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Summary Introduction: For centuries, mosses have been used in traditional medicine due to their antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities. Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts obtained from 12 moss species: Brachythecium albicans, Bryum argenteum, Ceratodon purpureus, Dicranum scoparium, Dryptodon pulvinatus, Orthotrichum anomalum, Oxyrrhynchium hians, Plagiomnium undulatum, Polytrichum juniperinum, P. piliferum, Schistidium crassipilum, and Syntrichia ruralis. Methods: The antimicrobial activity of extracts was investigated against three Gram(+) bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes) and two Gram(-) bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae), using the agar disc-diffusion method. Results: The high activity against all investigated bacteria was determined for extracts of D. pulvinatus, P. undulatum, B. argenteum, S. crassipilum, O. anomalum (mean inhibition zone: 11.3-13.1 mm) and to a lesser extent in the case of D. scoparium (8.3 mm). Extracts from P. juniperinum and P. piliferum showed activity only against Gram-positive bacteria, with an inhibition zone from 7.3 to 9.7 mm. Four species: B. albicans, C. purpureus, O. hians, and S. ruralis had not antibacterial properties. Conclusions: The obtained results indicate that mosses could be a significant source of antibacterial agents. For the first time, we presented antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts from S. crassipilum and O. anomalum.

Reports are made on chromosomes in forty-six species from sixteen families of mosses. The plants were collected from all Austrian provinces, except the Tyrol and Vorarlberg, from Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Bavaria, and also from Hungary and Italy. In addition to number or numbers of chromosomes reported for each species, observations are made on chromosome morphology, staining characteristics and behavior in meiosis or mitosis. The lowest numbers yet found are reported forDicranum fuscescens, n=8, andTimmia bavarica, n=8+1 m. For the latter species the study was made from mitotic configurations, and offers evidence that m-chromosomes may be normal members of the gametophytic set. These investigations reveal for the first time m-chromosomes inDicranoweisia cirrata, Pottia lanceolata, Timmia bavarica, Orthotrichum pumilum, Homalothecium lutescens, Brachythecium velutinum, Rhyncostegium murale, Rhyncostegiella pumila, andHypnum cupressiforme. Although the generaBartramia andPlagiopus previously have been characterized by different numbers of chromosomes, n=8 and n=7 respectively, plants ofPlagiopus oederi from Carinthia and Moravia were found, however, to have n=8. One species,Isopterygium seligeri, and one variety,Orthotrichum anomalum var.saxatile, have not been studied previously.

Fifteen species and one variety of mosses are added to the checklist of Alaskan mosses. To the recent checklist of the mosses of Alaska by Worley and Iwatsuki (1970) can be added the following taxa which were inadvertently omitted. The majority were reported by Steere (1954, 1965) and were called to the authors' attention by Dr. G. R. Brassard. Each of the entries has been reported but a single time from the state with the exceptions of Andreaea rupestris var. alpestris, Brachythecium asperrimum, and Thamnobryum leibergii which are known from several records. Andreaea rupestris var. alpestris (Thed.) Sharp Anoectangium sendtnerianum B.S.G. (Steere, 1965) Brachythecium asperrimum (Mitt.) Sull. Desmatodon obtusifolius (Schwaegr.) Schimp. (Steere, 1965) Distichium hagenii Ryan ex Philib. (Steere, 1954) Ditrichum zonatum (Brid.) Kindb. (Schofield, 1968) Fissidens arcticus Bryhn (Steere, 1954) Grimmia plagiopodia Hedw. (Steere, 1965) Mielichhoferia mielichhoferi (Funck ex Hook.) Loeske (Schofield, 1959) Orthothecium strictum Lor. (Persson, 1946) Orthotrichum anomalum Hedw.(Williams, 1901) Seligeria campylopoda Kindb. (Steere, 1965) Seligeria diversifolia Lindb. (Steere, 1965) Seligeria pusilla ( Hedw.) B.S.G. (Steere, 1965) Tetradontium brownianum (Dicks.) Schwaegr. (Steere, 1965) Thamnobryum leibergii (Britt.) Nieuwl. These citations increase the total of taxa reported from the state to 617, in 151 genera. We thank Dr. G. R. Brassard for his critical scrutiny of our previous list. Work on the original checklist was supported by financial assistance from the National Research Council of Canada through Dr. W. B. Schofield.

The following corrections correspond to our recently published review article [1]. Figure 1, the note of true stomata should be placed to the left of the branchpoint for mosses and hornworts, as both groups possess stomata. Figure 2, Fig 2C is Orthotrichum anomalum. Full citations for images used in this figure are: (A) Edwards D, Kerp H, Hass H: Stomata in early land plants: an anatomical and ecophysiological approach.J Exp Bot 1998, 49(Suppl 1):255–278, reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. (B-C) Ligrone R, Duckett JG, Renzaglia KS: Major transitions in the evolution of early land plants: a bryological perspective.Ann Bot 2012, 109:851–871, reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. (D) de Leon MEM, Perez-Garcia B, Marquez-Guzman J, Mendoza-Ruiz A: Developmental gametophyte morphology of seven species of Thelypteris subg. Cyclosorus (Thelypteridaceae).Micron 2008, 39:1351–1362, reprinted by permission of Elsevier. (E) Kim KW, Lee S, Bae S, Kim P: 3d surface profiling and high resolution imaging for refining the florin rings and epicuticular wax crystals of Pinus koraiensis needles.Microsc Res Tech 2011, 74:1166–1173, reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons. (G) Koch K, Bhushan B, Barthlott W: Multifunctional surface structures of plants: an inspiration for biomimetics.Progress in Materials Science 2009, 54:137–178, reprinted by permission of Elsevier.