Bryophyte flora of greater Mymensingh district of Bangladesh - Class: Hepaticopsida and Anthocerotopsida

Abstract

The greater Mymensingh district of Bangladesh, particularly the hilly areas are rich in Bryophyte flora. The present paper on class Hepaticopsida (Liverworts) and Anthocerotopsida (Hornworts) represents primary as well as secondary data collection and includes an account of 48 species under 12 genera, nine families and four orders. An alphabetic arrangement of taxa with short description, habitats, localities, names of collectors with dates and collection numbers are provided. IntroductionThe greater Mymensingh district, particularly the hilly areas are good abodes of Bryophytes. A reasonably good amount of taxonomic works have been done on Bryophytes of Bangladesh but not enough has been done on its distribution.Khan (1955, 1957) for the first time, worked on Liverworts and reported several species including some new species but none of these was from greater Mymensingh district. Tixier (1967) collected and reported a good number of Liverworts in a checklist but all these were from Chittagong region. After a long gap of years, Chakravarty (1981,1983) reported five Liverworts and two Hornworts, out of which only one species, Anthoceros laevis L. was from Mymensingh district. Kamruzzaman (1995) gave an illustrated account of 45 species of Riccia L. which was later included by Hadiuzzaman (2007) in the Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, many of which were collected of the greater Mymensingh district. Banu (1991) for the first time, gave a district-wise distribution of Bryophyta but that was confined only to mosses. Later Banu-Fattah (1998) dealt with Bryophyte flora of Chittagong zone and reported several species of Hepaticopsida and Anthocerotopsida. Recently, Banu-Fattah and Sarker (2007) presented a comprehensive list of mosses under the class Bryopsida from greater Mymensingh district. The present paper is the continuation of the previous paper on Bryophytes dealing with the rest of the classes i.e. Hepaticopsida and Anthocerotopsida.The present paper is based on the specimens collected by the authors as well as many other collectors and all the species previously reported from this region. There are some unpublished reports on the presence of many other species but these have not been included here since complete informations are not available. The present study on Hepaticopsida and Anthocerotopsida includes an account of 48 species under 12 genera, nine families and four orders.

An Appraisal of Genus Riccia in India with a Note on Diversity and Distribution of Species

“…The bryo-geographically they are distributed as below: [36], New Zealand [67], Turkey [68], Africa [64], Australia [59], Europe [40], North America [42], South America [65]. [82], Gujarat [44], Himachal Pradesh [7], Jammu & Kashmir [75], Karnataka [21], Kerala [83], Maharashtra [71], Meghalaya [21], Madhya Pradesh [21,46,77], Punjab [7,52], Rajasthan [48,79], Sikkim [84], Tamil Nadu [7,21], Uttarakhand [6,21], Uttar Pradesh [21,49] West Bengal [74], Bangladesh [85], Myanmar [7], Nepal [86], Pakistan [7], Sri Lanka [32] [7], Maharashtra [52,71], Meghalaya [21], Madhya Pradesh [77], Odishsa [66], Rajasthan [48], Sikkim [84],Tamil Nadu [88], Uttarakhand [3,7,73], Uttar Pradesh ...…”

Jungermannia exertifolia Steph. - A new bryophyte record from Bangladesh

“…Distichophyllum schmidtii Broth., a Pleurocarpous moss and Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., an Acrocarpous moss were two new records from Bangladesh (3,4) . Later on 51 species of bryopsida (5) and 48 species of Hepaticopsida and Anthoceropsida from Mymensingh were recorded (6) . Despite some sporadic studies on some groups of Bryophytes carried out in the recent past, much effort need to be made to explore the bryophyte flora of the country.…”

Floristic account of Boldha garden, Dhaka: Class - Hepaticopsida and Bryopsida

“…Banu-Fattah and Sarker (9) published a comprehensive list of mosses under the class Bryopsida from greater Mymensingh district. Recently they reported 48 species of Bryophytes of same region under the classes Hepaticopsida and Anthocerotopsida (10) .…”