Racomitrium capense Lorentz, a neglected moss species described from the Western Cape in South Africa, is taxonomically assessed and the most important characters of the type material are illustrated. This species is considered to be conspecific with Bucklandiella lamprocarpa (Müll.Hal.) Bednarek-Ochyra et Ochyra. African synonyms of B. lamprocarpa are summarised and some synonymous names are lectotypified. The global range of B. lamprocarpa is briefly considered and some comment on rheophytic mosses is included.

The liverwort Archilejeunea nebeliana Gradst. et Schäf.-Verw. sp. nov. (Lejeuneaceae) is described from submontane rain forest of southern Ecuador. The new species is a member of A. subg. Archilejeunea and differs from all other species of this group by narrowly and obtusely pointed leaves, thin-walled lobule cells, stem epidermis with darker-colored middle lamella, and narrowly elongate female bracts and bracteoles with acute to acuminate apices. The new species constitutes the first record of subg. Archilejeunea from the Andes and is a further addition to the unusually rich flora of the Andes of southern Ecuador. The species is named in honor of Dr. Martin Nebel.

A floristic and ecological survey was carried out in 187 watercourses of the Portuguese Northwest mainland and Sicó mountain regions located in the transition zone between Atlantic and Mediterranean territories. This work mainly focused on the update of the bryophyte taxa along fluvial and geologic gradients, mostly of headwater areas. Seven ecological aspects (type of river segment, micro-habitat, immersion level and water velocity, depth range, shade, lithology and altitude) were classified and used to describe taxa autoecology. This survey is the first to present a comprehensive floristic catalogue and information on Portuguese aquatic and semi-aquatic taxa distribution. A list of 140 bryophytes was established for the studied areas, with predominance of mosses (102 taxa of mosses, 37 taxa of liverworts and 1 taxon of hornworts). Racomitrium aciculare, Platyhypnidium lusitanicum, Hyocomium armoricum, Scapania undulata and Fissidens polyphyllus were the most common taxa and Brachytheciaceae, Grimmiaceae and Fissidentaceae were the most frequent families in the studied micro-habitats. We updated the regional distribution of 30% of the taxa to new provinces of the Portugal. Four mosses and three liverworts are European endemisms, and Racomitrium (R. hespericum and R. lusitanicum) are, Iberian endemics. Distribution maps for selected species (Atlantic, dominant or rare species) are also presented.

The presence of Sphagnum boliviae Warnst. in the National Park of Baritú (Salta) is reported as new to the bryological flora of Argentina. The species, the site characteristics and the habitat are described and illustrated with photographs.

Didymodon johansenii (R.S. Williams) H.A. Crum is recorded for the first time for Italy from the Brenta Dolomites of the Southern Alps, Province of Trento. In addition, a series of unpublished records from the Austrian Alps are presented and the known distribution of the species in Central Europe is mapped. The differentiation of the species, which is well-characterized among European species by a swollen, deciduous leaf apex, is discussed. D. johansenii is a cryophilous xerophyte, usually growing in full sun on S-facing rock walls of limestone and calcareous schist in the subalpine and alpine belt of the Alps. It probably belongs to a series of bryophyte species with Central Asian origin which reached the Alps by crossing the cold steppes during the glacial maxima of the Pleistocene.

Fissidens bryoides Hedw. var. gymnandrus (Buse) R. Ruthe and Fissidens celticus Paton are reported new to Spain, based on collections from the Basque Country in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A description and illustrations of each taxon based on Iberian samples are provided. Fissidens bryoides var. gymnandrus is lectotypified.

Five species of mosses (Anomodon pseudotristis, Calymperes afzelii, C. motleyi, Mesonodon flavescens, Mitthyridium flavum) are reported as new for New Caledonia. Anomodon and Mesonodon are new genus reports for New Caledonia. Calomnium iwatsukii, a species endemic to New Caledonia and hitherto only known from the type locality, is recorded from a second locality. Sporophytes of Sphagnum novo-caledoniae were found for the first time and are described. The following sporophytic features of S. novo-caledoniae are rare or absent among the genus Sphagnum: sporophytes developed on elongated branches, capsules immersed in perichaetial leaves, pseudopodium extremely short, pseudostomata absent from capsule surface.

Two species of moss, Grimmia plagiopodia Hedw. (Grimmiaceae) and Hennediella antarctica (Ångstr.) Ochyra et Matteri (Pottiaceae), are recorded for the first time from the Schirmacher Oasis in continental Antarctica. The latter species has so far been known only from Enderby Land and its geographical range is now extended to Dronning Maud Land. Both species are briefly characterised and their Antarctic distribution is mapped. Accordingly, the moss flora of Dronning Maud Sector of Antarctica consists of 13 species, 12 of which are known to occur in the Schirmacher Oasis. One species, Pohlia wilsonii (Mitt.) Ochyra, found in a lake in the Schirmacher Oasis has yet to be confirmed.

The effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on UV-absorbing compounds (UVAC), the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (F_v/F_m), DNA integrity, and the sclerophylly index, were analyzed in the mosses Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Fontinalis antipyretica. The study was performed for 31 days under laboratory conditions. Enhanced UV-B increased the bulk level of the vacuolar soluble UVAC (SUVAC) in both mosses and the concentration of two different soluble kaempferols in B. pseudotriquetrum. However, enhanced UV-B had no effect on the bulk level of cell wall-bound insoluble UVAC (WUVAC) in both mosses and the concentration of insoluble p-coumaric acid in F. antipyretica. Thus, the insoluble fraction would be less UV-B-responsive than the soluble one. This probably happened because (1) the constitutively high bulk level of WUVAC (and noticeably higher than that of SUVAC) would already provide a sufficiently effective protection; and (2) WUVAC would be relatively immobilized in the cell wall, which would limit the reaction capacity of these compounds to UV-B. The protective mechanisms developed by both mosses could not totally prevent UV-B damage, which was indicated by the modest decrease of F_v/F_m and the increase in DNA damage. We discuss the ecological and phylogenetic implications of the differences in UVAC compartmentation between liverworts and mosses.

An apogamous sporophyte is reported on a gametophore of the moss Fissidens crassipes subsp. warnstorfii (M.Fleisch.) Brugg.-Nann. The apogamous sporophyte is developed in lateral position near the base of the stem of the gametophore. The seta is relatively short and delicate and the capsule without spores. The moss was found growing in a greenhouse in Cairo, Egypt. This is the second record of a natural apogamous moss sporophyte worldwide. A relevant discussion on the phenomenon of apogamy is given.

The identification of nystose and 1^F-ß-fructofuranosylnystose in the oligosaccharide-rich fraction of the moss Rhodobryum ontariense (Kindb.) Kindb. (Bryaceae) by thin layer chromatography and high pressure chromatography with anion exchange-pulsed amperometric detector is discussed. According to our knowledge, it is the first record of these saccharides in the genus Rhodobryum as well as in the group of mosses as a whole. The findings are in good agreement with the recent isolation of 1-kestose from the same plant material and confirm that short-chain fructooligosaccharides, well known as prebiotics, are present in the examined bryophyte.