Jacques van Rooy

South African National Biodiversity Institute · National Herbarium

Background: A Red List of threatened bryophytes is lacking for Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bryophyte Specialist Group has recently launched the ‘Top 10 Initiative’ to identify the 10 species on each continent that are at highest risk of extinction. Objectives: The main aim of t...

Recent phylogenetic analyses of the moss family Polytrichaceae have identified a clade of generally small-sized species exclusively distributed in southern temperate regions and the New World tropics. This group is sister to all other species in the family that have the characteristic polytrichaceous toothed peristome and epiphragm structure, with...

Two pluripapillose semilimbate species of Fissidens, the East African F. ferrugineus and the wide-spread African F. schweinfurthii are for the first time recorded from the Republic of South Africa.

Plants of the Free State: Bryophyta. Key to families of Bryophyta. A key to the families of mosses (Bryophyta) in sub-Saharan Africa is now available as Guide to bryophytes of sub-Saharan Africa on the British Bryological Society website: https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Guide-to-Bryophytes-of-sub-Saharan-A...

The Bryophyte Specialist Group (BSG) is part of the network of more than 10,500 volunteer experts in 175 countries that constitute the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC). These experts, organised in over 160 groups, work jointly for nature conservation, and to prevent the loss and support the r...

Two American species of moss, Ephemerum homomallum Müll. Hal. (Pottiaceae) and Torrentaria aquatica (A. Jaeger) Ochyra (Brachytheciaceae), are reported as new to Africa, based on collections from the Limpopo and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, respectively. These discoveries changed the phytogeographical status of both species, which now be...

The 'Rand flora' is a biogeographical disjunction which refers to plant lineages occurring at the margins of the African continent and neighbouring oceanic archipelagos. Here, we tested whether the phylogeographical pattern of Exormotheca pustulosa Mitt. was the result of vicariance induced by past climatic changes or the outcome of a series of rec...

IUCN Red List criteria widely recognised to objectively assess extinction risk of species across taxonomic groups. Application of IUCN criteria requires the use of critical terms that are difficult to apply to clonal organisms such as bryophytes. We pragmatically define 'mature individuals', 'generation length' and 'severe fragmentation' building u...

We were proposing one main centre and three sub-centres of endemism in the bryoflora of southern Africa. These are: Southwestern Centre, and Kamiesberg, Outeniqua and Drakensberg sub-centres.

In the Flora of southern Africa area, comprising the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, the moss family Sematophyllaceae consists of three genera ( Trichosteleum , Donnellia and Sematophyllum ) and nine species. Core sematophyllous taxa with collenchymatous exothecial cells, long rostrate operculum, linear leaf cel...

Octospora conidiophora is described as a new species, based on collections from South Africa. It is characterised by apothecia with a distinct margin, smooth or finely warted ellipsoid ascospores, stiff, thick-walled hyaline hairs, warted mycelial hyphae and growth on pleurocarpous mosses Trichosteleum perchlorosum and Sematophyllum brachycarpum (H...

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...

Mosses (Bryophyta), liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta), collectively known as bryophytes (Bryobiotina), are generally identified by microscopic characters. For general introductions to southern African bryophytes, and how to study and identify plants in this group, see Magill (1981), Van Rooy (1997a–2001b) and Perold (199...

The volatile constituents of nine liverworts species (Asterella marginata, Dumortiera hirsuta, Fossombronia swaziensis, Marchantia pappeana, Marchantia polymorpha subsp. ruderalis, Pallavicinia lyellii, Plagiochasma rupestre, Riccia albolimbata and Symphyogyna podophylla) from South Africa were determined by gas chromatography. Where possible the v...

Moss diversity in southern Africa is greatest in the Cape Fold Mountains of the southwestern Cape, and the Drakensberg mountains along the Great Escarpment of KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa. Five main, and five secondary centres of moss diversity are described, based on the number of moss species per half degree gri...

This delicate epiphytic moss is frequently encountered in woodlands or savanna areas of South Africa.

