Addition to the Moss Flora of the Southern Kurile Islands (Russian Far East)

Abstract

As a result of identification the moss collections from Shikotan, Kunashir, Iturup and Urup islands (Southern Kuril Islands, Russian Far East) collected by T.I. Koroteeva, V.E. Fedosov, A.V. Shkurko, N.S. Liksakova, and A.K. Ezhkin in 2015–2021, new species for the islands were revealed: 6 ones for Urup, 8 for Iturup, 10 for Kunashir, and 19 for Shikotan. For the first time, 4 species new for the Kuril Islands were discovered, including three new for the Sakhalin Region (Forsstroemia cryphaeoides, Haplocladium intermedium, Rhizogemma staphylina, Meteorium buchananii). Another 3 species found in the islands are new for the Southern Kuriles (Dicranum fragilfolium, Gollania turgens, Hygroamblystegium varium). Most of the discovered species are rare in both the Sakhalin Region and the Russian Far East. To date, the moss flora of the Southern Kurils numbers 468 species and is the richest bryoflora in Russia.