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branched, leaves subfasciculate, spreading, rather rigid, linearlanceolate, rather obtuse, carinate, the nerve ceasing below the apex; capsule erect, oval; lid conical, shortly beaked. (TAB. XXXII.)

G. rupestre Schwaegr. Suppl. I. 1. 31. t. 11. Nees and Hornsch. Br. Germ. i. 155. t. 10. f. 16. Bridel. Hook. and Taylor.

G. æruginosum Smith, Fl. Brit. p. 1163. Eng. Bot. t. 2200.

G. articulatum Nees and Hornsch. Br. Germ. i. 156. t. 10. f. 17.

G. erythrostomum, Bridel.
Crypt. fasc. 3. 3.

Bryum fasciculatum Dickson,

Weissia rupestris C. Müller, Syn. Musc.

var. B. ramosissimum, densely tufted and compact; leaves shorter, rather obtuse; capsule smaller, on a shorter pedicel. var. 7. stelligerum; loosely tufted; leaves, at the extremity of the branches, much fascicled and stellato-patent, subrecurved, linear-lanceolate, rather acute.

G. stelligerum Nees and Hornsch. Br. Germ. i. 168. t. 11. f. 23. (not Smith nor Dickson).

var. d. compactum; leaves fascicled, longer and more obtuse. Hab. Wet rocks, in alpine and subalpine situations, not unFr. Autumn.

common.

Stems crowded and cæspitose, 1 or 2 inches long, branched, rooting in the axillæ of the branches. Leaves crowded, more or less spreading, when dry erect and somewhat inflexed, upper ones the largest, and more or less fascicled, dark green, rather rigid, carinate, entire, the nerve ceasing below the rather obtuse apex; perichætial leaves wider at the base, and somewhat sheathing. Capsule oval or oblong, of thin membranous texture, truncated after the lid falls away, the mouth reddish, elsewhere brownish and shining. Lid shorter than the capsule, with a shorter beak than the next species.

The smaller forms of this resemble G. calcareum, and the larger are sometimes apt to be confounded with the following, from which, however, it is sufficiently distinct. There is reason to suspect that Weissia verticillata has been confounded with G. rupestre, to constitute G. æruginosum of Smith.

3. Gymnostomum curvirostrum Hedw. (curve-beaked Beardless Moss); stems densely cæspitose, elongated, branched; branches fastigiate; leaves spreading, linear-lanceolate, acute, carinate, entire with recurved margins; capsule broadly ovate, lid obliquely rostrate, longer than the capsule and adherent to the columella. (TAB. VI.)

Nees and Smith, Fl.

G. curvirostrum Hedw. St. Crypt. t. 34.
Hornsch. Br. Germ. I. 170. t. 11. f. 24.
Brit. p. 1164. Eng. Bot. t. 2214. Bridel.
Tayl. Bruch and Schimp. Bryol. Eur. Monogr. p. 8.
t. 7, 8.

Hook. and

Weissia curvirostris C. Müller, Syn. Musc.

G. æruginatum Nees and Hornsch. Bryol. Germ. i. 160. t. 10. f. 19. (not Smith).

G. stelligerum Smith, Eng. Bot. t. 2202. Fl. Brit. 1164. Dicks. Crypt. fasc. 2, 3. t. 4. f. 4. (barren-fl. plant). var. ß. pomiforme; leaves thinner and narrower; capsule roundish-obovate.

G. pomiforme Nees and Hornsch. 1. c. 158. t. 10. f. 18. var. y. microcarpon ; more densely caespitose; leaves broader, erecto-patent, capsule roundish-obovate, smaller. Nees and Hornsch. p. 161. t. 10. f. 20.

var. d. pallidisetum; stem elongated, slender, much branched, leaves fascicled, spreading, tender; capsule small, obovate, on a shorter pedicel; lid with a shorter beak.

G. pallidisetum and G. brevisetum Nees and Hornsch. p. 166, 164. t. 10, 11. f. 21, 22.

Hab. Moist rocks, in alpine and subalpine situations.

Fr. Autumn.

Stems branched in a fascicled or fastigiate manner, fragile, beset with rooting fibres nearly to the top. Leaves spreading, variously curved, when dry erect, slightly incurved, scarcely twisted, concave at the base, more acute than in the last, the margin recurved, nerve ceasing below the apex. Capsule ovate, obovate, or roundish, of thicker texture than the last, chestnut-coloured, shining. Annulus a double row of cells. Lid with a very long slender inclined beak, conical at the base, adhering to the columella.

The difference between this and the preceding is sufficiently obvious if due attention be paid to the long persistent lid, and to the acute leaves with recurved margins. Nevertheless, it is highly probable that the two have been confounded by Smith in Eng. Bot., and also by Dickson and others.

