Wiesnerella denudata (Mitt.) Steph., a complex thalloid liverwort in the family Wiesnerellaceae (Marchantiales), is reported as a new species to Peninsular India from the Anamudi Shola National park in the Western Ghats of Kerala. This species is easily confused with another thalloid liverwort, Dumortiera hirsuta (Sw.) Nees, due to similar morphological characters, especially size of thallus, colour and habit. Wiesnerella denudata is characterised by the presence of elevated air pores which can be seen with the help of a hand lens or even with naked eye, subsessile rotund male receptacle, raised female receptacle with deeply dissected carpocephalum and absence of pseudoperianth. A detailed account of the species along with photographs and SEM images of spores is provided here.

Scopelophila cataractae is a rare species that grows in environments with high concentration of copper. We analyzed the relationship between plant growth and copper ion concentration in the rainwater in a field study and the relationship between photosynthetic activity and copper ion concentration in a laboratory. We surveyed six sites with S. cataractae; these sites had rainwater copper ion concentrations ranging from 16.8 to 29.2 ppm. We found that the growth area, gametophore size, and leaf size of S. cataractae decreased as copper ion concentration increased. We observed reduced photosynthetic activity at copper ion concentrations of 20.0 ppm or higher. We discovered that the growth of S. cataractae gametophores was adversely affected by copper ions at concentrations commonly observed under copper roofs. Thus, S. cataractae may inhabit areas with high concentrations of copper ion (∼30 ppm) partly because of a selective advantage when interspecific competition is high. We recommend that copper roofs should be renewed partly rather than all at once, as aged copper roofs create environments with copper ion concentrations suitable for S. cataractae.

Oreoweisia brevidens a rare Indian endemic moss described by Herzog in 1939 from Assam is reported after 75 years from the Karnataka part of Western Ghats. The species is described with photos and illustration.

The IUCN Red List is recognised as a robust system for assessing the risk of extinction to organisms, but there are difficulties in applying the criteria to bryophytes and other clonal and colonial organisms. Three critical terms are addressed – generation length, mature individual and severe fragmentation – and definitions given in order to facilitate the use of the IUCN Red List criteria for bryophytes. These recommendations provide a pragmatic and effective way of using the IUCN Red List process for bryophytes and may have a wider application to other clonal organisms.

Four species of lichen-forming fungi (Calicium pinastri, Chaenotheca laevigata, Lecania croatica and Pycnora praestabilis) and two lichenicolous fungi (Arthrorhaphis aeruginosa and Chaenothecopsis epithallina) are reported as new for Latvia. The first comprehensive list of lichenicolous fungi in Latvia is also presented, including their hosts and distribution in Latvia (northern Europe).