The genus Plagiochila (Marchantiophyta) in Colombia

Abstract

Plagiochila is the largest genus of bryophytes of Colombia. A total of 175 species have been recorded from the country but the majority of these are synonyms. In this paper 57 species are accepted for Colombia. A key to the Colombian species of Plagiochila is provided and each species is briefly described, with data on types, synonyms, published illustrations, morphology, geographical distribution and habitat, as well as a brief discussion of differentiating characters and taxonomic affinity. Among the countries of tropical America, Colombia has the highest diversity of Plagiochila followed by Ecuador (53 species) and Costa Rica (50 species). More than half of the Colombian species are widely distributed throughout tropical America and seven of them occur also in Africa and/or Western Europe. About one fourth of the species are restricted to the northern Andes, which is the centre of diversity of Plagiochila in the New World. The majority of the species grow as epiphytes in humid Andean forests. Diversity peaks in the upper montane forest belt between 2000-3000 m. Sixteen species occur in the paramo belt and five are exclusive to paramo. Eighteen species occur in lowland rainforest. Plagiochila eggersii, recorded from lowland rainforest of the Choco, is new to Colombia. Key words: Andean forest, bryophytes, Colombia, elevational distribution, liverworts, paramo, Plagiochila, taxonomy.