bryophyte flora of thailand

The Flora of Thailand Project has been documenting the diversity of vascular plants in Thailand since 1963 and is producing a large volume of taxonomic knowledge that greatly facilitates other research in plant sciences in Thailand. Actually, the taxonomic treatments for all Thai embryophytes have been intended except for bryophytes due to the previous shortage of expertise on these plants in Thailand.

The study of the bryophytes of Thailand began between 1899 and 1900 when Danish botanist Johs. Schmidt collected numerous bryophytes in the Koh Chang Island (Brotherus 1901; Stephani 1902). Carl Hosseus, a German botanist, collected a handful of bryophytes in northern and northwestern Thailand between 1904 and 1905 (Brotherus 1911; Stephani 1911). During his 25 years stay in Thailand from the late 19th to the early 20th, A. F. G. Kerr carried out an extensive collecting of bryophytes throughout the country (Larsen 1979). Dixon (1924, 1926, 1929, 1932, 1935) reported about 300 species of mosses from Thailand. In contrast, after Stephani (1911) no liverworts were recorded for almost fifty years, until Giesy and Richards (1959) reported bryophytes based on collections made by P.W. Richards

From the late1950s to the early1970s it was the most active period of studying Thai bryophytes. Numerous joint botanical expeditions were undertaken by western and Japanese botanists with Thai counterparts. Several Thai-Danish expeditions were carried out between 1958 and 1970 by the team consisting of Ch. Charoenphol, B. Hansen, K. Larsen, T. Santisuk, T. Smitinand, T. Sorensen, and E. Warncke (Larsen 1979). Some of their collections of mosses were studied by Hansen (1961) and Noguchi (1972). The remaining unidentified moss collections (ca. 7,000 specimens) were recently studied at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO). These specimens provided a primary source for compiling the present checklist of mosses. During the same period (1950s-1970s) numerous botanical expeditions that collected bryophytes were also undertaken by Dutch, French, and Japanese botanists.

The first Thai bryologist was Prof. O. Thaithong who collaborated with Drs. S. Hattori and N. Kitagawa (Japan) in the identification of the liverwort specimens collected in Thailand during 1957-1977 in the framework of the botanical expeditions of Kyoto University, Rijksherbarium, Leiden, and Aarhus University (Hattori et al. 1977). In the past thirty years most of the work done by Thai bryologists have focused on the bryophytes of particular areas within the country (Sukkharak and Chantanaorrapint 2014).

The situation is changing. Since 2012, several young Thai bryologists have been actively working together to coordinate the efforts on taxonomic revisions of Thai bryophytes, as evident from a number of recent publications and an establishment of social network group among Thai Bryologists (e.g. Sukkharak and Chantanaorrapint 2014). Several of us are well established at our respective universities, and it is time for us to take responsibilities to publish the Bryophyte Flora of Thailand, naturally as part of the Flora of Thailand Project.

By participating in the Flora of Thailand through publications and training of younger generations of botanists, we are hoping to accelerate the taxonomic treatments of Thai bryophytes, as well as to increase awareness of this understudied, yet important group of plants.