A Noteworthy Disjunction of the Epiphytic Moss Lewinskya graphiomitria

Abstract

<em>Lewinskya graphiomitria </em>(Müll. Hal. ex Beckett) F. Lara, Garilleti & Goffinet, hitherto considered a New Zealand endemic species, has recently been repeatedly found at different localities in China, thereby representing an intriguing example of a remote intercontinental disjunction among the bryophytes. Herein, the current distribution of this species is reviewed and mapped and its disjunct occurrence in the two widely separated areas is discussed. Maps showing the quantification of extrapolated projection areas for <em>L. graphiomitria </em>are also presented. A possible way of its migration from New Zealand to Asia or vice versa is explained.

Temperature and Precipitation More Than Tree Cover Affect the Distribution Patterns of Epiphytic Mosses within the Orthotrichaceae Family in China and Adjacent Areas

“…Epiphytic bryophytes are generally willing to occupy the bark of trees both in temperate forests and in more humid tropical areas [ 13 ]. With approximately 850 widely distributed subcosmopolitan species, the family Orthotrichaceae [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] is one of the main components of the cryptogam epiphytic communities and occurs on tree trunks and branches, and occasionally they are found also in saxicolous habitats. In Central and East Asia, the family is represented by eight genera, namely Leratia , Lewinskya , Macrocoma , Macromitrium , Nyholmiella , Orthotrichum , Ulota, and Zygodon , which can be found in most biomes, from tundra to wet tropical forests.…”