Abstract
Two North American species are described: Encalypta vittiana from Alaska, Yukon Territory and western Northwest Territories and E. flowersiana from Guatemala and Haiti. Each is closely related to a taxon belonging to the E. rhaptocarpa-E. vulgaris complex: E. vittiana to E. rhaptocarpa Schwaegr., from which it is distinguished by precisely fringed calyptrae, and E. flowersiana to E. spathulata C.Miill., from which it is distinguished by muticous leaves and spores with vermiform protuberances on the distal surface. On the basis of morphological discontinuity and, in the case of E. flowersiana, geographical isolation, both E. vittiana and E. flowersiana are given recognition as species. The markedly restricted distribution of E. vittiana is similar to that of both endemic and circumarctic-alpine species of mosses and may be a result of Pleistocene glaciation. It is hypothesized that E. flowersiana may have evolved in geographic isolation from E. spathulata. The narrow geographical range of E. flowersiana may be a function of altitudinal
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