Liverworts (Marchantiophyta) are considered to be the oldest terrestrial plants. At present more than 1500 terpenoids and 350 aromatic compounds (excluding flavonoids) have been isolated from or detected in the Marchantiophyta [1]. Several of these constituents are unique to liverworts and exhibit interesting biological activities, including antiba...

The widespread southern African species, Metzgeria consanguinea, M. furcata and M. leptoneura (Metzgeriaceae) are revised, illustrated and their geographical distributions mapped. Metzgeria furcata is newly reported from Lesotho, and the Free State and Gauteng Provinces of South Africa.

The Flora of southern Africa (FSA) area, comprising the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, contains about 520 species of mosses. The numbers of moss species per ½ degree grid square, obtained from SANBI’s PRECIS database, were plotted on a map of the region. It shows that mosses are not uniformly distributed throug...

The relatively large brood-bodies on the leaves of Syntrichia papillosa are visible with the naked eye or through a hand-lens.

Plagiochasma rupestre is a rare thalloid liverwort species. Plagiochasma rupestre is reported to produce elemane sesquiterpenoids, of which (A)elema-1,4(15),11-trien-3,4-olide and elema-1,4(15),11-trien-3-al (422) have been identified as major components (Harrison et al., 1992) (similarity structures)

Of the seven species that occur in southern Africa, Metzgeria quadrifaria and M. saxbyi are endemic to mainland Africa and M. madagassa and M. nudifrons are also known from the East African Islands. Metzgeria madagassa and M. quadrifaria are described, illustrated and distribution maps provided. Metzgeria nudifrons is newly reported from Gauteng an...

Although the number of invasive bryophytes is much lower than that of higher plants, they threaten habitats that are often species rich and of high conservation relevance. Their potential of spread has, however, never been determined. Here, we assess whether the three most invasive bryophyte species shifted their niche during the invasion process a...

Wardia hygrometrica is an aquatic moss restricted to the mountains of the southwestern Cape. It belongs to the Wardiaceae, the only endemic moss family in South Africa

During a revision of the Sematophyllaceae for the Flora of Southern Africa project, we found a new species of Sematophyllum. Aquatic with poorly developed alar region, it is one of the biggest of the genus in southern Africa. It is only known from the Afromontane region and is not particularly threatened inasmuch as it occurs in a number of protect...

alpestris (Thed.) Schimp. Contributor: L. Thouvenot Andorra: Encamp, Ensagents, 42u319070N, 1u389410E, 2520 m a.s.l., on the top of granitic rock in alpine meadow, 17 July 2006, leg. L. Thouvenot 3086 (BCB 58238). According to Casas (2005) this species was pre-viously unrecorded in Andorra (Eastern Pyrenees) although it is known in the neighbouring...

https://doi.org/10.1179/037366810X12578498136039

This is the first of several projected articles on the taxonomy of southern African Metzgeriaceae H. Klinggr. A brief history of the genus Metzgeria Raddi in southern Africa, the only local representative, is presented. Family and genus descriptions, as well as a key to the species, are provided. Of the seven species currently recognized in souther...

Trichostomum brachydontium is the most widespread and frequently collected moss in South Africa

The attractive red-brown spore-bearing part of the plant (sporophyte), which consists of a long, twisting stalk (seta) with an asymmetrical, grooved capsule at the tip, makes Funaria hygrometrica easy to find and identify.

Dicranella hookeri, a pan-south-temperate species, is recorded for the first time from continental Africa, based on material collected on the Highveld of the Free State and Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa. Bryum bartramioides, an invalidly published name, is placed in synonymy of Dicranella hookeri. A brief description as well as notes on the...

Bucklandiella lamprocarpa (Müll.Hal.) Bednarek-Ochyra & Ochyra is the only rheophytic representative of the genus in South Africa. Although this distinct and almost unmistakable species is bipolar in distribution, it is mostly an austral cool-temperate species ranging northwards along the alpine belts of South America and Africa. Examples are given...

