The moss flora of the Western
and Northern Palearctic includes 1667 species of 300 genera and 67 families.
The south-western half of Europe has the highest species diversity in this
area, and also more rich in endemics. Endemic species of the Western and Northern
Palearctic are 532, or 32.5% of total moss flora; this value seems inflated by
insufficiently known taxa, so the real species endemism can be evaluated at
about 20%. About a third of endemics have a relatively wide distribution.
Generic endemism is low, about 10-16 genera, all monotypic and a third of them
known from the type locality only. One family, Cinclidotaceae, with 1 genus and
8 species is subendemic for the Western and Northern Palearctic. Pottiaceae is
the largest family in this area; they include ca. 1/5 of its species diversity.