Epiphytic bryoflora of the Atlas and Antiatlas Mountains, including a synthesis of the distribution of epiphytic bryophytes in Morocco.

The epiphytic bryoflora of the Atlas and Antiatlas Mountains is catalogued, resulting in a list of 65 taxa (63 mosses and 2 liverworts). Twenty-eight new records are reported: four are new to northern Africa, one is new to Morocco and 23 are regional novelties. In addition, a synthesis of the distribution of epiphytes in Morocco is presented, with distributional maps for the main taxa. Five groups of taxa have been established on the basis of their distribution: widely distributed taxa, Rif taxa, Rif and Middle Atlas taxa, Atlas taxa and taxa with localized occurrences. From these distributional patterns, it can be inferred that the occurrence of epiphytic bryophytes is mostly influenced by climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]