Bryophyte flora of the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. LXVI. Meesiaceae (Musci), with lists of boreal to temperate disjunct, bipolar, and widely spread species in New Guinea

Meesia triquetra (Richter) Angstr. is the only species of the family Meesiaceae occurring in Western Melanesia and New Guinea. Two collections are from high elevation wetland areas, where the plant presumably has a similar habitat ecology on wet soils as in its northern localities. Documented list of boreal to temperate northern hemisphere bryophyte species having disjunct occurrences in New Guinea, list of bipolar species, and list of widely distributed species are presented. Most of disjunct species and bipolar species are either plants of high elevation open and rocky habitats or wetland habitats such as shore meadows or bogs in New Guinea. Widely distributed species occur either in habitats created by man's activities, or are plants of open or shaded rocky habitats, preferably cliffs.