A Taxonomic Revision of the Erpodiaceae (Bryophyta)

About this book

The Erpodiaceae (Bryophyta) is a family of very small to small, pleurocarpous mosses most closely related to the Orthotrichaceae. Mosses in the Erpodiaceae are found mainly in drier areas of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Five genera are recognized in this study – Aulacopilum (2 species, 3 subspecies), Erpodium (2 species), Solmsiella (2 species), Tricherpodium (1 species, 2 subspecies), and Venturiella (8 species, 7 subspecies). This study is primarily morphologically based. The genera and species within each genus are arranged alphabetically. Keys are provided to the genera, sections, species, and subspecies. All genera, sections, species, and subspecies are described; illustrations and distribution maps are provided for each species and subspecies. The book includes twenty nomenclatural novelties.

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Biography

Ronald A. Pursell (1930 – 2014) was for more than three decades a Professor of Botany at The Pennsylvania State University, and was a prodigious bryophyte scholar. A written, but unpublished, manuscript at the time of his death was a taxonomic revision of the Erpodiaceae.  Pursell’s former graduate student and colleague Bruce Allen read the completed draft of the manuscript, edited it, and saw the project through to the present publication. Allen also drew the pencil habit sketches of the species and subspecies.