The origin of the German populations of Hilpertia velenovskyi (Pottiaceae, Bryopsida): inferences from variation in the nuclear ITS region

Hilpertia velenovskyi is a continental-subarctic moss species, with a range extending from Ellesmere Island over Canada, Siberia, Mongolia and China to Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The species is an element of cold loess steppes. Recently, H. velenovskyi was recorded as new from Eastern Germany in Saxony and in Western Germany in Rheinhessen. To clarify, whether the German populations are a result of recent spore dispersal or perhaps relicts from the last Ice Age, a molecular analysis of the nuclear ITS region has been undertaken. The results show a clear separation of the population from Rheinhessen from the other investigated populations, indicating a long isolation possibly since the last Ice Age or a recent spore long-distance dispersal. The population from Saxony clusters with populations from Hungary and Serbia and is thus part of a Central-European group.