Orthostichella Müll. Hal. is a genus of nine species (O. capillicaulis, O. hexasticha, O. longinervis, O. muelleri, O. pachygastrella, O. pandurifolia, O. rigida, O. versicolor and O. welwitschii) found only in tropical and subtropical regions of the New World and Africa. One species (O. hexasticha) is restricted to the Caribbean, one (O. pachygastrella) is found only in the continental regions of the New World, two (O. capillicaulis and O. pandurifolia) are restricted to continental Africa, and one (O. longinervis) is found only in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. The other species occur in both Africa and the New World. Orthostichella is predominantly epiphytic and often grows in dense, pendent masses. It has a complex morphology with creeping primary stems or stolons, and erect or pendent, stipitate or evenly foliose secondary stems that are irregularly branched. It lacks a stem central strand and its axillary hairs are usually reddish throughout. Its branches often end in filiform attenuations or stolons. The stolons, stems and branches can abruptly transform from one structure to another, or they can seamlessly intergrade one into another. The leaves are often spirally ranked, they have elongate, smooth, firm-walled leaf cells and weakly developed alar cells. The costae in Orthostichella are wildly variable. In some species most leaves are ecostate, however, some leaves can be found with double or single costae. In other species most leaves have a single or double costa, but ecostate leaves can also be found. In one species (O. longinervis) the leaves always have long, single, subpercurrent costae. Orthostichella has elongate-flexuose, roughened setae, ovoid to short-cylindrical capsules, long-rostrate opercula and mostly hairy, cucullate calyptrae. The Orthostichella peristome is diplolepideous and reduced. Exostomes and endostomes are yellowish white and nearly the same length. The more or less linear exostome teeth are lightly, horizontally striate on the dorsal (outer) surface at base. The endostome has a low basal membrane with filamentous, narrowly perforate segments and cilia are usually absent. Orthostichella appears best placed in the Neckeraceae by virtue of its neckeroid peristome, creeping stolons, stipitate stems with differentiated stipe leaves, foliose pseudoparaphyllia and leaves with weakly developed alar cells. Within the Neckeraceae Orthostichella seems best placed near Porotrichum, but the genus appears isolated by virtue of its non-complanate leaves that are often arranged in spiral rows. Additional new combinations include: Orthostichidium quadrangulare (Schwägr.) n. comb., Orthostichidium pentastichum (Brid.) n. comb. and Hildebrantiella phleoides (Desv. ex Brid.) n. comb.

The Calymperaceae are a large pantropical moss clade. This paper reports the results of a phylogenetic analysis of the Calymperaceae, with an emphasis on the relationships of the large and putatively polyphyletic Syrrhopodon. Two chloroplast genes, rps4 and trnL, part of the nuclear encoded gpd, and morphological characters were analyzed individually and in combination. The total-evidence phylogenetic tree was used to construct a rank-free classification of the Calymperaceae following the guidelines of the current draft of the PhyloCode. The total-evidence cladistic analysis supports the monophyly of Calymperes and Mitthyridium, as well as the “leucobryoid” Calymperaceae, and confirms that Syrrhopodon (s.l.) is polyphyletic. In the context of this phylogeny, the presence of peristome teeth and bordered leaves are derived features within the Calymperaceae. The rank-free system of classification has several advantages over the Linnaean system for dealing with the taxonomic changes implicit in this phylogeny, primarily with regard to preserving the names of well-supported monophyletic groups such as Mitthyridium. However, we question the utility of article 11.7 of the PhyloCode, and offer some practical observations regarding clade names and the use of type specimens as specifiers.

The lichens of Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and adjacent lands were collected and recorded at sites selected to represent the range of environmental variation. One hundred ninety-two taxa of lichens are reported from an area where few previous collections have been recorded. Six species are new to Alaska—Aspicilia arctica, Caloplaca arenaria, C. xanthostigmoidea, Endocarpon pusillum, Ramalina intermedia and Rhizocarpon cinereovirens. To provide a comparative phytogeographic framework for Tetlin NWR, we analyzed data from published reports and categorized lichen distribution patterns from a circumpolar perspective. Wide-ranging arctic-alpine and boreal species dominate the lichen flora, while amphi-Beringian species form a minor element.

