o, 



ur knowledge of West-African Musci is not of an ancient clate, being founcled chiefly 

 on collections, made in the last four decades and deseribed by K. Muller in Halle, 

 W. Mitten, J. E. Duby and V. F. Brotherus. The nuniber of mosses, derived from this 

 quarter, is eomparatively small, although the West of Africa has not seldom been visited 

 by botanists, among whom Fr. Welwitscii and G. Mann pursued their explorations with 

 great suceess and made eonsiderable collections. At the present moment, we scarcely 

 know more than the outlines of the mossvegetation of this region. It has been overlooked, 

 or, at any råte, little attended to, although, particularly in the Cameroons-territory and 

 the islands of the Bight of Biafra, it is uneommonly rich. 



The Swedish botanist A. Afzelius, wfoo visited Sierra Leone in 1792 and 1794, 

 was the iirst or one of the first to bring home mosses from the African West; but I 

 have not been able to ascertain, where his mosses are kept now. Only one, the Calym- 

 peres Afzelii, is deseribed by K. Muller. The specimens in the rich collections, which 

 were brought together by Fr. Welwitsch during his travels in 1854 — 186U, mostly in 

 the districts of Angola and Benguela, have been deseribed by J. E. Duby. * A valuable 

 contribution to West-African bryology was given by G. Mann by means of his explora- 

 tions of the vegetation of the Cameroons Mountain and the islands of the Bight of Biafra, 

 his mosses, together with some taken by Barter, having been deseribed by W. Mitten. 2 

 During his stay in the Island of St. Thomas in 1884 — 1885, A. Möller collected some 

 specimens, deseribed afterwards by K. Muller. ;! For another contribution to our know- 

 ledge of the mossvegetation af the same islands we are indebted to Fr. Quintas, whose 

 mosses were defined by V. F. Brotherus. 4 Smaller collections were also brought home 

 by the German Gazelle- expedition, by A. von Danckelmann, Peciiuél-Lösche, W. 

 Mönkemeyer, B. Rabenhorst and H. Sayoux, all of which K. Muller 5 has deseribed. 



1 Duby, J. E., Choix de cryptogames exotiques nouvelles ou pen coinnies. Mémoires de la Société de 

 Physique et d'histoire naturelle de Geneve. Torne 21. (1872). 



2 Mitten, W., Oa the Musci and Hepaticse from the Cameroons Mountain and from the River Niger. 

 Linn. Proc. — Botanv. Vol. VII. 



Muller, C, Bryologia insuhe S. Thomé Africse occid. tropicse. Flora. 69. Jahrgang (188G). 



4 Brotherus, V. F., Musci novi insularum Guiueensium. Bol. da Soc. Bröt, VIII. (1890). 



5 Muller, K., Die auf der Expedition S. M. S. 'Gazelle' von Dr Naumann gesammelten Laubmoose. 

 Englers Bot. Jahrb. 5. Band. (1884). — Muller, K., Beiträge zu einer Bryologie West-Afrikas. Flora. 69. 

 Jahrgang. (1886). 



