Observations on the liverwort flora of the surroundings of Santiago, Central Chile

The Mediterranean liverwort flora of the surroundings of Santiago, Central Chile, has been little studied. This paper reports 21 species from the area, including one species new to Central Chile (Cephaloziella divaricata), 9 new to the Metropolitan region (Cephaloziella divaricata, Clevea spathysii, Fossombronia sp., Frullania pluricarinata, Lejeunea globosiflora, Leptoscyphus expansus, Lethocolea radicosa, Riccardia sp., Targionia hypophylla) and 6 new to Quillota province (Clasmatocolea vermicularis, Clevea spathysii, Gongylanthus dusenii, Lethocolea radicosa, Lunularia cruciata, Symphyogyna circinata). Taxonomic notes are provided on selected species of particular interest. Most of the species grow terrestrially; Frullania pluricarinata and Lejeunea globosiflora occur epiphytic on bark in dry Mediterranean forest. Riccia is the most species-rich genus in the area. Three Riccia species, R. crystallina, R. nigrella and R. trichocarpa, have characteristic disjunct ranges, occurring in Mediterranean and subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemisphere but not in the Tropics. Oil bodies are newly reported for the endemic Gongylanthus dusenii and Lejeunea globosiflora; the latter species is fully described and illustrated for the first time.