Racomitrium microcarpon Bridel, Br. Univ. i. 211. (omit- Grimmia (Dryptodon) microcarpa C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Hab. On exposed alpine rocks. Fr. April. Dioicous. Growing in loose grayish or lurid patches. Stems slender, decumbent and leafless at the base, dichotomously branched, with short ramuli. Leaves spreading, slightly recurved, erect and somewhat incurved when dry, scarcely crisped, not crowded, the upper ones white-tipped, margin reflexed, upper areola sinuosoquadrate. Fruitstalk 2-3 lines in length, slender, often slightly curved. Capsule small, oval, or elliptical-oblong, not cylindrical, pale brown. Lid shorter than the capsule, acutely conical. Annulus dehiscent. Teeth narrow-lanceolate, confluent at the base, bi-trifid, somewhat incurved when dry. We are not able to determine Trichostomum obtusum Smith, Fl. Brit. 1244., Dill. Musc. t. 47. f. 30., which, indeed, as Bridel justly remarks (Bryol. Univ. i. 193.), very little accords with Trichostomum patens, although the specimen in the Dillenian Herbarium has been repeatedly pronounced to be that moss by competent observers. Possibly Dillenius may have had in view Racomitrium heterostichum var. y. gracile of Bruch and Schimper, which has muticous leaves, and small oblong capsules, scarcely larger than those of R. sudeticum. According to a remark of Sir J. E. Smith, in Eng. Bot. t. 1901, Dillenius has confounded R. sudeticum with R. ellipticum, but no evidence of this is observable in the figures above cited. SECT. IL Stems irregularly branched; branches with lateral ramuli; innovations not fastigiate. RACOMITRIUM. A. Leaves without diaphanous points. 5. Racomitrium fasciculare Bridel (green mountain FringeMoss); stems elongated, dichotomously branched; branches with fasciculate short ramuli; leaves crowded, spreading, recurved or incurved, lanceolate, tapering, muticous, carinate, margin reflexed, areola elongated and sinuous; capsule elliptical; lid subulate; calyptra very papillose; teeth of the peristome long, slender, nodulose, bipartite; annulus large. (TAB. XIX.) R. fasciculare Bryol. Univ. i. 218. Bruch and Sch. Grimmia (R.) fascicularis C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Hab. On rocks. Fr. March. Growing in loose irregular patches of a light-green colour. Stems 1-2 inches long, decumbent, the innovations erect and somewhat fastigiate, bearing numerous short fasciculate ramuli. Leaves spreading from an erect base, variously curved, slightly crisped and erect when dry, narrow, lanceolate, tapering to a rather acute point, which is never white-tipped; all the areolæ very long, narrow, and sinuous; nerve very thin, scarcely prominent at the back; margin recurved. Perichætial leaves broader and of thinner texture. Capsule erect, narrowly elliptical, not oblong, brown, blackish when old, its walls thick, smooth when dry. Calyptra more copiously papillose all over than in the other species, usually falling with the lid, which is nearly as long as the capsule. Annulus large and dehiscent. Peristome red, teeth very slender, divided to the base, erect when dry. The muticous leaves and thick capsule distinguish this from R. microcarpon; it is sometimes confounded with varieties of R. heterostichum, from which it differs in the elliptical capsule, long slender teeth, and narrow sinuous areolation of the leaves. B. Leaves with diaphanous points. 6. Racomitrium heterostichum Bridel (bristly mountain FringeMoss); stems elongated, branches somewhat fasciculate; leaves erecto-patent, or subsecund, lanceolate, subplicate, tapering into diaphanous points, margin recurved; capsule subcylindrical, small-mouthed; calyptra papillose at the apex; lid shorter than the capsule, slightly oblique; teeth of the peristome short, irregularly cloven, slightly incurved when dry. (TAB. XIX.) R. heterostichum Bryol. Univ. i. 214. Br. and Sch. Monogr. p. 9. t. 2, 3. Grimmia (R.) fascicularis C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Trichostomum heterostichum Hedw. St. Cr. 2. t. 25. Bryum heterostichum Dicks. Dill. Musc. t. 47. f. 27. var. B. alopecurum; stems slender, elongated, branches fasciculate; leaves with short hair-points; capsule smaller. Racomitrium alopecurum Bridel, Br. Univ. i. 215. Trichostomum affine Schleich. Trichostomum saxatile Taylor in