China has about 2,500 species of mosses, about 20% of all the mosses known in the world, and has the richest and most diverse moss flora in the Northern Temperate Zone. Despite its size and diversity, there is little information about this flora available outside China. The Moss Flora of China is a collaborative international program organized by the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project will continue to publish the remaining volumes dealing with the basic, authoritative, and up to date information on the names, relationships, characteristics, and the geographical distribution of species. The project will eventually produce eight printed volumes, a hypertext version on CD-ROM, and a variety of on line computerized information services on the web.
