The friendly islands – Checklist of hornworts and liverworts of Tonga

Abstract

The fi rst checklist of hornworts and liverworts is provided for Tonga. Geographic coverage includes the islands Ha’apai, Niua, Tongatapu, Vava’u, and surrounding smaller islands. It is apparent that there remain many localities in Tonga, including entire islands, which have never or scarcely been collected for this group of plants. We report three hornwort and 47 liverwort taxa. Two additional liverwort taxa previously reported from Tonga are noted as doubtful records. The list is based on over 35 literature references from over 5000 papers that the ELPT project has processed so far, including monographs and regional studies. New records will undoubtedly be reported, based on regionally widespread species that have been recorded elsewhere, especially nearby Fiji and Samoa. It is clear Tonga has received negligible attention, and almost no publications exist that have focused solely on this group of islands. The current checklist is part of a broader study producing checklists for islands across the South Pacifi c, which we hope will foster and encourage research of liverworts and hornworts in this globally important biodiversity hotspot.