Bucklandiella nivalis is described as a new species from two high-alpine localities in the Hohe Tauern in the Eastern Alps of Austria. The species is known only in the sterile state but it produces abundant axillary gemmae which have hitherto only been recorded from the Japanese B. vulcanicola. Both species are closely related but B. nivalis differs from B. vulcanicola in having uniseriate gemmae composed of 3−5(−7), mostly non-septate cells (vs. globular gemmae forming 4-celled clusters); stronger costae, usually 80−100 μm wide near the base (vs. weaker costae, 45−75 μm wide); epilose leaves (vs. piliferous leaves, with hair-points 0.3−0.7 mm long); (1−)2(−3)-stratose leaf margins (vs. unistratose margins with occasional bistratose spots); often variously bistratose laminal cells near the apex (vs. entirely unistratose laminal cells throughout). A new section, Bucklandiella sect. Gemmiferae, is established to accommodate B. nivalis and B. vulcanicola.

The influence of increased copper and cadmium concentrations on membrane lipid peroxidation and photosynthetic characteristics of the lichen photobiont Trebouxia erici was assessed. Intracellular copper and cadmium uptake increased due to increased metal availability in the 5 mM HEPES buffer for 24 h. Assimilation pigments, chlorophyll a fluorescence, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and photosynthetic oxygen evolution rate (OER) were sensitive to the presence of redox-reactive metal Cu² in short-term experiments. Cd² decreased F_V/F_M values indicating damage to PSII and decrease of OER. However, assimilation pigments and MDA content were not altered significantly.

According to new rps4 and trnL-trnF sequences, Goniomitrium should be removed from the Pottiaceae and placed again in the Funariaceae. Goniomitrium and Pyramidula form a sister clade to the rest of the Funariaceae, and are accommodated in their own subfamily, the Pyramiduloideae subfam. nov. Clavitheca nom. nov. is proposed to replace the illegitimate Corynotheca Ochyra. The exclusion of the Ephemeraceae from the Funariales is here corroborated.

Lepraria santamonicae K. Knudsen & Elix is described as a new species of lichenized fungi growing on soil and rock in southern California. It is characterized by the presence of the chlorinated β-orcinol depsidones, argopsin and norargopsin.

Julien Harmand described four lichen species from Portugal. Two of those taxa are restudied here. As a result, the following synonyms are proposed: Lecanora manuelina is reduced to synonymy with Lecanora lividocinerea Bagl., and Verrucaria cordeiroi is conspecific with Julella vitrispora (Cooke & Harkn.) M. E. Barr.

Sphagnum oregonense is described as a new species in section Subsecunda from the state of Oregon, U.S.A. It differs from other North America Subsecunda in lacking commissural pores on either surface of the branch leaf hyaline cells, having instead as many as five free pores on the convex surface of the hyaline cells.

Usnea flammea is reported as new to North America, based on four specimens from coastal Maine.

Holien, Håkon & Tor Tønsberg. 2006. Norsk Lavflora. 224 pages. Tapir Academic Press, Trondheim, Norway. [ISBN: 82-519-1978-9]. Price: 395 NOK (hardcover). Website:  www.tapirforlag.no.

Bednarek-Ochyra, Halina. 2006. A Taxonomic Monograph of the Moss Genus Codriophorus P. Beauv. (Grimmiaceae). W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences. 276 pp. [ISBN 83-89648-40-7]. In English. Published, sold and distributed by the Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków. Price: € 45.00 (postage included). Credit card orders accepted (Visa, MasterCard or EuroCard). Email: ed-office@ib-pan.krakow.pl or fax: (48) 12 4219790.