BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE CUBAN BRYOPHYTE FLORA

Summary A distribution pattern analysis of 377 Cuban liverworts and 386 mosses shows a relatively high rate of endemism (11.4% and 12.2%, respectively), which is comparable to the rate of endemism in Cuban ferns but much lower than phanerogamic endemism (51.4%). In the Cuban bryoflora neotropical and Caribbean elements as well as Antillean subendemics prevail. The species/genus ratio (4:1 for the liverworts and 2:7 for the mosses), and the relatively high insularity index (3:1 for liverworts and 5:0 for mosses) are indicative of long‐term isolation of the Cuban bryophyte flora and the large size of the island.