Based on three molecular markers, the nuclearITS and the plastid rpl16 and trnL-trnF,the Swedish geographical distributions of the two cryptic species of the moss Hamatocaulis vernicosus (Mitt.) Hedenäsare evaluated. New sequences for all three markers were generated for 47 SSwedish samples; for two additional samples, the sequence for one marker couldbe generated. The aim was to cover as many occurrences of the species inprotected areas in S Sweden as possible. The geographical distributions of thenew samples and an additional 42 Swedish ones from an earlier study show thatthe southern cryptic species reaches northwards to N Uppland and the LakeSiljan area in Dalarna, whereas the northern cryptic species occurs in most ofSweden. In both the cryptic species of H.vernicsosus, haplotypes (approx. = ‘genotypes’) that are frequent in Swedenare also well represented in protected areas; of the four haplotypes that werefound only once, one is from a protected area.