Aptychella robusta (Pylaisiadelphaceae) an epiphytic, gemmiferous moss- new to the bryoflora of India

We report the occurrence of an epiphytic, gemmiferous moss, Aptychella robusta (Pylaisiadelphaceae), as an addition to the bryoflora of India. The species was collected from the north-facing mesic site within the Oak forest in the Gairsain area of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. Earlier, the species was known only from East Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. As A. robusta shows a close morphological resemblance with A. planula, therefore, we amplified and sequenced its rbcL DNA-barcode region. Its comparison with the available rbcL sequences of A. robusta and A. planula on the NCBI database further validated the identity of the moss as A. robusta. The key morphological characteristics of this taxon and the rbcL amplicon have been given for future reference.