459 Nova Hedwigia Vol. 91 issue 3–4, 459–469 Stuttgart, November 2010 Article © 2010 J. Cramer in Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany www.borntraeger-cramer.de DOI: 10.1127/0029-5035/2010/0091-0459 0029-5035/2010/0091-0459 $ 2.75 Range extensions of Prasanthus suecicus (Gymnomitriaceae, Marchantiophyta), with a review of its global distribution Jir ˇ í Ván ˇ a 1 , David G. Long 2 , Ryszard Ochyra 3 , Halina Bednarek-Ochyra 3 , Beata Cykowska 3 and Valdon R. Smith 4 1 Department of Botany, Charles University, Faculty of Science, Benátská 2, CZ-128 01 Praha 2, Czech Republic 2 Bryology Section, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, United Kingdom 3 Laboratory of Bryology, Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland 4 Department of Botany, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa Váňa, J., D.G. Long, R. Ochyra, H. Bednarek-Ochyra, B. Cykowska & V.R. Smith (2010): Range extensions of Prasanthus suecicus (Gymnomitriaceae, Marchantiophyta), with a review of its global distribution. – Nova Hedwigia 91: 459–469. Abstract: Prasanthus suecicus is recorded for the first time from Sikkim and Nepal in the Himalayas, Yunnan Province in China in Asia, and from Subantarctic Prince Edward Island in the South Indian Ocean. Details of new localities are provided and the plants from the Southern Hemisphere are illustrated. The global distribution of the species is reviewed and mapped. Prasanthus suecicus is now considered a bipolar species with a highly dissected Arctic-alpine range in the Northern Hemisphere. Key words: Asia, bipolar taxa, bryogeography, China, Marchantiophyta, Himalaya, liverworts, Nepal, Prince Edward Islands, Sikkim, Subantarctica. Introduction Prasanthus suecicus (Gottsche) Lindb. is a member of the family Gymnomitriaceae, readily recognised from other members of this family by having entire or shallowly emarginate leaves which are densely set on creeping shoots and giving them a julaceous appearance. It is an inconspicuous liverwort which is often overlooked because its greyish, compact and agglomerate stems resemble a thallus of a lichen rather than a bryophyte. Additionally, it occurs in altimontane and northern polar regions which were much undercollected in the nineteenth century. This is apparently the main reason for its relatively late discovery in July 1853 by R.F.Fristedt and Ch.Lovén on Helagsfjällen in Härjedalen Province, Central Sweden, and described only 18 years