Grimmia Hedw. (Grimmiaceae,Musci) in Europe. 1995. 32 colour plates. many figures. 136 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.

Grimmia Hedw. (Grimmiaceae, Musci), a notoriously difficult cosmopolitan genus, occurs predominantly in temperate zones, although representatives have been found in all parts of the world. In 1930, Leopold Loeske was the first to publish a monograph of the European species. Nowadays, this work is not available anymore and furthermore it is very outdated. In recent years, Grimmia Hedw. has been revised for Japan and China, but as since Loeske, no bryologist has worked on the European species, these were badly in need of revision. In the present work, 41 Grimmia s.s. species with 5 varieties have been recognized for Europe, and a world checklist with world distribution, containing 156 species, is presented.

The work, based upon study of 4000 European specimens, collected in the field as well as loaned from various herbaria, deals with classification, habit, habitat, and criteria for identification. All taxa are fully described and drawn, 32 species are figured in colour, and a key for the European species, including the related taxa Coscinodon and Hygrogrimmia is given. During the course of the study, it was found that 30% of the herbarium specimens appeared to be misidentified. Therefore, this work will be very useful in identification of the European species, and so an essential aid for all bryologists.