A Checklist and Census Catalogue of British and Irish Bryophytes

A Checklist and Census Catalogue of British and Irish Bryophytes (ISBN 0-9507639-7-7) is a A5 softback book produced in 1998 by the British Bryological Society. It attempts to present a complete picture of the vice-county distribution of bryophyte species in Britain and Ireland (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). Its compilers were T. L. Blockeel and D. G. Long.

An introduction outlines the history of distributional recording of bryophytes in Britain and Ireland and describes the approach to data collection and verification for the 1998 checklist. This is followed by a section giving an explanation of the vice-county recording system. A list of excluded taxa is given.

The bulk of the book (129 pages) consists of the census catalogue itself. This is presented as a list of taxa, in systematic order, with, for each taxon a list of the vice-counties in which it has been recorded. Vice-county numbers rather than names are used, in order to make efficient use of space. A distinction is made between two time-periods: (i) taxa recorded since 1950 and (ii) taxa which have not been recorded since 1950.

The most recent publication dealing with this subject prior to the 1998 work was the "Distribution of Bryopyhtes in the British Isles" by M. F. V. Corley and M. O. Hill, which was published in 1981.

The front cover of the book contains a pen-and-ink illustration of the Western Featherwort, "Plagiochila atlantica".

ee also

* "Atlas of the Bryophytes of Britain and Ireland"
* "Vice-county Census Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Great Britain"