Western Australia has relatively few species of moss; the most recent census found just 192 taxa. This represents just 10% of Australia's total moss flora, even though Western Australia accounts for about one third of the Australia by area. This relatively low diversity has been attributed to the lack of rainforest in the state.
By far the majority of the state's moss species occur in the Southwest Botanical Province, with over 80% of all species, genera and families occurring there. This includes four species that are apparently endemic to the province.
About 70% of Western Australia's moss taxa occur also in South Australia, and a similar proportion occur also in New South Wales. Only about 50% occur also in Queensland. About half are restricted to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and a further 10% occur also only in South America.
List of mosses of Western Australia This is a list of mosses of Western Australia, with classification updated.Buck, William R. & Bernard Goffinet. 2000. "Morphology and classification of mosses", pages 71-123 in A. Jonathan Shaw & Bernard Goffinet (Eds.), Bryophyte Biology. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). .
Subclass Sphagnidae
Sphagnaceae Sphagnum molliculum
Subclass Funariidae
Encalyptaceae Bryobartramia novae-valesiae
Funariaceae Funaria apophysata F. cuspidata F. gracilis F. helmsii F. hygrometrica F. muhlenbergii F. phymatodea F. producta F. radians F. salsicola F. subnuda Goniomitrium acuminatum G. enerve
Gigaspermaceae Gigaspermum repens
Subclass Dicranidae
Grimmiaceae Grimmia apocarpa G. laevigata G. pulvinata G. trichophylla Racomitrium crispulum
Ptychomitriaceae Ptychomitrium australe
Archidiaceae Archidium indicum A. rehmanii A. rothii
Fissidentaceae Fissidens asplenioides F. bifrons F. ceylonensis F. gillianus F. gymnocarpus F. hebetatus F. leptocladus F. maceratus F. megalotis F. microcladus F. perobtusus F. pungens F. taylorii F. tenellus F. victorialis
Ditrichaceae Ceratodon purpureus Ditrichum difficile Eccremidium arcuatum E. exiguum E. minutum E. pulchellum E. whiteleggei Pleuridium acuminatum P. ecklonii P. nervosum
Bruchiaceae Bruchia brevipes Tremadoton acutus
Dicranaceae Campylopus acuminatus C. australis C. bicolor C. flindersii C. incrassatus C. introflexus C. pyriformis Dicranoloma billardieri D. diaphanoneurum
Leucobryaceae Leucobryum subchlorophyllosum
Erpodiaceae Erpodium australiense
Calymperaceae Calymperes erosum Calymperes tenerum Octoblepharum albidum
Pottiaceae Note: The genera Desmatodon, Phascum, Pottia, and Tortula were heavily revised by Zander, and a number of names in the list below are no longer correct. Acaulon eremicola A. granulosum A. integrifolium A. leucochaete A. mediterraneum A. triquetrum Aloina sullivaniana Barbula calycina B. crinita B. ehrenbergii B. hornschuchiana B. indica B. luteola B. subcalycina Bryoerythrophyllum binnsii Calymperastrum latifolium Crossidium davidai C. geheebii D. recurvatus Didymodon luehmannii D. subtorquatus D. torquatus Gymnostomiella vernicosa Gymnostomum calcareum Hyophila involuta H. rosea Leptodontium paradoxum Phasconica balansae Phascopsis rubicunda Phascum laticostum P. longipilum P. robustum var. crassinervium Pottia brevicaulis P. davalliana P. drummondii P. scabrifolia P. starckeana Pterygoneurum kemsleyi P. ovatum Splachnobryum wiemansii Stonea oleaginosa Tetrapterum cylindricum Tortella cirrhata T. flavovirens Tortula antarctica T. atrovirens (=Desmatodon convolutus) T. muralis T. pagorum T. papillosa T. rubella Trichostomopsis australasiae Trichostomum brachydontium Triquetrella papillata Uleobryum peruvianum Weissia brachycarpa W. controversa W. rutilans
Rhabdoweisiaceae Amphidium cyathicarpum
Ephemeraceae Ephemerum cristatum E. rehmannii
Subclass Bryidae
Splachnaceae Tayloria octoblepharum
Orthotrichaceae Macromitrium archeri Zygodon intermedius Z. menziesii Z. minutus
Hedwigiaceae Hedwigia ciliata H. integrifolia
Rhacocarpaceae Rhacocarpus purpurascens R. webbianus
Bryaceae Brachymenium coarctatum B. exile B. indicum B. preissianum Bryum albo-limbatum B. apiculatum B. argenteum B. australe B. billardieri var. billardieri B. billardieri var. platyloma B. caespiticium B. campylothecium B. capillare B. cellulare B. cheelii B. chrysoneuron B. creberrimum B. dichotomum B. inaequale B. lanatum B. pachytheca B. torquescens Pleurophascum occidentale
Orthodontiaceae Orthodontium inflatum O. lineare O. pallens
Mniaceae Pohlia wahlenbergii Schizymenium bryoides
Bartramiaceae Bartramia afro-stricta B. compacta B. hampei B. papillata B. pseudostricta B. strictifolia Breutelia affinis Philonotis australiensis (= Bartramidula pusilla; The genus Bartramidula has been synonymized with Philonotis.Griffin III, Dana & William R. Buck. 1989. Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Studies on the Bartramiaceae. The Bryologist 92 (3): 368-380. ) P. mollis P. tenuis
Racopilaceae Racopilum convolutaceum
Mitteniaceae Mittenia plumula
Pilotrichaceae Sauloma tenella
Pterigynandraceae Trachyphyllum inflexus
Thuidiaceae Thuidium sparsum var. hastatum
Campyliaceae Drepanocladus aduncus D. sendtneri
Fabroniaceae Fabronia australis F. hampeana Ischyrodon lepturus
Hypnaceae Hypnum cupressiforme var. mossmanianum Taxiphyllum minutirameum Vesicularia montagnei V. rivalis
Sematophyllaceae Sematophyllum amoenum S. caespitosum S. contiguum S. homomallum
References