Cinclidium minutifolium (Mniaceae) in Alaska: Confirmation and clarification

• Published in: The Bryologist
• Main Authors: Robert Wyatt, Ann Stoneburner
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The American Bryological and Lichenological Society 2021
• Subjects: Arctic; north slope; Alaska; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-124.1.085

The taxonomy of Cinclidium, with only four species recognized, has been remarkably stable compared to most other genera of the Mniaceae. Recently, however, one new species (C. alaskanum) has been added and another (C. minutifolium) resurrected. The latter was described by Brotherus in 1929 from East Siberia and known until recently only from the type collection. Most authors have considered the species a synonym of C. latifolium, but new collections made since the 1990s from other regions of Russia have prompted reconsideration. Moreover, sequencing of three regions of the chloroplast genome of Cinclidium sampled on a worldwide basis supports the view that C. minutifolium is highly genetically differentiated from the other five species. That study also suggests that C. minutifolium might occur in Alaska. Here we confirm occurrence of this species on the North Slope of Alaska and provide drawings and keys to facilitate identification by bryologists working in other areas of the Arctic.