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The Moss Flora of China Welcome | About the Project | About the Checklist Checklist of Chinese Mosses | References | Guide for Contributors Moss Flora of China (English Version) Project Guide for Contributors II. Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers Purpose of the guidelines 1.1 The purpose of these guidelines is to help authors, reviewers, and editors to achieve overall consistency within a specific manuscript or between manuscripts prepared for the publication of the Moss Flora of China (English version). Scope and sources of treatments 2.1 Treatments in the Flora should be synoptic, not monographic. Manuscripts should be based on existing literature, herbarium specimens, and author's research experience. Authors are encouraged to borrow as many specimens as possible from at least the following five major Chinese herbaria (Institute of Botany, Beijing; East China Normal University, Shanghai; South China Institute of Botany, Guangzhou; Kunming Institute of Botany; Institute of Applied Ecology, Shenyang). Chinese types and Chinese moss collections deposited in western herbaria should also be consulted. Examination of these collections can be arranged by western co-authors, inter-herbarium loans or by visits to appropriate western herbaria, if possible. Rationale 3.1 The goal of this project is to produce a floristic treatment that is acceptable to the majority of taxonomists and useful to the greatest number of users. Therefore, taxonomic decisions about circumscription and rank of a taxon should promote nomenclatural stability. At the same time, treatments should also reflect present knowledge of the taxa throughout their range worldwide. The classifications should be based on all available evidence and a careful analysis of published literature. For problematic taxa, authors should provide best of their interpretation, and mention other treatments with appropriate references in the discussion section. 3.2 Authors are encouraged to publish their results separately in recognized journals before the pertinent volume of the Flora is published. Submission of manuscript 4.1 Authors are encouraged to submit both hardcopy (printed copy) and computer diskette of the manuscripts to the editorial center for processing. (Diskette will be returned upon request of the author). 4.2 The hardcopy should be printed on one side and double-space only. Maintain at least 25 mm (1 inch) margins and use 10 or 12 point fonts. Italicize Roman letters and foreign words, including collector's names and numbers. Do not use right-justified margin and proportional spacing. Start each generic description at the top of a new page. 4.3 Submitted diskettes should be IBM PC-compatible or Macintosh formatted. Label diskette with computer type, word-processing program and version, and file names, e.g.: IBM, WordPerfect 6.0, BRYUM.WP6. Arrangement of taxa 5.1 The sequence of familial arrangements in the eight-volume printed Flora is more or less phylogenetic and roughly follows the Brotherus system (1924-1925). The basic arrangements of major families will be similar to that of P.-C. Chen as outlined in his books entitled Genera Muscorum Sinicorum, part I & II, Science Press, Beijing (1963, 1978). However, the circumscription of some families will reflect the present understanding of the groups or with modifications to be suggested by the editorial committee, if necessary. The sequence of genera and species within a family will be arranged alphabetically for ease of use. Authorship 6.1 The author(s) of a family treatment in formal published volumes of the Flora will be the same individual(s) of any other separate English publications on the same family published before. Keys to taxa 7.1 Keys will be provided for all accepted taxa in the Flora. A Key to genera will be placed directly after the family description. Likewise, a key to species will be placed directly after the generic description and discussion, and a key to infraspecific taxa will be directly after the specific description and discussion. 7.2 All keys will be dichotomous, indented in pairs, and in general, artificial. The halves of each dichotomy should be unambiguous and contrasting. The order of characters in each leaf of a couplet should be the same and proceed from diagnostically important to less important. All features mentioned in first half of a couplet must be contrasted in the second. Polychotomies will not be accepted. If the two halves of a dichotomous key have an unequal number of taxa, the lead including fewer taxa should be listed first. 