(2956) Proposal to conserve the name Dicranaceae (Dicranales, Bryophyta)

(2956) Dicranaceae Schimp., Coroll. Bryol. Eur.: 11. 1 Aug 1856. Typus: Dicranum Hedw. The family Dicranaceae has been recognised in all major classifications of the mosses (Brotherus in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. I(3): 289. 1901; Brotherus in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., ed. 2, 10: 172. 1924; Vitt in Schuster, New Man. Bryology 2: 753. 1984; Buck & Goffinet in Shaw & Goffinet, Bryoph. Biol.: 99. 2000; Goffinet & Buck in Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 98: 234. 2004; Goffinet & al. in Goffinet & Shaw, Bryoph. Biol., ed. 2: 106. 2009). The name Dicranaceae is not directly threatened, but it will be if a proposal by Brinda & Fedosov (in Taxon 69: 1106. 2020) to conserve the name Rhabdoweisiaceae is accepted. The genera that are currently classified in the family Rhabdoweisiaceae (Buck & Goffinet, l.c.; Goffinet & Buck, l.c.; Goffinet & al., l.c.; Fedosov & al. in Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 195: 557. 2021) have traditionally been included in the family Dicranaceae (Brotherus, l.c. 1901, 1924; Vitt, l.c.). This more inclusive concept of Dicranaceae is not used in any modern classifications, but will hang around for a long time, for example in herbarium storage taxonomies, which are often based on the older classifications, and will always be of historical importance. Because family names that are conserved are conserved against all family names that are not themselves conserved, conserving the name Rhabdoweisiaceae will mean that, in the current situation, the more inclusive concept must be called Rhabdoweisiaceae. The fact that the name Dicranaceae is not conserved is currently blocking consideration of the proposal to conserve the name Rhabdoweisiaceae (Brinda & Fedosov, l.c.). We therefore propose to conserve the name Dicranaceae under the final clause of Art. 14.5 of the ICN (Turland & al. in Regnum Veg. 159. 2018). JCB, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9083-1235 VEF, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-6346 NK, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2224-6821