Etymology

The genus is named in honour of the great 19th century English bryologist William Mitten. Mitten’s influence upon 19th century bryology is difficult to exaggerate. His most influential works were Musci Indiae Orientalis (1859b) and Musci Austro-Americani (1869). Mitten also published an important work on the mosses of N.Z. and Tasmania (1859a), a catalogue of Australian mosses (1882), and studied the mosses of many other parts of the world, including regions in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He also contributed the hepatic treatments in J.D. Hooker’s Flora Novae-Zelandiae and Flora Tasmaniae.

Fife, A.J. 2015: Mitteniaceae. In: Heenan, P.B.; Breitwieser, I.; Wilton, A.D. (ed.) Flora of New Zealand — Mosses. Fascicle 23. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.