7.3 Use of geography in the keys should be minimized and unambiguous. Geography is not to be the main distinction in a couplet; generally it is the last "characteristic" if it is used. 7.4 Number species according to taxonomic sequence in the text, not according to the order in the keys. Taxonomic treatment 8.1 Treatments should be diagnostic, descriptive, and succinct. Descriptions should confirm identifications made with keys and repeat in descriptions all characteristics that are used in the keys. Descriptions of all taxa within a rank should be made directly comparable (parallel). For example, within a genus, if pseudoparaphyllia is mentioned for one species, it must be mentioned for all other species in that genus. 8.2 Taxonomic treatments will be from the level of family down to species or infraspecific taxa. Since the taxonomic account is not intended to be monographic, any intermediate categories above the specific level (e.g., subfamily, subgenus, section, and subsection) are not encouraged. 8.3 Characters that are always present at a higher level should not be repeated in the descriptions for taxa at lower levels. Important characteristics that occur outside Chinese Flora area should be given in Brackets [ ]. In general, the treatment at each level will be as follows: Families- The family names provided with no authority and bibliographic citations will be followed by its Chinese characters and its Hanyu Pinyin in parentheses. The author's name(s) of a familial treatment will appear just below the next line and will be centered. A concise morphologic description of not more than 150 words will be imposed, plus a statement concerning the total number of genera in the world and the number of genera accepted for China. Additional statements on unique features or peculiar pattern of distribution of a family may be added. Normally, the description of a family should be shorter than any of its included generic descriptions; and the description of a genus shorter than species description, specially for a monotypic genus. Genera- The name of a genus will be followed by its authority and its Chinese name with its Hanyu Pinyin in parentheses. Type species, bibliographic citation, and synonymy should not be listed unless the type or the generic synonym is Chinese taxa. The author of a generic treatment, if different from the family, will be given and flushed right. A concise generic description and the number of species in the genus from the world and China will be provided. Comments on the history, taxonomy, diagnostic characters, and nomenclatural problems of difficult or controversial genera may be added. Species- The name of a species will be followed by its authority, its bibliographic citation, and its Chinese name with the Hanyu Pinyin in parentheses. Only Asiatic synonymy and type information of the Chinese taxa will be given. For each species, the species description, new illustrations (or reference to previously published illustrations), habitat information and other ecological data, distribution, and listing of selected Chinese specimens examined will be given. Taxonomic comments on species identity and notes on medical and economic uses in China are welcome additions. Subspecies and varieties, if accepted, will be treated essentially the same way as species, but it will be provided with much shorter descriptions. New combinations, new names and new taxa 9.1 New combinations, new synonyms, and new taxa will be included in the Moss Flora of China (English version). The same information is encouraged to be published separately by the authors of the treatment in an appropriate journal prior to their uses in the flora. When this information is published separately, acknowledgement of this project and acquisition of a project publication serial number are required. 9.2 The holotype of a new species will be deposited in an appropriate Chinese herbarium, with isotypes distributed in the related western herbaria unless a discovered type specimen belongs to a western herbarium. In latter case, whenever is possible, an isotype or paratype (if any) should be arranged to be deposited in a major Chinese herbarium. Citation of literature in the text 10.1 Only original literature mentioned in the text will be listed in the literature cited section. Auxiliary literature mentioned in the nomenclatural bibliographic section of the text needs not be cited. Measurements 11.1 All measurements are metric. For dimensional measurements, if both length and width are desired, the measurements are given as length times width (e.g., stem leaves 5.0 mm x 2.5 mm). In case of discontinuous states found in a measurement beyond the normal range of a taxon, such as an extreme measurement of leaf length, the use of parentheses to indicate this state is recommended [e.g., leaves 2-5(-10) mm long]. Descriptions 12.1 Descriptions and keys to all taxa should be based on actual Chinese specimens examined. They should not be taken from the literature unless the structure concerned is not available in Chinese material. Under this circumstance the description of the missing structure in the Flora may be based on non-Chinese material or quoted from other sources. When discrepancies between Chinese specimens and reports from literature occur, the observation should be mentioned in a brief discussion after the concerned taxon. 