Suggestions for a New Familial Classification of Pleurocarpous Mosses

Summary Based on correlated gametophytic and sporophytic characteristics, 57 families of pleurocarpous mosses are classified in four orders. Four new families are recognized. Five families are segregated into a new suborder of the Bryales, the Rhizogoniineae. The remaining 52 families are arranged in three orders. Suborders and superfamilies are used to reflect the proposed phytogeny. A standardized ending for superfamilies, ‐acanae, is proposed. Each family is discussed, light microscope and scanning electron micrographs are provided to illustrate salient structural features, and cladograms are presented to summarize the classification.