Exsiccatae in the bryophyte collection of the National Herbarium in Pretoria (PRE) are catalogued for the first time. Most of the 66 series represented in PRE were issued in Europe, but the USA is the country from which the largest number of exsiccatae originated. The exsiccatae span 3 centuries, with the earliest specimens issued in 1845 and the l...

Two taxa currently recognised in Thuidium are transferred to Pelekium to complete the relocation of monoicous species from Thuidium subg. Microthuidium to Pelekium. The new combinations are: Pelekium thomeanum (Broth.) Phephu stat. et comb. nov. (basyonym Thuidium involvens (Hedw.) Mitt. var. thomeanum Broth.), now recognised as a species distinct...

There is a high degree of correspondence between the bryoforistic regions of southern Africa and phytochoria based on the distribution of seed plants, especially those of White and Linder. The bryofloristic classification provides evidence for a greater Afromontane Region that includes the Cape Floristic as well as the Maputaland-Pondoland Regions,...

New liverwort distribution records in South Africa.

Polytrichum commune is one of the largest mosses in southern Africa and can grow up to 25 cm high. Its stiff, narrow leaves are spirally arranged at right angles to the wiry stem, giving the plant a star-like appearance when viewed from above.

A TWINSPAN classification divides the moss flora of southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho) into two main bryofloristic elements: (1) the Xerophytic (south-western) element mainly distributed in the winter rainfall and semi-arid to arid, temperate areas of southern Africa, and (2) the Mesophytic (subtropical) eleme...

A TWINSPAN classification divides southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho) into two main bryofloristic regions: (1) a subtropical or palaeotropical region in the northern, eastern and southern parts, characterised by a predominantly mesophytic moss flora; and (2) a temperate or austral region in the central and weste...

New checklist of South African mosses.

New checklist of southern African mosses.

Getting to know the mosses may seem like a daunting task. However, by starting with the common ones in your area you will gain confidence to tackle the others. In this, the 10th part in the series on southern African bryophytes, I present diagnostic characters for the identification of those mosses most likely to be encountered in the veld, as well...

Phytogeography may be defined as the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Bryogeography is therefore the study of bryophyte distribution patterns. The geographic distribution patterns of southern African mosses, recently identified for the first time (Van Rooy 2000 ), are summarised here.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pretoria, 2000. Includes bibliographical references.

This article deals with the systematic classification of bryophytes and touches on some aspects of diversity. Diversity and endemism in the moss flora of southern Africa will be discussed in more detail in the next issue of PlantLife.

In the 6th part of the Introduction to Bryology in Southern Africa I would like to list the most important morphological and anatomical characters to look for when examining moss plants. These are the characters you are most likely to encounter in identification manuals and Floras. An excellent illustrated introduction to the subject can be found i...

Because they are so small, microscopic examination is generally required to uncover the hidden beauty of bryophytes and to confidently identify them. But remember, even without the fancy equipment and techniques discussed here, which are out of reach for many, you will still be able to admire the beautiful macroscopic structures by using a hand len...

In this article, the fourth in the series, we continue the discussion on the structure and life cycle of bryophytes by looking at the remaining two groups, the liverworts and hornworts. It is not my intention to present here a detailed account of the morphology and anatomy but rather to point out some of the differences between mosses, liverworts a...

This article deals with topics such as: how to get started; where to look for bryophytes; equipment needed for bryophyte collecting; and when, what and how to collect and preserve your bryophytes.

The following text constitutes Fascicle 3 of Part 1 of Volume Bryophyta in the Flora of southern Africa Cryptogam series. This fascicle includes the families Erpodiaceae to Hookeriaceae (see Conspectus of classification, p. 445). Several inadequacies of the traditional classification system used for this Flora (see Fascicle 1, p. 13) are evident in...

In the previous issue of PlantLife (no. 16 of March 1997) we have seen that Bryophytes don’t have flowers or seeds like flowering plants. How then do Bryophytes reproduce? In answering this question we will first look at the structure and life cycle of mosses, the largest group of Bryophytes.

This is the first in a series of articles aimed at those readers of PlantLife who would like to know more about the wonderful world of bryophytes. Compared to the rest of Africa and other tropical regions, the bryoflora of southern Africa is reasonably well known. There are, however, many discoveries to be made, even by the beginner with little or...