12.2 Descriptions of family, genus and species should be as concise as possible, but they must include all essential characters. Remember, taxonomic treatments in this Flora should not be monographic in extent. A key diagnostic description at any generic or specific rank must be parallel for all taxa at the same rank (i.e., an attribute mentioned for one species, like papillae of leaf cells, should be discussed for all other species within the same genus). Efforts should be made to avoid contradictions in characters used in the descriptions and in the keys. 12.3 If a species has more than one infraspecific taxon in China, there will be a full description of the species followed by diagnostic statements of each infraspecific taxon. If the infraspecific taxon of a species occurring in China is not the autonym, there will be no description under the species, but a full description will be provided under the infraspecific taxon. Any species that has yet been found from China, but has a possibility of occurring in the country based on assumption, e.g., through a phytogeographic analysis, can be mentioned in the discussion without a full description. 12.4 Descriptions at any taxonomic rank will follow a conventional order from gross morphology to cellular details. The format should be kept consistent throughout the manuscripts (i.e., plant habit, stems, leaves, costae, leaf cells, sexuality, perigonia, perichaetia, asexual propagules, setae, capsules, peristome, opercula, spores, and calyptrae). Each major part of a description will be separated by a period into sentences, with semicolons used to separate subparts within the sentence. The following are the suggested characters of mosses, and their order to be described: Plants- size, habit, and color. Stems- size, branching pattern, cross section, central strand, rhizoids, axillary hairs, paraphyllia, and pseudoparaphyllia. Leaves- secondary stem and branch leaves, arrangement, stature when dry and moist, shape, texture, size, apex, base, margin, serration, and foliar gemmae. Costae- number, length, ventral and dorsal surfaces, cross section, guide cells, and stereid band. Leaf cells- upper, median, basal cells, color, areolation, length and width, wall thickness and structure, porosity, surface ornamentation (e.g., papilla or mammilla); marginal cells, border differentiation; alar cells, color, size, arrangement, and wall conditions. Asexual reproduction- gemmae, brood bodies, and rhizoidal tubers. Sexuality- type of sex (autoicous, dioicous, synoicous, etc.). Perigonia- position and perigonial leaf morphology. Perichaetia- position, perichaetial leaf morphology, and paraphyses. Setae- length, color, and ornamentation. Capsules- position, exsertion, orientation, shape, size, ornamentation, urn, neck differentiation, exothecial cells, and stomata morphology. Annuli- degree of differentiation, size, inflation, and structure. Opercula- shape, length, and ornamentation. Peristome- type, color, orientation when dry and moist, exostomial surface structure and endostomial structure, and cilia. Spores- shape, size, color, and ornamentation. Calyptrae- shape, length, lobbing base and ornamentation. 12.5 Bryological terminology will follow Glossarium Polyglottum Bryologiae (ed. R. Magill, 1990; Missouri Botanical Garden publication). Chinese names of mosses 13.1 Each recognized taxon in the Moss Flora of China (English version) should have only one Chinese name in characters followed by its corresponding transliteration in Hanyu Pinyin. To keep consistency and to avoid confusions, the Chinese names of mosses in the English version should be the same as those used in the Chinese version of the same flora or other published Chinese references. An index of Chinese names of mosses according to their Hanyu Pinyin and their corresponding Latin scientific names given inside the parentheses will be prepared and included as an appendix to each volume. Author citations 14.1 Abbreviations for author's name(s) in a binomial way will follow mainly Sayer et al. (The Bryologist 67: 113-135, 1964) except for names that are not included in this publication. Under this case, decisions to formulate the citations will be made by the editorial committee. 