List of mosses of South Africa

This listing contains taxa of plants in the division Bryophyta, recorded from South Africa. Mosses, or the taxonomic division Bryophyta, are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to in height.

Mosses are commonly confused with hornworts, liverworts and lichens.Lichens of North America, Irwin M. Brodo, Ms. Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, , 2001 Mosses were formerly grouped with the hornworts and liverworts as "non-vascular" plants in the division "bryophytes", all of them having the haploid gametophyte generation as the dominant phase of the life cycle. This contrasts with the pattern in all vascular plants (seed plants and pteridophytes), where the diploid sporophyte generation is dominant. Lichens may superficially resemble mosses, and sometimes have common names that include the word "moss" (e.g., "reindeer moss" or "Iceland moss"), but they are not related to mosses. Mosses are now classified on their own as the division Bryophyta. There are approximately 12,000 species.

23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened. Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests.

The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants(33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta {cryptograms(408)).

Listing Abietinella abietina (Hedw.) M.Fleisch. indigenous Acaulon leucochaete I.G.Stone, indigenous Acaulon recurvatum Magill, endemic Acaulon rufochaete Magill Acaulonopsis eureka R.H.Zander & Hedd. endemic Acaulonopsis fynbosensis R.H.Zander & Hedd. indigenous Aerobryopsis capensis (Mull.Hal.) M.Fleisch. indigenous Algaria nataliei Hedd. & R.H.Zander, endemic Aloina bifrons (De Not.) Delgad. indigenous Amphidium lapponicum (Hedw.) Schimp. indigenous Amphidium tortuosum (Hornsch.) Cufod. indigenous Anacolia breutelii (Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Magill indigenous Anacolia breutelii (Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Magill var. breutelii indigenous Anacolia breutelii (Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Magill var. squarrifolia (Sim) Magill indigenous Andreaea acutifolia Hook.f. & Wilson, indigenous Andreaea alpina Hedw. indigenous Andreaea bistratosa Magill, indigenous Andreaea nitida Hook.f. & Wilson, indigenous Andreaea rupestris Hedw. indigenous Andreaea subulata Harv. indigenous Anoectangium wilmsianum (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Anomobryum drakensbergense Van Rooy, indigenous Anomobryum julaceum (Schrad. ex G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Schreb.) Schimp. indigenous Anomodon pseudotristis (Mull.Hal.) Kindb. indigenous Aongstroemia filiformis (P.Beauv.) Wijk & Margad. indigenous Aongstroemia julacea (Hook.) Mitt. indigenous Archidium acanthophyllum Snider, indigenous Archidium amplexicaule Mull.Hal. indigenous Archidium andersonianum Snider, endemic Archidium capense Hornsch. indigenous Archidium julicaule Mull.Hal. indigenous Archidium microthecium Dixon & P.de la Varde, indigenous Archidium muellerianum Snider, indigenous Archidium ohioense Schimp. ex Mull.Hal. indigenous Archidium rehmannii Mitt. indigenous Archidium subulatum Mull.Hal. indigenous Astomiopsis magilliana Snider, K.L.Yip & J.R.Clark, endemic Atractylocarpus madagascariensis (Ther.) Padberg & J.-P.Frahm, indigenous Atrichum androgynum (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Aulacopilum trichophyllum Angstr. indigenous Barbula bolleana (Mull.Hal.) Broth. indigenous Barbula calycina Schwagr. indigenous Barbula convoluta Hedw. indigenous Barbula eubryum Mull.Hal. indigenous Barbula indica (Hook.) Spreng. indigenous Barbula microcalycina Magill, indigenous Barbula unguiculata Hedw. indigenous Bartramia aristaria Mull.Hal. indigenous Bartramia capensis (R.Br.) Wijk & Margad. indigenous Bartramia compacta Hornsch. indigenous Bartramia compacta Hornsch. var. compacta, indigenous Bartramia compacta Hornsch. var. macowaniana (Mull.Hal.) Magill, endemic Bartramia hampeana Mull.Hal. indigenous Brachymenium acuminatum Harv. indigenous Brachymenium chilense Ochi & Mahu, indigenous Brachymenium dicranoides (Hornsch.