Abstract: Based on plots investigation and literatures of the mossy dwarf forests, this study tried to determine their distribution in China, analyzed the species composition and floristic geographic elements of this kind of forests, and calculated the similarity among communities. The results showed that these communities scattered in a large areas of southern provinces as “islands” in China, with the northern boundary located in the Funiu Mountain in Henan Province. The distribution sites appeared to vary with threestep topography in China and altitude in every specific mountain. The floristic composition which included 16 species of Pteridophytes and 251 species of Spermatophytes was not complicated. The floristic arealtype elements were affected by tropical and subtropical flora,and also influenced by temperate. From east to west, significant differences was found to exist in mossy dwarf forest communities: in the east the similarity was higher while the richness 〖JP2〗was lower in the eastern and northern part. In view of the unique habitats and particular distribution of these communities, more attention should be paid to the protection of this type of ecosystem and further studies are needed.

Key words: distribution characteristics, plant geography features, mossy dwarf forest in China, distribution characteristics, plant geography features