A Moss Flora of Iraq

The bryophyte collections made in Iraq from 1958 to 1963 by S. Agnew and E. Hadač, and studied by Agnew and Vondráček, form the basis for this Flora, although old records have been checked and incorporated where possible. The introduction describes the history of bryophyte collecting in the Middle East up to 1960, and gives notes on climate, topography and soils of Iraq, especially insofar as these affect the distribution of bryophytes. A synopsis of classification is followed by keys to and descriptions of 54 genera and 145 species of mosses, fewer than 35 of which had been previously recorded from Iraq although others were known from neighbouring countries. Two new species, Syntrichia hadacii and Steppomitra hadacii and three new varieties from Iraq were described in an earlier paper by Vondráček, and some new combinations and synonyms are made in Barbula, Syntrichia and Grimmia in the present work. The descriptions and the illustrations of 154 taxa were, with few exceptions, made from the Agnew & Hadač collections. Habitat notes, a list of locality records from Iraq and synonymy and literature citations are given in detail for each species. Critical discussions of difficult taxa are included.