The new enlarged and revised flora replaces the former flora The Liverworts Mosses and
Hornworts of Southwest Asia (Marchantiophyta Bryophyta Anthocerotophyta) (2011) which was the
first comprehensive bryophyte flora and wellstructured synthesis of the current knowledge
available on the liverworts mosses and hornworts of Southwest Asia (Near and Middle East). As
the former flora this enlarged and revised new edition covers Afghanistan Bahrain Iraq Iran
Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Sinai Peninsula Syria Turkey
United Arab Emirates and Yemen (incl. the Socotra Archipelago) summarized to a great extend
as Asia 5 in the Index Muscorum. Since the first publication in 2011 scientific interest in
bryophytes drastically increases resulting in more than 70 additional species formerly
unknown to the area and the first moss records to Qatar Peninsula. In total nearly 1400 taxa
(255 liverworts 1128 mosses 5 hornworts) and nearly 2300 names and synonyms were treated. The
dichotomous keys provide families genera and species including annotations to distribution
and to critical doubtful or erroneously recorded species. The flora includes all bryophyte
taxa known to date within this large and varied climatological and geomorphological area. It
responds to the tools of the Conservation on Biological Diversity and the Target 1 of the
updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Main goal beside identification is to achieve a
checklist of all known plants of this often neglected and or overlooked group of organisms. It
is a further step to integrate Southwest Asia (Near and Middle East) into the Global Network of
floristic knowledge. As many of the species are important initial colonizers of bare rocks
crusts and soil surfaces in steppe and desert regions of the area and are forerunners in
vascular plant colonization and succession their knowledge is of fundamental importance for
understanding phytodiversity and ecosystems and provides access to taxonomic information
important for nature conservation. It enables us to give a more precise answer to the question
how many plant species occur in the area and it is a step to enhanced education and scientific
understanding on the wealth of plant diversity. The book is recommended to all botanists and
ecologists interested in bryophyte flora and vegetation biodiversity and nature conservation
and may stimulate and promote greater interest in bryophytes. We hope it is also in future a
mandatory reference for students experts and researchers.
