New European Discovery of Splachnum pensylvanicum (Bryophyta, Splachnaceae) in Lithuania, with Taxonomic Notes and a Review of Its World Distribution

Abstract

Splachnum pensylvanicum (Brid.) Grout ex H.A.Crum is recorded for the first time in Lithuania and it is its fourth discovery at a third locality in Europe. It was found for the first time in 2000 in Kamanos mire, the largest peatland complex in the northern part of this East Baltic country. Targeted investigations at this site in 2017 resulted in the discovery of 14 populations and it is apparently the largest and most abundant locality of the species in Europe. Splachnum pensylvanicum is briefly described and illustrated along with some taxonomic notes and a detailed description of its habitat requirements. The global geographical distribution of S. pensylvanicum is reviewed and mapped. It is a Euro-Eastern North American temperate species and deeply penetrates into the Neotropics at montane stations in Venezuela and SE Brazil in South America.