G. aruginosum seems to be peculiar to certain calcareous rocks, where a deposit of tufa occurs during the growth of the plant. Dickson's moss, so called, is Eucladium verticillatum of Br. and Sch.

G. xanthocarpum Hook., an East Indian species, is very nearly allied to this, and the two appear to have been confounded in Musci Indici. (Journ. Bot. 1840, vol. 2. p. 1.)

SECT. II. Inflorescence monoicous; leaves crisped when dry, their margins incurved, or plane, never reflexed.

a. Capsule contracted at the mouth; sporangium united to the apex of the columella, and forming a closed sac. Hymenostomum.

4. Gymnostomum squarrosum (spreading-leaved Beardless Moss); stems elongated, loosely tufted; leaves squarrose, linearlanceolate, with plane margins, crisped when dry; capsule ovate or elliptical, exserted; lid rostrate. (TAB. XXXVIII.)

Hymenostomum squarrosum Nees and Hornsch. Bryol.

Germ. i. p. 193. t. 12. f. 1. Bryol. Eur. Monogr. p. 5. t. 2.

Weissia squarrosa C. Müller, Syn. Musc. Hab. In fields, and on clayey banks; not unfrequent in Lancashire and Cheshire. Sussex, Mr. Mitten.

Fr. Autumn, Spring.

Stems about inch long, arising from the axillæ of the leaves of the prostrate stem of the preceding year, slender. Leaves distant, squarrose, blunt, with a mucro formed of the excurrent nerve. Capsule smaller than that of G. microstomum, variable in shape, sometimes oblique and unequal, on a pedicel taller than the perichatial leaves.

This differs from G. microstomum in the plane margins and mucronate points of the squarrose leaves. In habit it approaches nearly to Weissia mucronata, but differs in the shorter pedicel, and in the structure and colour of the capsule.

Ref. to figures.-1. plants, nat. size. 2. portion of plant, magnified. 3. leaves, magnified. a.l. apex of leaf, much magnified. a. mouth of capsule, vertical view. b. section of

s.l. section of leaf.

upper part of capsule, after removal of the lid.

5. Gymnostomum microstomum Hedw. (small-mouthed Beardless Moss); stems short, densely tufted; leaves lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, with incurved margins, acute, much crisped when dry; capsule elliptical (sometimes oblique and gibbous), or elliptic-oblong, olivaceous, much contracted at the mouth; lid rostrate. (TAB. VII.)

Gymnost. microstomum Hedw. St. Crypt. iii. p. 71. t. 30.
Sp. Musc. p. 33. Web. and Mohr. Roehl. Smith,
Fl. Brit. 1165. Eng. Bot. t. 2215. Hook. and Tayl.
Hymenostomum microstomum R. Brown, Lin. Trans. xii.
p. 573. Nees and Hornsch. Br. Germ. i. 199. t. 12. f. 4.
Bridel. Bruch and Schimp. Br. Eur. Monogr. p. 4. t. 1.
Weissia microstoma C. Müller, Syn. Musc.

var. B. obliquum; capsule oblong, incurved; operculum conical, subrostrate.

H. obliquum Nees and Hornsch. 1. c. p. 194. t. 12. f. 2. var. y. brevirostre; capsule oblong, symmetrical; operculum

conical.

Gymnost. sepincola Funk.

var. d. brachycarpum; capsule with a shorter pedicel, roundish, and gibbous.

H. brachycarpum Nees and Hornsch. 1. c. 169. t. 12. f. 3. var. e. elatum; innovations overtopping the fruit; capsule smaller, roundish; operculum subrostrate.

Hab. In fields and on banks, &c.

Fr. Spring.

Stems not inch in height, often less, branched; branches fastigiate. Leaves spreading, recurved below, incurved above, when dry twisted and crisped, lower ones lanceolate, often plane in the margin, upper ones twice or thrice as long, linear-lanceolate, tapering and acute, the margins much incurved, nerve excurrent. Capsule variable in shape, oval, or elliptic-oblong, symmetrical, or at times oblique, of a pale olive brown colour when dry and fully ripe, on a longer pedicel than the last, the mouth very small. Sporangium united to the apex of

the columella; hence the spores do not escape until the membrane becomes ruptured, long after the fall of the operculum. Operculum variable in length, mostly rostrate. Spores as in G. squarrosum. Barren and fertile flowers placed near each other.

The incurved margins of the perichætial leaves constitute the principal character whereby this species, if really such, is to be distinguished from G. squarrosum. We have found them growing in company; but further experience is necessary to show whether the characters are constant.

b. Capsule scarcely contracted at the mouth. Sporangium not adherent to the apex of the columella.