14.2 The alphabetized spelling of the names of modern Chinese authors and collectors should be based on the Hanyu Pinyin system, with the old spelling, if any, placed inside parentheses to avoid confusions [e.g., Manxiang Zhang (Manshiang Chang)]. The Chinese author(s) of a scientific name, however, are spelled exactly the same as they appeared behind the scientific name in the protologue of the original publication. 14.3 A Chinese author's name is in an order of the given name followed by family name. The given name of a Chinese botanist can be shortened to two initials of its Hanyu Pinyin spelling with a hyphen in between for literature citation, and it should be spelled out completely without a hyphen in the title pages (i.e., M.-X. Zhang, or Manxiang Zhang, not Manshiang Chang, M.-S. Chang, or M. S. Chang). 14.4 The editorial committee may choose the old alphabetized spelling rather than its conventional usage for a Chinese author's name when there is an established history of this old usage in East Asian botanical literature. Citation of journals and books 15.1 Periodical abbreviations will follow Bridson's Botanico- Periodicum-Huntianum/ Supplementum (BPH) (Pittsburgh; Hunt Institute, 1991). The book abbreviations will follow Stafleu & Cowan's Taxonomic Literature, ed.2 (TL-2) (Utrecht, Bohn, Scheltrema & Holkema, 1976), but the convention for capitalization will be consistent with BPH. In case of uncertainty as to what abbreviations should be used, the questions will be decided on a case by case basis by the editorial committee. Range/distribution/map 16.1 For species range outside China, a country's name will be the smallest unit to be cited. A mountain range, like the Himalayas, which traverses more than one country, may be mentioned as a unit without listing the names of the countries included. For a widely distributed taxon, a more general description, such as Circumboreal, Eurasia, Pacific Islands, and Old World Tropics can be used. 16.2 Names of rivers, mountains, or islands within the Chinese border will follow the Chinese usage, with an English translation of the Chinese meaning, if used, placed inside the parenthesis [e.g., Heilong River, Heilong Jiang, or Heilongjiang (River), but not Heilongjiang River or Amur River; Mt. Changbai, Changbai Shan or Changbaishan (Mt.), but not Mt. Changbaishan]. 16.3 The names of Chinese places will be the recent standard names that are spelled out according to Gazetteer of China- An index to the Atlas of the People's Republic of China, Map Press, Beijing printed in 1983 (i.e., "Beijing" not "Peking", "Jinghong" not "Cheli", and "Youyiguang" not "Zhengnanguang"). 16.4 Official spelling of the names of Chinese provinces and autonomous regions are listed alphabetically as follows: Anhui, Beijing, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Menggu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanghai, Shanxi, Shangdong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Tianjin, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. 16.5 When the distribution of a taxon is extensive in China, a more generalized regional term can be used, such as "East China", "SW China", or "throughout China except Xinjiang". In any discussion in the text, as much as possible, authors should try to avoid enumerating names of provinces from where a taxon is collected. The same provincial information can be found in the section of representative Chinese specimens cited. 16.6 When the distribution of a taxon is found only from a locality in one province of China or is found to be localized in a mountain range, a more specific geographical description can be used in listing the distribution in China, such as "SW Guangdong", "northern Zhejinag" or "Jiangxi (Lu Shan)". 16.7 Distribution maps may be included using the China base map provided to authors by the project center. Substituted maps are unacceptable because camera-ready maps will be developed directly from computer scans of distributions drawn by authors on provided maps. No more than three taxa should be included in a single distribution map. Use "dot method", instead of the "outline method" to show the range of distribution. Label maps with the species name(s) and the sequence number(s) of the taxa within the genus. All dotted maps should have legends for the species symbols that are explained on a separate page. Citation of Chinese specimens 17.1 Citations of Chinese specimens examined must be concise. Geographic names are arranged in the order of decreasing political magnitude. Representative specimens are first listed alphabetically by provincial names in capital letters preceded by a hyphen mark and followed by a colon mark. This will be followed by the names of regional district or city and ended with county's name (Xian) as the smallest unit within a respective province. The terms "province" and "city" need not be cited after the provincial and city's names. The term "county" should be abbreviated as "Co." after the county's names. Names of small town, village or commune should not be listed under their respective county unless a taxon is highly restricted to a locality and a detailed account on distribution is desirable. Under such a case, a more exact information of the locality can be mentioned (e.g., -HUBEI: Donda, Lichuan Co., Red Star Commune). 