The Moss Flora of Central America

The Moss Flora of Central America attempts to treat all of the mosses known or reported from the region in the families Encalyptaceae through Orthotrichaceae. Also treated are two genera previously included in this group of mosses but now placed in the Dicranaceae. The flora is specimen‑based, and wherever possible type specimens have been examined. Type information is given for all species. The format used in Part 1 of The Moss Flora of Central America (Allen 1994) cited minimum type information, in this volume I have tried to exactly repeated the type information given in the original protologues. Not all type material has been examined. Examination of type material is indicated within the text by the citation of an Index Herbariorum, Ed. 8 acronym at the end of the type information.

As much as possible the generic keys and descriptions refer to the genera as a whole not just to the species found in Central America. To facilitate use, the genera are arranged alphabetically within the families and the species alphabetically within genera.

Generic and species descriptions as well as discussions in Part 2 are generally longer than those given in Part 1 of the flora. Each species in Part 2 is fully illustrated, and a list of previously published illustrations for each species is given. Short, concise habitat notes based on my field experience with the species or taken from specimen labels follow the citation of illustrations. The Central American distribution of all species is determined by the examination of specimens. All species for which a specimen cannot be located are placed in a "Species Excluded" section. The distribution of species within each country is documented by the citation of one specimen from each political unit, department or province, in which the species occurs. An indication of the world range of each species, based on an examination of specimens or extracted from reliable literature reports, is given. With two exceptions, the system put forward by the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (Hollis & Brummitt, 1992), at the continental and regional levels, is used for world ranges. Within the citations only the regional groups are named, and they are arranged into continental groups that are set off from each other by semicolons. Here all of Mexico and Central America, as defined above, are treated as continental regions, set off by semicolons. Hollis and Brummitt divide Mexico between their Northern and Southern American continents and treat Central America as part of Southern America.