Diversity and Endemism

With about 850 accepted species of liverworts and hornworts (720 in Colombia, 705 in Ecuador) and an endemism rate of about 10 percent, Colombia and Ecuador count among the most speciose regions on Earth. Almost 40 percent of the species belong to a single family, Lejeuneaceae, which shows enormous diversification in the area with about 325 species in 48 genera. Other important families are Lepidoziaceae (66 spp.), Plagiochilaceae (65 spp.), and Frullaniaceae (54 spp.) (Table 1). Lejeunea is the largest genus with 66 species, followed by Plagiochila (65 spp.).