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Brachymenium leptophyllum (Bruch & Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Bruch & Schimp. ex A.Jaeger, indigenous Brachymenium nepalense Hook. indigenous Brachymenium pulchrum Hook. indigenous Brachymenium systylium (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Brachythecium implicatum (Hornsch. ex Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Brachythecium pinnatum Dixon, endemic Brachythecium plumosum (Hedw.) Schimp. indigenous Brachythecium populeum (Hedw.) Schimp. indigenous Brachythecium pseudopopuleum (Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Schimp. endemic Brachythecium pseudovelutinum (Hampe ex Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, endemic Brachythecium ruderale (Brid.) W.R.Buck, indigenous Brachythecium salebrosum (Hoffm. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr) Schimp. indigenous Brachythecium subrutabulum (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Braunia secunda (Hook.) Bruch & Schimp. indigenous Breutelia diffracta Mitt. indigenous Breutelia elliptica Magill, endemic Breutelia microdonta (Mitt.) Broth. indigenous Breutelia substricta (Schimp.) Magill, indigenous Breutelia tabularis Dixon, endemic Brothera leana (Sull.) Mull.Hal. indigenous Bruchia brevipes Harv. ex Hook. indigenous Bruchia eckloniana Mull.Hal. indigenous Bryobartramia schelpei Hedd. indigenous Bryoerythrophyllum campylocarpum (Mull.Hal.) H.A.Crum, indigenous Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum (Hedw.) P.C.Chen, indigenous Bryum alpinum Huds. ex With. indigenous Bryum andicola Hook. indigenous Bryum apiculatum Schwagr. indigenous Bryum argenteum Hedw. indigenous Bryum aubertii (Schwagr.) Brid. indigenous Bryum caespiticium Hedw. indigenous Bryum canariense Brid. indigenous Bryum capillare Hedw. indigenous Bryum cellulare Hook. indigenous Bryum dichotomum Hedw. indigenous Bryum donianum Grev. indigenous Bryum erythrocaulon (Schwagr.) Brid. indigenous Bryum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw.) G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb. indigenous Bryum pycnophyllum (Dixon) Mohamed, indigenous Bryum radiculosum Brid. indigenous Bryum rubens Mitt. indigenous Bryum ruderale Crundw. & Nyholm, indigenous Bryum subapiculatum Hampe, indigenous Bryum torquescens Bruch ex De Not. indigenous Bryum turbinatum (Hedw.) Turner, indigenous Bryum viguieri Ther. indigenous Bryum viridescens Welw. & Duby, indigenous Callicostella tristis (Mull.Hal.) Broth. indigenous Calymperes levyanum Besch. indigenous Calymperes pallidum Mitt. indigenous Calymperes tenerum Mull.Hal. indigenous Calyptrochaeta asplenioides (Brid.) Crosby, indigenous Campylopus acuminatus Mitt. indigenous Campylopus acuminatus Mitt. var. kirkii (Mitt.) J.-P.Frahm, indigenous Campylopus ampliretis (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus arctocarpus (Hornsch.) Mitt. indigenous Campylopus arctocarpus (Hornsch.) Mitt. subsp. madecassus (Besch.) J.-P.Frahm, indigenous Campylopus atroluteus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus aureonitens (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus bartramiaceus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus bequaertii Ther. & Naveau, indigenous Campylopus bewsii Sim, indigenous Campylopus bicolor (Hornsch. ex Mull.Hal.) Wilson subsp. atroluteus (Mull.Hal.) J.