Library of the University of Toronto Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Toronto https://archive.org/details/handbookofmossesOObagn Handbook of Mosses, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR ' STRUCTURE, CLASSIFICATION, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, AND HABITATS. BY JAMES E. BAGNALL, A.L.S., Vice-President of the Birmingham Natural History anc Microscopical Society. Edition. ILontion: SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY & CO, PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 1886. Butler &> Tanner, The Selzuood Printing Works. Frome , and London . PREFACE. This little Essay has been written in the leisure hours of one whose every-day life is spent amid the busy hum and constant strain of a work-a-day life in a large town, with the hope that he may call the attention of others similarly situated to himself to the beauties and wonders of some of God’s fairest works. The study has been to him one of constant enjoyment, has led him into many a charming spot, has given him many a much-prized friendship, has informed his mind, gladdened his heart, and gratified his eyes ; and he would say to any one who is in search of objects of real interest : Study the Mosses. No objects are more readily found, for everywhere in nature you will find the Mosses. And if you desire a study which will present you with a constant supply of interesting objects — whether you take the varieties of leaf form, or notice the elegant designs of the little capsules, or study the exquisite beauty of those minute fringes which adorn the capsules of so many of our mosses, passing by degrees most gradual from the simplest to the most complicated structures, or study that most elementary of all organisms, the vegetable cell, and observe how by iii IV PREFACE. this simple organism all the thousand species and varieties of moss are built up, all diversified, and yet all alike mere cellular structures — if you desire a study which will find you employment, interesting and fascinating employment for your leisure hours the whole year round, and which, if pursued aright, will never grow wearisome, let me advise you to study the Mosses. To quote the glowing words of Ruskin, “ No words that I know of will say what these Mosses are, none are delicate enough, none perfect enough, none rich enough.” In compiling these notes I have availed myself of Wilson’s very excellent “ Bryologia Britannica,” Berkeley’s “Handbook of British Mosses,” Schimper’s “ Synopsis Muscorum Europseorum,” Berkeley’s ‘ Cryptogamic Botany,” Braithwaite’s “ Sphagnaceae of Europe and North America,” and also a very able paper by Dr. Braithwaite “ On the Geographical Distribution of Mosses in Europe.” CONTENTS Introduction . * page 1 Appliances and I. Material Required for the Study « 4 Development . II. • 9 Moss Habitats III. . 28 Classification . IV. , 61 V. The Geographical Distribution of Mosses . e - 72 Cultivation VI. Uses . . VII. . s5 VIII. Preparing Specimens for the Cabinet and Herbarium. 89 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. 1. Bryum ccespiticium, capsule, peristome, leaf cells . • 2. Spores of Moss ; gemmiform state of Aulacomnion androgynum 3. Phascum serratum , capsule, protonema, and leaf, enlarged 4. Pottia truncata , operculum, leaf, and leaf cells 5. Hypnum rutabulum , fruit, leaf, peristome, leaf cells, enlarged 6. Funaria hygrometrica , antheridium, antherozoids . 7. Funaria hygrometrica , archegonium . 8. Origin of the sporogonium 9. Funaria hygrometrica , longitudinal section of the theca . 10. Splachnum ampullaceum , plant, capsule, leaf cells . 1 1 . Encalypta streptocarpa , plant, calyptra, leaf, and capsule 12. Capsule of Pottia intermedia 13. Andrecea alpina , plant, leaf, and leaf cells. Andrecea nivalis , plant, leaf, leaf cells, and capsule .... 14. Indehiscent capsule of Phascum cuspidatum .... 15. Capsule of Grimmia 16. Atriclium undulatum , plant, leaf, leaf cells, capsule 17. Bartramia pomiformis , plant, capsule, calyptra 18. Fissidens bryoides , plant, conduplicate leaf, male flower, and capsule 19. Grimmia pulvinata , plant, fruit, leaf. Grimmia orb icid aids . 20. Fissidens iaxifolius , Funaria fasciadaris , Zygodon viridissima , Orthotrichum affine ....... 21. Mniiim undulatum , Mniurn hornum 22. Polytrichum formosum , fruit, calyptra, capsule, apophysis • 23. Hypnum ( Thuidium ) tamariscinum , plant, leaf, papillcc. PAGE 5 9 11 12 13 15 17 t8 19 23 24 24 25 26 26 27 29 30 34 3^ 37 39 4i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. viii FIG. PAGE 24. Dicranum scoparium , plant, calyptra, leaf, leaf cells . . 