lit. (T. fasciculare var. var. 7. gracilescens; stems sparingly branched; leaves obtuse; capsule small, on a shorter pedicel. Dicranum aciculare var. d. pumilum Turn. Musc, Hib. p. 67.? Hab. On rocks and walls; B. and y. almost as frequent as the typical form in Ireland, Wales, and in several parts of England. Fr. Marcb. Growing in roundish hoary patches. Stems-14 inch long, decumbent at the base, sparingly branched, the branches often fasciculate, but less so than in R. fasciculare. Leaves crowded, spreading every way, or sometimes secund, erect when dry, lanceolate, tapering into a rather long silvery denticulate point, elsewhere (in the typical form) of a somewhat lurid green colour, carinate, margin recurved, areolæ in the upper part of the leaf subquadrate, elongated and sinuous below. Capsule subcylindrical, often somewhat clavate or widened above, brown, the mouth more contracted than in other species, its walls thick, smooth when dry. Calyptra papillose at the apex only, less dilated below than in the preceding species. Lid seldom above half the length of the capsule. Annulus reddish brown. Teeth of the peristome short, as in R. sudeticum, bifid, the divisions unequal and irregular, incurved when dry. Except as to the var. y., which is a miniature resemblance of R. protensum, this species may always be distinguished from R. fasciculare by its more or less white-tipped leaves, and by the subcylindrical narrow-mouthed capsule; additional characters are also found in the different areolation of the leaf, and in the small peristome. Var. y. differs from R. protensum in the smaller size of the plant, the short branches, less rigid leaves, pale and less defined nerve, and in the smaller peristome. The variety B., with a more slender habit and obscurely whitetipped less lurid leaves, is more apt to be mistaken for R. fasciculare than the typical form. It appears to grow in more moist and shady situations, and sometimes (as near Killarney, on the old road to Kenmare) grows in company with the var. 7., which, according to Bruch & Schimper, has the leaves occasionally white-tipped, and probably owes its characters, such as they are, to the more humid focality in which it vegetates. 7. Racomitrium microcarpon Bridel (small-fruited mountain Fringe-Moss); stems slender, fasciculate, with numerous short branches; leaves spreading, recurved or falcato-secund, lanceolate-tapering, with short diaphanous points, carinate; fruitstalk short; capsule small, oblong; teeth of the peristome short. (TAB. LXI.) R. microcarpon Bridel, Br. Univ. i. 211. (partly). Bryol. Grimmia (Dryptodon) microcarpa C. Müller. Syn. Musc. Hab. Highlands (according to a specimen so marked in Herb. Hooker.) About the size of R. sudeticum, with which Müller (Synops. Musc.) persists in uniting it, but of quite different aspect, owing to the short branches, and in habit approaching to R. canescens. Leaves yellowish, wider than in sudeticum, and of different texture, having the areolæ everywhere elongated and sinuous, the diaphanous points more evident, capsule more oblong, resembling that of R. heterostichum, but much smaller, of thinner texture, and paler. The reason for transferring the name from R. sudeticum, which is certainly Hedwig's R. microcarpon, is not apparent. Dr. Taylor's var. 3. oblongum (Fl. Hib.) may belong to this species. 8. Racomitrium lanuginosum Bridel (woolly Fringe-Moss); stems much elongated, slender, with fasciculate branches; leaves moderately spreading, lanceolate, tapering into long diaphanous eroso-dentate points; capsule small, ovate, on a rough short pedicel; teeth of the peristome long, slender, bipartite. (TAB. XIX.) K. lanuginosum Bryol. Univ. i. 215. Bruch and Schimp. Grimmia (R.) lanuginosa C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Trichostomum lanuginosum Hedw. St. Cr. 3. t. 2. Swartz. Bryum hypnoides a. Linn. Dill. Musc. t. 47. f. 32. Hab. On mountains, especially at a considerable elevation; on walls and rocks; also on barren gravelly heaths. Fr. March. Growing in extensive hoary patches. Stems often a foot long, slender, fragile, flexuose, forked or subdivided, with numerous short fasciculate ramuli, sometimes irregularly pinnate. Leaves crowded, spreading from an erect base, sometimes secund, flexuose and often recurved when dry, especially at the top