Notes on Himalayan Hepaticae 2: New records and extensions of range for some Himalayan Leafy Liverworts

Abstract

Records are presented for 24 species of Hepaticae from the Himalayan region, collected on expeditions from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Three species are reported as new to the Himalaya, all from Nepal (Geocalyx lancistipulus, Tritomaria quinquedentata and T. scitula), two species new to India, both from Sikkim (Andrewsianthus ferrugineus and Lophozia decolorans); seventeen species new to Nepal including Cephaloziella magna, Scaphophyllum speciosum, Schiffneria hyalina and Temnoma setigerum; six species new to Sikkim including Haplomitrium hookeri, and three species new to China, all from Yunnan Province (Diplophyllum trollii, Geocalyx lancistipulus and Lophozia decolorans). Perhaps the most significant reports are the three new Himalayan records, especially Geocalyx lancistipulus, previously known only in Japan; the expansion of known distribution of species considered to be local Himalayan endemics, Andrewsianthus ferrugineus, Cephaloziella magna and Diplophyllum trollii; the extensions of range to two very rare disjunct species Scaphophyllum speciosum and Temonoma setigerum, and lastly the discovery that the widespread but rare Lophozia decolorans may be more abundant in the Sino-Himalaya than elsewhere in the world.