42 25. Funaria hygrometrica , plant, calyptra, leaf, and leaf cells . 47 26. Pottici cavifolia , plant, capsule, leaf, leaf nerve . . .49 27. Bartramia fontana , plant, calyptra, capsule . . . . 53 28. Mnium subglobosum , plant, capsule, leaf, leaf cells, synoicous flowers 54 29. Sphagnitfn cymbifolium , capsule . . . . . *55 30. Sphagnum acutifolium , fruit, leaf, apex of leaf, leaf cell. . 56 31. Pogonatum alpinum . , . . . . . *59 32. Barbula subulata , plant, peristome, leaf, and leaf cells . . 62 33. Racomitruim canescens , fruit, peristome, operculum, calyptra, leaf . . . . . . . . . *63 34. Orthotrichum stramineum , plant, capsule, calyptra, operculum, leaf, leaf cells 64 35. Mnium punctaium 65 36. Fontinalis antipyretica , plant and fruiting branch . . .66 37. Anomodon viticulosum 81 38. Atrichum undulatum ........ 82 39. Pogonatum urnigerum ........ 83 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES INTRODUCTION. Meek creatures ! the first mercy of the earth, visiting with hushed soft- ness its dintless rocks ; creatures full of pity, covering with strange and tender honour the scarred disgrace of ruin — laying quiet finger on the trembling stones to teach them rest. No words, that I know of, will say what these mosses are. None are delicate enough, none perfect enough, none rich enough. How is one to tell of the rounded bosses of furred and beaming green, — the starred divisions of rubied bloom, fine-filmed, as if the rock spirits could spin porphyry as we do glass, — the traceries of intricate silver, and fringes of amber, lustrous, arborescent, burnished through every fibre into fitful bright- ness and glossy traverses of silken change, yet all subdued and pen- sive, and framed for simplest, sweetest offices of grace ? They will not be gathered, like the flowers, for chaplet or love-token ; but of these the wild bird will make its nest, and the wearied child his pillow. And, as the earth’s first mercy, so they are its last gift to us : when all other service is vain from plant and tree, the soft mosses and grey lichen take up their watch by the head-stone. The woods, the blossoms, the gift-bearing grasses, have done their parts for a time ; but these do service for ever. Trees for the builder’s yard, flowers for the bride’s chamber, corn for the granary, moss for the grave. Rus kin’s “ Modern Painters ,” vol. v., pp. 102, 103. A walk through green fields, country lanes, or woods is rendered more enjoyable, and I believe more conducive to healthy exercise, if we have some special study to call us there, than such a walk would be if indulged in for the mere sake of what is termed a constitutional. For it is well to have something that will for a time enable us to for- 1 B 2 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. get the every-day cares of a busy life ; and nothing is so likely to do this as some pursuit that not only engrosses the attention, but also gladdens the eye, that calls forth healthy thought, educates the observing faculties, and stimulates us to take a certain amount of invigorating exercise. To any person with ordinary enthusiasm, inter- est, and industry, the study of the mosses will yield all this and more. Too frequently these plants are neglected by even pro- fessed botanists. The investigation of them is considered to be too difficult, or too tedious, and often too expensive. That there are difficulties connected with the study all must admit, but none that a little patience and industry will not surmount ; the tedium of the study would evaporate after the first few hours’ examination of these beautiful organ- isms, and the expense after the first outlay need not be more than a little extra wear and tear of one’s shoe leather. To say that the study of these plants is interesting would be trite, for everything in beautiful nature is interesting, but the “ dim world of weeping mosses ” is wondrously interest- ing ; so varied in structure, in form, in mode of growth, in colour, covering the bosom of their mother earth with a green, velvety mantle when the cold winds of autumn and winter have robbed the trees of their beautiful foliage, and the nipping frosts have chilled into death their lovely sisters, the flowering plants, clothing with beauty the wayside bank, clinging with a tender embrace to their high-born kinsman the forest tree, bedecking with a thousand fairy urns the old ruined wall, covering with beautifully mingled masses of feathery Hypnum , tufted Bryum , or hoary Tortula , of every shade of green, the rotting thatch of the ruined cottage, filling the treacherous bog with pale green Sphag- num or beautiful tussocks of noble looking Polytrichum, flourishing amid the unpleasant odours of the poison-breath- ing marsh, and climbing slowly but surely from the lowest valley to the snow line of the great mountain ! And were we to follow them in their daring scramble, and note them well, we should see that the mosses are, not only countless in numbers, but multitudinous in varieties INTRODUCTION. 