6. Gymnostomum tortile Schwaegr. (curly-leaved Beardless Moss); stems densely tufted, elongated, branched; branches fastigiate; leaves crowded, suberect or spreading, curved in the upper part, incurved and slightly crisped when dry, oblonglanceolate with incurved margins, obtuse, apiculate, strongly nerved, capsule elliptical; lid rostrate. (TAB. XXXVIII.)

Gymnostomum tortile Schwaegr. Suppl. I. 1. 29. t. 10.
Nees and Hornsch. 1. c. 182. t. 11. f. 28. Bridel, Br.
Univ.

G. condensatum Voit. Roehl.

Hymenostomum tortile. Bruch and Schimp. Br. Eur.
Monog. p. 6. t. 3, 4.

Weissia tortilis C. Müller, Syn. Musc.

var. ß. subcylindricum; leaves narrower, linear-lanceolate, capsule oblong.

Hab. On limestone rocks, Derbyshire. Chalk cliffs, Sussex, Mr. Mitten. St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall, Mr. Greenwood.

Fr. Spring.

A more robust species than the last, easily known by sit firmer leaves, which have a very strong reddish nerve, and are less contorted when dry; also by the larger capsule, of a paler colour, with a larger mouth of a purple colour. The spores are only half the diameter of those of G. microstomum.

Our British specimens in the foliage belong rather to the var. B.; but the capsules are those of the typical form, which has the leaves more obtuse, and the nerve scarcely excurrent. A careful examination of the capsule of this species will show that the genus Hymenostomum is not essentially distinct from Gymnostomum.

Gymnost. phascoides Drummond, Musc. Am. No. 12., is allied to this in the foliage, but differs in having a roundish immersed capsule, and a short stem.

Hymenostomum crispatum Bruch and Schimper, appears to differ from the var. . of Weissia controversa in very little else than in the total absence of a peristome, and it is doubtful whether this character is sufficient. We have formerly entertained a suspicion that all the Hymenostoma might be only variations of Weissia controversa, and it must be acknowledged that they are very closely allied. Mr.Valentine's argument to the contrary (in Musc. Nottingh.) is not conclusive.

6. WEISSIA Hedwig.

WEISIA and EUCLADIUM Bruch and Schimper.

Capsule erect, oblong-ovate, or subcylindrical, on a long straight fruitstalk; lid with an inclined beak; annulus persistent; peristome simple; teeth 16, equidistant, mostly free at the base, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, transversely barred and convex externally, without a medial line, entire or perforated, sometimes bifid at the apex, erect or spreading when dry.

Perennial, growing on soil, cæspitose, branches dichotomous or fastigiate. Leaves octofarious, spreading, curved and crisped when dry, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, nerved, areolæ small. Inflorescence monoicous or dioicous, sometimes synoicous. Allied to Hymenostomum and Gymnostomum, on the one hand, and to Didymodon on the other. Name in honour of Weiss, a Cryptogamic botanist of Gottingen. Several mosses included in this genus in former editions have been removed (see Rhabdoweissia, Blindia, Seligeria, Brachyodus) for the sake of natural arrangement.

SECT. I. Leaves channelled, linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, incurved or crisped when dry; no distinct perichatium; peristome variable; seta when dry twisted to the right hand. CONTROVERSÆ. Microweisia Br. and Sch.

Flowers monoicous, gemmiform.

1. Weissia controversa Hedw. (green-tufted Weissia); stem more or less branched; lower leaves lanceolate, upper leaves linear-lanceolate, incurved or involute in the margin, nerve slightly excurrent; capsule oval or ovate-oblong, erect; operculum conico-rostrate; annulus narrow. (TAB. XV.)

W. controversa Hedw. Stirp. Crypt. t. 5. Hook and Tayl.
Musc. Brit., and of most authors.

W. microdonta Hedw. Sp. M. t. 11. W. humilis, fallax,
and Bruchiana Nees and Hornsch. Bryol. Germ. t. 26.
and 28. Dicranum xanthodon Hedw. Sp. M. t. 30.
Grimmia controversa Web. and Mohr. Bot. Taschi.
Smith, Fl. Brit. 1177. Eng. Bot. t. 1367. Turn. Musc.
Hib. p. 27. Bryum virens Dicks. Dill. Musc. t. 48.
f. 43. (partly).

W. viridula Bridel. Bruch and Schimper. Bryol. Europ.
Monogr. p. 5. t. 2, 3. (not of Linnæus).

var. B. stenocarpa; capsule narrow, subcylindrical. (var. y. of Nees and Hornsch. Bryol. Germ. t. 17.)

var. y. densifolia; taller and densely tufted; stems much branched; leaves crowded, narrower; teeth of the peristome less perfect. W. densifolia Wils. MSS. var. d. amblyodon; leaves linear-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate; teeth of the peristome variable, very short and truncate, acute or cloven at the apex, pale or yellowish.

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