17.2 Each specimen citation should be in the following strict order: province (autonomous city), county, collector's family name (or with abbreviated given names preceded by family names to specify Chinese collectors), collection number (or the date of collection if no number; use "s.n." symbol, if no number and no year is available), and ended with the herbarium acronyms. 17.3 For any species, there should be only one specimen cited from each county or from each of the geographical locality listed, such as a mountain and a nature reserve. When dealing with a widely distributed species in China, specimens from two counties may be cited within a province. Ideally, the specimens cited will be selected from the counties with distance, e.g., one is located in the most northern part and the other in the most southern part of the province; or one is located in the most eastern part and the other in the most western part of the province. Illustrations 18.1 Each genus should be illustrated fully by at least one species, with the remaining species of the genus being shown by their respective diagnostic characters. All illustrations should be done with waterproof black ink on white drawing paper, on tracing paper or on bristol board. Lines should be clear enough to withstand reduction. It is advisable not to crowd full drawings of more than two species into a single plate illustrations. Also, avoid placing drawings of species of unrelated genera on the same plate. Line scales must appear on the plate to indicate size and magnification. All plates should be numbered in Arabic. The included figures on each plate should be identified with a letter (e.g., Plate 1a-g or Plate 2a-e). 18.2 Legend(s) should be submitted on separate sheets together with the illustration(s). It should begin with the plate number followed by the inclusive figure letters, the name of a taxon, and the information of voucher specimen placed inside a parenthesis. For example, Plate 1a-e. Trematodon longicollis (Xinjing, Wu 350, PE). -a. Plant habit; -b. Stem cross-section; -c. Leaf cells; -d. Capsule; -e. Peristome. 18.3 All drawings must be original and they are not taken from illustrations of published floras or references. If no new illustrations are provided for a species, references to previously published illustrations, especially to those published in the Bryophyte Flora of China (Chinese version) should be cited after the species discussion section. 18.4 All Chinese endemics and new taxa described in the Flora should be fully illustrated. Authors are encouraged to provide illustrations of East Asiatic taxa that are of taxonomic importance. Optional miscellanies 19.1 Chromosome numbers that are not based on Chinese material need not be reported for a species under discussion. However, information on the biology of a threatened species or on the status of an endangered taxon is welcome. Related literature 20.1 Since the checklist of mosses of China being prepared by Paul L. Redfearn, Jr., et al. (1994 & 1995 versions) is the most comprehensive account of the names of Chinese mosses, contributors should consult the names of all relevant species, subspecies and varieties listed in this checklist. This checklist regularly updates the nomenclature of previously published names. The revised version of the checklist will be in press in 1995. Those names that are not being accepted for the Moss Flora of China (English version) should appear in synonymy or in discussion. 20.2 Authors are expected to check the following major floristic works published in Chinese. Contributors are also responsible for the recent literature related to their groups. Chen, P.-C. et al. 1963. Genera Muscorum Sinicorum, Pars Prima. Science Press, Beijing. Chen, P.-C. et al 1978. Genera Muscorum Sinicorum, Pars Secunda. Science Press, Beijing. Institute of Forestry and Pedology, Academia Sinica. 1977. Flora of Muscorum China Boreali-Orientalis. Science Press, Beijing. Li, X.-J. (ed.). 1985. Bryoflora of Xizang (Tibet). Science Press. Beijing. Redfearn, P. L., Jr. 1994. List of Mosses of China. 245 + 11 + 26 + 55 pp. Ozarks Regional Herbarium, Springfield, Missouri. Zhang, M.-X. 1978. Bryophyta Flora Tsinlingensis. vol. 3, Part 1. Science Press, Beijing. << BACK TO GUIDE | TOP