Phylogenetic investigations of a well supported clade within the acrocarpous moss family Bryaceae: evidence from seven chloroplast DNA sequences and morphology

Abstract.

Phylogenetic analyses of a well supported clade within the acrocarpous moss family Bryaceae were performed using information from chloroplast DNA sequences and morphology. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses all support two major clades within the ingroup. The first clade includes members of Bryum sections Apalodictyon, Caespiticia, Capillaria, and Leucodontium, and Plagiobryum zieri, and we suggest that the species composing this clade should be accommodated in Plagiobryum. The second clade contains representatives from all the included Bryum sections (except Capillaria) plus Acidodontium, Anomobryum, Brachymenium section Dicranobryum, and Haplodontium. Within this clade, Brachymenium section Dicranobryum is closely related to Bryum section Bryum. This suggests that the representatives of section Brachymenium included in this study should be accommodated in Bryum. Finally, the strong support for a clade with B. alpinum and B. coronatum indicates that these taxa should be separated from Bryum at the genus level.