-P.Frahm, indigenous Campylopus cambouei Renauld & Cardot, indigenous Campylopus carolinae Grout, indigenous Campylopus catarractilis (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus chlorotrichus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus clavatus (R.Br.) Wilson, indigenous Campylopus controversus (Hampe) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus decaryi Ther. indigenous Campylopus delagoae (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus echinatus Rehmann ex Sim, indigenous Campylopus edwardsii Sim, indigenous Campylopus flaccidus Renauld & Cardot, indigenous Campylopus fragilis (Brid.) Bruch, Schimp. indigenous Campylopus griseolus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus hensii Renauld & Cardot, indigenous Campylopus hildebrandtii (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus inchangae (Rehmann ex Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus introflexus (Hedw.) Brid. indigenous Campylopus jamesonii (Hook.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus lepidophyllus (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus leptotrichaceus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus longescens (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus nanophyllus Mull.Hal. ex Broth. indigenous Campylopus nivalis (Brid.) Brid. indigenous Campylopus pallidus Hook. & Wilson, indigenous Campylopus perpusillus Mitt. indigenous Campylopus pilifer Brid. indigenous Campylopus pilifer Brid. var. pilifer, indigenous Campylopus pilifer Brid. var. simii (Schelpe) J.-P.Frahm & Hedd. endemic Campylopus praetermissus J.-P.Frahm, indigenous Campylopus procerus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus pseudobicolor Mull.Hal. ex Renauld & Cardot, indigenous Campylopus pseudojulaceus Sim, indigenous Campylopus pulvinatus (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous Campylopus purpurascens Lorentz, indigenous Campylopus pyriformis (F.W.Schultz) Brid. indigenous Campylopus robillardei Besch. indigenous Campylopus savannarum (Mull.Hal.) Mitt. indigenous Campylopus simii Schelpe, indigenous Campylopus stenopelma (Mull.Hal.) Rehmann ex Paris, indigenous Campylopus thwaitesii (Mitt.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Campylopus trichodes Lorentz, indigenous Campylopus vesticaulis Mitt. indigenous Cardotiella secunda (Mull.Hal.) Vitt, endemic Catagonium nitens (Brid.) Cardot, indigenous Catagonium nitens (Brid.) Cardot subsp. maritimum (Hook.) S.H.Lin, indigenous Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. indigenous Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. subsp. stenocarpus (Bruch & Schimp. ex Mull.Hal.) Dixon, indigenous Chamaebryum pottioides Ther. & Dixon, indigenous Cheilothela chilensis (Mont.) Broth. Chenia leptophylla (Mull.Hal.) R.H.Zander Chenia ruigtevleia Hedd. & R.H.Zander, indigenous Chrysoblastella chilensis (Mont.) Reimers, indigenous Chryso-hypnum cavifolium (Dixon) Ochyra & Sharp, indigenous Cladophascum gymnomitrioides (Dixon) Dixon, indigenous Codonoblepharon menziesii Schwagr. indigenous Codonoblepharon microtheca (Dixon ex Malta) Matcham & O'Shea, indigenous Conostomum pentastichum (Brid.) Lindb. indigenous Conostomum tetragonum (Hedw.) Lindb. indigenous Cratoneuron filicinum (Hedw.) Spruce, indigenous Crossidium apiculatum Magill, indigenous Crossidium karoo R.H.Zander & Hedd. indigenous Crossidium spiralifolium Magill, indigenous Cryphaea exigua (Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Cryphaea jamesonii N.P.Taylor, indigenous Cryphaea rutenbergii Mull.Hal. indigenous Cyclodictyon vallis-gratiae (Hampe ex Mull.Hal.) Kuntze, indigenous Cygnicollum immersum Fife & Magill, endemic Dicranella cardotii (R.Br.bis) Dixon, indigenous Dicranella hookeri (Mull.Hal.) Cardot, indigenous Dicranella rigida Dixon, endemic Dicranella subsubulata (Hampe ex Mull.Hal.) A.Jaeger, indigenous Dicranoloma billardieri (Brid.) Paris, indigenous Dicranoloma entabeniense Magill, endemic Dicranoweisia antarctica (Mull.Hal.) Paris, indigenous