In southern Africa the subfamily Macromitrioideae (Orthotrichaceae) consists of four genera, 11 species, and one subspecies. The following taxa are recognised: Macrocoma, consisting of M. lycopodioides (Schwaegr.) Vitt, M. pulchella (Hornsch.) Vitt, and M. tenue (Hook. & Grev.) Vitt subsp. tenue; Macromitrium, consisting of M. lebomboense Van Rooy,...

Two species of Amphidium Schimp. (Orthotrichaceae) occur in southern Africa. A. tortuosum (Hornsch.) Robinson and A. lapponicum (Hedw.) Schimp. are sympatric in the mountains of western Natal and Lesotho. A. tortuosum is also known from the south-western Cape. A. lapponicum is for the first time reported from the southern Hemisphere. Descriptions,...

Two species of Rhabdoweisia B.S.G. are recognised for southern Africa: R. crispata (Dicks.) Lindb, is reported new to Africa and the distribution of R. fugax (Hedw.) B.S.G. is extended to include the eastern Transvaal. Original material of Bryum crispatum Dicks. in the Dickson Herbarium (BM) is selected as lectotype for the species. Illustrations,...

Additions and alterations to the inventory of about 26 000 plant taxa in southern Africa are reported for the period from February 1990 to February 1991. In this period a total of 1 080 alterations have been recorded. These changes result from the continual surveying of taxonomic literature received by the library of the National Botanical Institut...

Since the publication of the first fascicle of the moss Flora of southern Africa (Magill 1981), several new and interesting records have been identified from geographical regions referred to in the fascicle. Most of the new records are a result of recent collecting by the authors and other staff members of the National Botanical Institute. However,...

Additions and alterations to the inventory of approximately 25 000 southern African plant taxa are reported for the period from February 1989 to February 1990. In this period, a total of 890 alterations have been recorded. These changes result from the continual surveying of taxonomic literature received by the library of the National Botanical Ins...

The southern African Macromitrioideae consist of Macrocoma, Macromitrium, Schlotheimia and Cardotiella. Of the 12 taxonomically recognisable species, two (Macrocoma tenue subsp. tenue and Macromitrium richardii) are distributed beyond the Africa region, two (Macromitrium levatum and M. serpens) are African-Madagascan-Mascarene endemics, two (Schlot...

A new species from southern Africa, Macromitrium lebomboense, is described and illustrated. A combination of mostly sporophytic characters separates the species from closely related species in the M. ligulare group. M. richardii, a new record for southern Africa, is the first species in the genus known to have an African-South American distribution...

Orthotrichum incurvomarginatum, O. armatum and O. oreophilum all belonging to subgenus Phaneroporum section Leiocarpa are described from South Africa. O. incurvomarginatum replaces O. afro-fastigiatum sensu Lewinsky, whereas O. afrofastigiatum C. Müll is regarded as a dubious name. O. armatum is characterized by aristate leaves with recurved margin...

Alterations to the inventory of about 24 000 species and infraspecific taxa of bryophytes and vascular plants in southern Africa are reported for the year 1988. The inventory, as currently maintained in the Taxon component of the PRECIS system, contains the accepted name for each taxon, synonyms previously in use as accepted names during the past h...

Alterations to the inventory of about 24 000 species and infraspecific taxa of bryophytes and vascular plants in southern Africa are reported for the year 1987. The inventory, as presently maintained in the Taxon component of the PRECIS system, contains the accepted name for each taxon, synonyms previously in use as accepted names during the past h...

This paper gives a short history of bryological collecting in the Eastern Cape forests and presents an up-to-date species list with biogeographical notes on the affinities of the moss flora.

Alterations for the year 1986 to the inventory maintained in PRECIS are reported for bryophytes, pteridophytes and monocotyledons, and for a few dicotyledons. For the cryptogams and monocots there are 77 newly described species or infraspecific taxa, 27 names brought back into use, and nine species newly reported for southern Africa, resulting in 1...