Molecular and morphological evidence on the status of Bryum mildeanum Jur. and records revision in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Bryum mildeanum, a rare species in the Iberian Peninsula, has frequently been confused with B. alpinum. In this study we provide new gametophytic and sporophytic (obtained by SEM) characters that can be used to separate the two and B. mildeanum is described and lectotypified. A molecular study based on two chloroplast DNA regions (trnL-F and trnG) was performed. The results suggest the evolutionary independence of B. mildeanum and B. alpinum, and the separation of both from B. gemmiparum, a species generally placed in the same subsection (Section Bryum, subsection Alpiniformia) as the other two.