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Correlations between the moss floras of Japan and of the southern Appalachians

TitleCorrelations between the moss floras of Japan and of the southern Appalachians
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1958
AuthorsIwatsuki Z
JournalThe Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory
Volume20
Pagination304-352
KeywordsMOSSES
Abstract
  1. The similarity between vascular floras of eastern North America and of eastern Asia as discussed by many botanists are briefly reviewed. Results of the studies of the affinities between the moss floras of Japan and the Southern Appalachians are given. 2. Topography and climate of the two regions are similar. The similarities of the climate are clearly shown in Figure 1 using the Thornthwaite system. 3. A total of 353 species of the Southern Appalachians includes 203 species (58%) of a circumpolar element, fifty species (14%) of a cosmopolitan element, and ninety-one species (25%) of endemics. Among these 353 species, 196 species (or 55.3%) are common to the Japanese moss flora. 4. The 196 species common to the two regions consist of 125 species of a circumpolar element, forty-five species of a cosmopolitan element, five species of a tropical element and twenty-one species exhibiting disjunction. 5. Four species with disjunctive distributions, apparently originated from tropical ancestors, are now found in temperate parts of the two regions. 6. Among 157 species not common to the two regions, thirty-two species are recorded from Europe and North America, and twenty-four species are recorded from some parts of Asia but not from Japan. 7. Twenty-three represend vicariads between the two regions. Their affinities and differences are discussed. 8. More than ten percent of the mosses of the Southern Appalachians are recorded only from Asia and eastern North America or as vicariads between the two regions.