Reappraisal of the Hawaiian Glossadelphus (Symphyodontaceae)

Hawaiian mosses identified as members of the genus Glossadelphus by morphological features were examined using two molecular markers (ITS1&2 and trnL-F). Three species of Glossadelphus (G. acutifolius, G. chrysobasilaris, and G. limnobioides) as well as Phyllodon lingulatus and Ectropothecium zollingeri collected from Kauai Island, Hawaii Islands were included in this study. Our analyses showed that all samples of G. acutifolius, G. irroratus and G. limnobioides formed a monophyletic clade with Ectropothecium species. Present results confirmed the synonymy of G. baldwinii with Phyllodon lingulatus. In addition, Glossadelphus chrysobasilaris was revealed to be a member of the genus Symphyodon (Symphyodontaceae) and new combination, S. crhysobasilaris (Broth.) W.Kim & H.Akiyama is therefore proposed.