Phylogenetic analyses of genome structure and nucleotide sequences from mitochondrial, plastid, and nuclear genes have corroborated the view held by botanists for over a century that the bryophyte groups (mosses, liverworts, hornworts) comprise early-diverging land plant lineages that originated before the appearance of vascular plants ( Haeckel, 1876 ;Campbell, 1895 ;Bower, 1935 ;Kenrick and Crane, 1997 ;Shaw and Renzaglia, 2004 ). Early cladistic analyses based on morphological characters ( Mishler and Churchill, 1984 ) showed that the three bryophyte groups, classifi ed by most botanists of the time as a single phylum because of their similar gametophyte-dominant life cycles, more likely represent a paraphyletic grade that diverged before the emergence of the vascular plants. In fact, Haeckel ' s (1876) tree similarly shows mosses and liverworts as a paraphyletic grade basal to the vascular plants. Recent data sets appear to favor the hypothesis that liverworts (phylum Marchantiophyta) comprise the earliest-diverging lineage, followed by the mosses (Bryophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerophyta) ( Qiu et al., 1998 ;Nickrent et al., 2000 ;Shaw and Renzaglia, 2004 ). However, the most data-rich studies to date, based on chloroplast or mitochondrial organellar proteins, like analyses based on sperm cell morphology ( Garbary et al., 1993 ), identify a clade uniting liverworts and mosses, and additional data are still needed before we can consider the branching order of early land plant lineages to be fi nally resolved ( Nishiyama et al., 2004 ;Rodr í guez-Ezpeleta et al., 2007 ;Terasawa et al., 2007 ; but see also Qiu, et al., 2006 ).Notwithstanding that much remains to do, great progress has been made toward resolving phylogenetic relationships within the mosses (phylum Bryophyta s.s.) (e.g., Cox and Hedderson, 1999 ;Cox et al., 2000 ;Newton et al., 2000 ; Goffi net et al., 2001 ;Stech and Frey, 2008 ; Goffi net et al., 2009 ;Wahrmund et al., 2010 ). Major clades resolved by molecular data to a large extent mirror previous classifi cations based on morphology (e.g., Fleischer, 1923 ; Brotherus, 1924 Brotherus, -1925Vitt, 1984 • Premise of the study : The Sphagnopsida, an early-diverging lineage of mosses (phylum Bryophyta), are morphologically and ecologically unique and have profound impacts on global climate. The Sphagnopsida are currently classifi ed in two genera, Sphagnum (peat mosses) with some 350 -500 species and Ambuchanania with one species. An analysis of phylogenetic relationships among species and genera in the Sphagnopsida were conducted to resolve major lineages and relationships among species within the Sphagnopsida.• Methods : Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences from the nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial genomes (11 704 nucleotides total) were conducted and analyzed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference employing seven different substitution models of varying complexity.• Key results : Phylogenetic analyses resolved three lineages within the Sphagnopsida: (1) Sphagnum serice...

The moss genus Entodon C. Müll. (Entodontaceae) is revised for Australia, eastern Melanesia (New Caledonia and Fiji) and the South Pacific islands. The nine validly described species and 10 nomina nuda are reduced to two species, E. mackaviensis C. Müll. and E. plicatus C. Müll. Entodon mackaviensis, with terete branches and extensive alar development is confined to the region treated. Entodon plicatus, with complanate branches and significantly fewer alar cells, ranges from India to the far reaches of the South Pacific basin, and from Tasmania to the Philippines. Both species are described and illustrated. Some extra-limital synonymy is provided.