Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matraensis - A Mátra Múzeum Természetrajzi Közleményei 6. (1980)
Pócs, T.: Közép-afrikai májmohák M. Assel gyűjtéséből
Fol. Hist.-nat. Mus. Matr. 6. 1980. CENTRAL AFRICAN HEPATICAE COLLECTED BY M. ASSEL PÓCS Tamás Institute for Botany of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Vácrátót ABSTRACT: 54 species of Hepaticae listed, of which the records of 32 species are new for the Central African Republic and 19 for the flora of the Republic of Congo. Interesting extension of the known distribuion of West African species towards NE direction in the gallery forests of the Central African Republic, as that of Plagiochila africana, P. salvadorica, Lopholejeunea obtusilacera, Archilejeunea autoica and Cheilolejeunea newtonii. Occurrence at relatively low altitude of a few afromontane elements, as Schiff neriolejeunea pappeana, Taxilejeunea pulchriflora and Strepsilejeunea brevifissa. Records of the rare Schiff neriolejeunea occulta, Archilejeunea. jonesii and Gaudalejeunea yangambiensis. The late professor MAURICE BIZOT (Université de Dijon, France) kindly submitted me for elaboration the liverwort part of bryophyte collections of his friend, rev. M. ASSEL, who also passed away in the meantime. M. ASSEL gathered these bryophytes during his teaching activity from 1960 to 1973, in the Central African Republic, in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and finally in Ivory Coast. M. BIZOT himself, with his assistant intended to identify the Musci and published the first part, the collections made in the Central African Republic (BIZOT —DURY 1970). He sent me from time to time, in instalments, the liverworts selected from ASSEL' s material, since 1968 to his death in 1979. The present publication contains the Hepaticae collected by M. ASSEL in the Central African Republic, during the period from September 1960 to May 1963 and in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) between October 1963 and February 1967. The more voluminous material gathered in Ivory Coast will be identified and published later. The great significance of M. ASSEL's collection is, that it originates from very undercollected areas. Both from the Central African Republic and from the Republic of Congo only about 20—20 liverwort records are known, while both countries, at least a great part of them, have relatively wet climate, i.e. good conditions for bryophyte vegetation. The studied area of République Centrafricaine is covered mostly by wet savanna woodland, where the bryophytes are concentrated in the riverine gallery forests. These riverine forests (galerie forestière) enable the lowland rain forest elements to penetrate deep north-eastwards in a woodland region otherwise not rich in bryophytes. Such elements in ASSEL's collection from this region are Plagiochila africana, P. salvadorica, Archilejeunea autoica, Lopholejeunea obtusilacera and Cheilolejeunea newtonii — all known previously only form West African countries. Rare species previously known only form Nigeria or Gabon are here Archilejeunea jonesii and Lopholejeunea gabonensis. Although all specimens were collected on the low part of the Central African Plateau at altitudes between 300 and 700 m, a few montane elements occur, as Schiffneriolejeunea pappeana, Taxilejeunea cf. conformis and Taxilejeunea pulchriflora. The other collecting area in the Republic of Congo lies mostly in the lowland rain forest belt, in higher rainfall area. The gatherings contain new occurrences 73
