Open Access

Cid José Passos Bastos, Belén Albertos, Silvana Brito Vilas Bôas

• The caatinga is a deciduous and xerophilous vegetation that covers large areas in Brazil. An irregular rainfall with a marked dry period is a characteristic feature. This paper represents the first contribution to the knowledge of the bryoflora from caatinga vegetation in the State of Bahia. The survey was carried out in several areas from Bahia in which eigthteen species of bryophytes were found (15 mosses and 3 liverworts). The bryoflora from caatinga is composed mainly of generalists and xerophilous taxa, but even some hygrophilous species can be found. A number of species including Hyophiladelphus agrarius, Hyophila involuta, Calymperes palisotii ssp. richardii, Bryum argenteum, Entodontopsis leucostega, Octoblepharum albidum, Frullania ericoides also occur in other vegetation types. However, there are a number of species restricted to this type of vegetation, such as Helicophyllum torquatum and Riccia vitalii, at least in Bahia. Most moss species were acrocarpous with erect and short (short-turf) growth-form, whereas the foliose hepaticae were of incubous, and thallose forms.