Bryophytic Diversity of Bouknadel's Exotic Gardens (Morocco): New Species

ABSTRACT

The Bouknadel’s Exotic gardens, created by French horticultural engineer Marcel François in 1951, are located on flat and bare ground between the cities of Kénitra and Salé at 13 km in the north of Rabat (Morocco). They occupy an area of 4.5 ha and are characterized by a microclimate with high level of relative humidity.Arborescent, shrubby and herbaceous species coming from various tropical countries have acclimatized very well in these gardens creating interesting artificial and different ecosystems. The aim of this study is to provide an exhaustive list of bryophyte species that have settled in these diversified environments. For this purpose, 25 surveys were carried out from 2014 to 2016 and have resulted in the identification of 30 species. The phylum mosses is represented by 27 taxa divided into 7 families and 17 genera and that of the Liverworts by only 3 species affiliated with 3 families and 3 genera. Comparison with previous work has shown the presence of a new species and a new variety for Morocco, namely Ptychostomum moravicum (Podp.) Ros & Mazimpaka and Ptychostomum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw.) JR Spense & HP Ramsay var. pseudotriquetrum. We also identified two new species for the region of Rabat: Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. and Tortella tortuosa (Hedw.) Limpr.The observations have shown that Ptychostomum capillare Hedw. is the most common species in these gardens followed by Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum, then Fissidens bryoides Hedw. Nearly 33% of the collected species belongs to the family of Pottiaceae, 20% to the family of Bryaceae, and almost 17% to the family of Brachytheciaceae.These plants settle mainly on rock faces or on wet soil, sometimes on tree trunks, and on the edges of ponds. The specific richness of bryophytes inside the Exotic gardens is considerably higher than outside the gardens because of the high level and permanent moisture that support the propagation of these nonvascular plants.

Keywords: Bryophytes, Liverworts, Mosses, biodiversity, Bouknadel’s Exotic gardens, Morocco.

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