Abstract
During recent fieldwork at 11 localities in the Central American country El Salvador, 116 specimens of mosses (Bryophyta) were collected. From these 69 species could be identified with certainty. Twenty-six species are new additions to the bryoflora of El Salvador. Among these, five species are either confirmed for Central America (Eucladium verticillatum) or new reports for Central America (Atrichum muelleri, Donrichardsia pringlei), Mesoamerica (Didymodon tectorum), or the Neotropics (Crumia latifolia), respectively. Another three species (Bryum erythroloma, Fissidens perfalcatus, Syntrichia fragilis) have previously been reported for a single country of Central America each. The total number of mosses reported for El Salvador now stands at 264 species. The results of this survey significantly expand the knowledge of El Salvador’s bryoflora, which has not been studied for the past 20 years and is still insufficiently known and undercollected. The current situation in El Salvador of biodiversity research in general, and bryology in particular, is discussed and compared with other Central American countries.