of the stem, tapering into a curiously and elegantly toothed diaphanous point of greater or less length, carinate, margin recurved, areola narrow and sinuous. Fruitstalk 2-4 lines long, roughish, especially when young. Capsule small, ovate, small mouthed, pale brown, smooth when dry, its walls thick. Calyptra papillose at the apex. Lid as long as the capsule, or longer. Annulus large, dehiscent. Teeth of the peristome nearly as long as the capsule, very slender, bipartite, nodulose, straight and erect when dry. Spores very small. Owing to the irregular growth of innovations the fruit usually appears to be lateral, and from the shortness of the fruitstalks is not easily found. It can scarcely be mistaken for any other species. 9. Racomitrium canescens Bridel (hoary Fringe-Moss); stems elongated, branches more or less fasciculate; leaves spreading and recurved, ovate-lanceolate, tapering into rough eroso-denticulate diaphanous points; capsule on a long fruitstalk, ovate, somewhat striated when dry; lid long, subulate; teeth of the peristome very long, slender, nodulose, bipartite. (TAB. XIX.) R. canescens Brid. Br. Univ. i. 208. Br. and Sch. Monogr. Grimmia (R.) canescens C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Turner. Smith, Eng. Bot. t. 2534. Schwaegr. Hook. and Tayl. var. B. prolixum; with fasciculate ramuli on the older innovations only; the younger ones simple. var. y. ericoides; whole plant beset with fasciculate ramuli; leaves squarrose, recurved. Racomitrium ericoides Bridel, Bryol. Univ. i. 210. Trichostomum ericoides Schwaegr. Suppl. t. 38. Schrader, Hab. Sandy heaths and stony places, seldom upon rocks. Var. y. in drier more exposed places, on sandy soil. Fr. March. Growing in loose extensive yellowish-green or hoary patches. Stems 2-4 inches long, decumbent at the base; the young shoots erect. Leaves widely spreading and recurved from an erect base, sometimes inflexed towards the top, occasionally subsecund, crisped, flexuose or occasionally recurved when dry; the long white points sharply denticulate and rough with papillæ, those of the ramuli narrower than the rest, all somewhat plicate below; margin recurved, roughish or papillose on both sides; areola as in the preceding species. Fruitstalk about an inch long, reddish, twisting to the left when dry. Capsule ovate, tapering towards the mouth and somewhat conical, brown, with 8 obscure striæ or furrows when dry. Calyptra slightly papillose at the apex. Lid very long and slender, often longer than the capsule. Teeth of the peristome as long as the capsule, slender, bipartite, nodulose, often cohering at the apex, erect when dry. The different varieties, with more or less numerous ramuli, are entirely dependent on local conditions for their several characters, and cannot be legitimately separated as species. SUBORDER XIII. PTYCHOMITRIEÆ. Plants growing in dense tufts on rocks, bearing fruit at the extremity; perennial. Stems dichotomously branched. Leaves crowded, linearlanceolate or lanceolate, nerved, mostly crisped or incurved when dry, of firm texture; the areola dot-like. Capsule erect, symmetrical, roundish or elliptic-oblong, of firm texture, without any tapering swollen base, mostly furnished with an annulus. Lid with a straight beak, conical at the base. Peristome simple; the teeth 16, simple or bifid, rarely cribrose, mostly trabeculated externally. Calyptra large, mitriform-subulate, with 10 or more furrows, at length ventricose below, and either divided at the base into short segments or embracing the seta below the capsule. Vaginula without a tubus vaginalis or ochrea. Spores usually small. Inflorescence monoicous or dioicous. Barren flowers gemmiform, mostly terminal. Fertile flowers mostly without a proper perichætium; paraphyses filiform. The species of this order are intermediate between the Grimmie and the Orthotrichea. From the latter (with which they are united in Bryologia Europaa) they differ in the texture of the leaves, especially in the absence of papillæ ; in the narrow subulate apex of the calyptra, which is never truly campanulate; in the absence of hairs and of the tubus vaginalis; and, above all, in the absence of the tapering apophysis. The peristome, also, is of quite different structure, its primary divisions never more than 16, and the sporangium |