous chrondroid tissue in the cortex, and lacking soredia and isidia. Both species were recovered as monophyletic and well-supported in a maximum-likelihood phylogeny inferred from ITS sequence data.

Biodiversity varies with elevation and is affected by disturbances. However, little is known about how the associations between the diversities of different bryophyte and macrolichen functional-taxonomic groups are altered along elevational gradients and by disturbances. Knowledge on the associations between these functional-taxonomic groups might be of importance in practical conservation biology, as identifying indicator taxa which are easy to monitor could be useful in estimating a wider biodiversity. We sampled the species richness of bryophytes and macrolichens in 92 plots distributed in disturbed and undisturbed stands along elevational gradients in the laurel forest of Madeira. We then calculated a matrix of correlations for all pairwise combinations of 18 different functional-taxonomic bryophyte and macrolichen groups and tested for average differences in correlations with elevation and disturbance history and whether particular functional-taxonomic groups can be used to estimate the richness of other taxa. Associations between the diversities of functional-taxonomic groups within the bryophyte group and within the macrolichen group were always positive and mainly strong. Although changes in elevation and disturbance history changed the associations between the different bryophyte and macrolichen functional-taxonomic groups, we found the species richness of mosses or liverworts to be suitable for predicting overall bryophyte species richness and the species richness of green-algae macrolichens to be reliable for estimating overall macrolichen species richness. Associations between diversities of bryophyte and macrolichen groups were generally weak, suggesting that the two groups have different ecological requirements and do not share the same environmental drivers. The fact that no single bryophyte taxon can be used to predict the richness of any macrolichen group, and vice versa, points to the need to study both bryophytes and lichens. However, we found indicator taxa that are relatively easy to monitor and therefore could be used to estimate the wider biodiversity.

The discovery of Teloschistes chrysophthalmus in Connecticut more than one hundred years since its last known occurrence is argued to result from human introduction. The species only occurred on the horticultural tree, Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis, planted on the University of Connecticut campus. Gleditsia triacanthos is not indigenous to northeastern North America but is widespread in the central United States. Other epiphytic macrolichens also recorded on this phorophyte include Punctelia bolliana and Parmotrema austrosinense, both widespread in the central United States, and new to Connecticut and New England, respectively. This is likely the first reported case of combined introductions of lichenized fungi in North America through the import of ornamental trees.

Quercus garryana ecosystems are threatened Mediterranean-like sites that occur in a limited range on the west coast of North America. This ecosystem has higher plant diversity and rarity than any other in British Columbia with less than 10% remaining as relicts due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. The bryophyte component remains understudied, and identification of habitat associated communities could provide a more accurate picture of ecosystem health at remaining sites. We used floristic habitat sampling and multivariate analyses to determine bryophyte diversity and community composition among three prominent mesohabitats (meadows, outcrops, Quercus garryana epiphytes) in five intact sites. We found that total species richness was highest in meadows (67), high in outcrops (63), and lowest on Quercus garryana (40) and included 11 provincially rare species. Alpha diversity and mean transformed abundance classes were significantly lower in the Quercus garryana mesohabitat versus meadows and outcrops. Multi-response permutation procedure indicated the Quercus garryana epiphytic community as statistically unique, whereas there was no significant difference between meadow and outcrop mesohabitat communities. Several species were identified as indicators for each mesohabitat type. Observations were compiled with micrographic images as a special project using the citizen science application iNaturalist. This study of Quercus garryana ecosystems from southeastern Vancouver Island, B.C., provides a preliminary mesohabitat assessment for bryophytes in this rare and threatened heterogeneous ecosystem. These baseline results can help identify priority sites for restoration based on habitats associated with bryophyte species diversity.

The new genus Protoharpanthus is described from the Salween River Basin in the Hengduan Mountains, Sino-Himalaya. The genus superficially resembles Lophocolea or slightly even Calypogeia, but phylogenetically is quite far from both and belongs to the oligotypic Harpanthaceae. The new genus is a shining example of parallelism in the evolution of liverworts and is characterized by succubous and shortly bilobed leaves with a differentiated margin of elongate cells, finely verruculose leaf cuticle, distinct stem hyalodermis with large trigones in the outer cells of the stem cross section, bilobed underleaves, rhizoids restricted to underleaf bases and exclusively ventral intercalary branching. In both phylogenetic and phytogeographical senses this genus is a relict in the Sino-Himalayan bryoflora.

We describe Tephromela eviolacea as a new species from California, Idaho and Washington, U.S.A. Externally we cannot distinguish it from T. atra and T. pacifica, but it differs from both in ITS sequences, secondary metabolites and in lacking all violet coloration in the hymenium. In the Pacific Northwest, T. atra is found on rock and T. eviolacea and T. pacifica are found on bark and wood on the east and west sides of the Cascade Range, respectively. We provide a key to the genus in the region.

Phylogenetic reconstructions based on ITS/5.8S, mtSSU and nuLSU DNA sequence data suggest that Lecanora pringlei from North America and a closely related new species from the Altai Mountains, Russia, should be transferred to a new genus Pulvinora, phylogenetically related to Frutidella. It is distinguished by Lecanora-type asci, mycolecanorine apothecia soon becoming convex with an algal layer pushed below the hypothecium, and a pulvinate thallus with squamules at the tip of pseudopodetia-like, branched, pale brownish structures. Lecanora subcavicola and L. pringlei subsp. brandegeei do not belong to this new genus Pulvinora; consequently, we propose the new combination L. brandegeei to accommodate the latter taxon. Pulvinora stereothallina is distinguished from P. pringlei in the shape and size of its squamules (plane to concave, up to 3.0 mm long vs. remaining convex, up to 1.5 mm long), by the lack of maculae, the presence of a whitish pruina on the margins and elevated parts of its squamules, by apothecia coalescing into clusters (vs. single), an ochre-yellow to brownish (vs. colorless) proper exciple, larger ascospores, and different secondary metabolites. Lectotypes of Lecidea pringlei Tuck. and L. brandegeei Tuck. are designated here from the collections deposited in fh.