XVI International Botanical Congess

The regular study of mosses in Armenia as a component of the vegetable kingdom began in 1964. Since that time we have found about 380 species and subspecies of 135 genera, 40 families, and 14 orders. As the nature in Armenia is very complicated they are distributed irregularly on the territory of the Republic: extreme continental climate, and very big amplitude of altitude: from 450 to4,000m above sea level. Diversity of vegetable formation, from semidesert to alpine, is affected on mosses composition of those plant communities. The largest variety is observed in the middle mountain belt especially in the forest zone. The role and participation of mosses in the formation of vegetable cenoses are also examined.122 rare for Armenia, the Caucasus, and the former USSR species of mosses,the basic area of which are placed in Eurasia have been revealed.Possible ways of genesis of these rare for Armenia and the Caucasus species are also discussed.