3 and species ; the moss flora of our own islands alone numbering about 140 genera and nearly 600 species, be- sides varieties without end. A superficial observer would probably be astonished if he were to have pointed out to him the varied species to be found upon a few square feet of a bank “ with bright green mosses clad,” because to him a moss is a moss and nothing more ; and yet in such a limited area twenty or more species may often be found ; and many a district that at first sight seems able to yield but a poor moss flora may by a little diligence be proved to be quite prolific. A limited district of some 3,500 acres has yielded the writer nearly 130 species of these plants, all of them beautiful and some of them very rare. Then it must be remembered that mosses are easily pre- served, usually retain their special characters even when dried, may be prepared for the herbarium, and packed in comparatively small compass, and may be examined at any time ; for, however shrivelled they may have become by long keeping, a few minutes’ soaking in tepid water will restore them to most of their former beauty, their lovely leaves again expand, the minute cells of which they are built are again filled with fluids, and with the aid of the microscope all their details may be made out as readily as though they had been gathered but an hour ago, so that for real and minute study this may truly be called a fireside one. For the sake of those who would wish to commence the study, but lack the knowledge how to begin, when and where to seek their plants, and how to distinguish them when found, these hints have been written, and I shall endeavour, as clearly as I can, to supply a few elementary lessons in moss collecting, etc. I. APPLIANCES AND MATERIAL REQUIRED FOR THE STUDY. Before beginning to collect, certain aids are required : these are few and simple. First, a bag or satchel of some kind for stowing away specimens as they are gathered. One of the canvas bags with a strap to sling over the shoulder, such as are now offered from a shilling upwards, will be serviceable and sufficient. Some pieces of good strong newspaper six to nine inches square will be required to wrap up each specimen separately as gathered. These papers should be numbered previous to starting out, using ink rather than pencil, for the mosses will often be wet, and pencil marks are then easily obliterated. In order to keep the tufts of moss clean and distinct too many should not be put into one paper. When the paper is filled and folded, the number of the package should be entered in the collector's notebook, with remarks as to habitat, locality, and date. Such, for instance, as this: “ No. i. Marly bank, Tythall Lane, near Solihull. Formation, keuper marl. Feb. 9th, 1878." And such other particulars as it may be well to remember. And here I may observe that at first it would be advis- able to collect those mosses only which have their fruit fully matured, and then, when these have been carefully examined and their distinguishing characters mastered, barren specimens may be collected ; for many of our rarest British mosses are more frequently found barren than fruit- ing, and they must not, of course, be neglected. As soon as home is reached, each of the packages should be opened, and, if time serves, roughly examined. If not, they should be placed in the opened papers bn the floor of a room where they will be undisturbed, and allowed to get 4 APPLIANCES AND MATERIAL REQUIRED. 5 thoroughly dry. It will be advisable at the same time to place a slip of paper with each package containing a copy of the notes from notebook. When the specimens are dry they may be again wrapped up, and put by for an inde- finite time for future examination. If the mosses are allowed to dry in the unopened papers just as they are gathered they will be nearly certain to become mildewed, and will be very unsightly and useless, and thus the trouble of collecting will have been taken in vain. All these details may seem to make the preliminary work very tedious to the beginner, but he will soon get over any irksomeness he may at first feel, and he will be rewarded by his specimens being saved in good condition. Fig. 1. Brynm ccEsfiiticium. t, p’ ant natural size. 2, pendulous capsule ; a, main- milatelid. 3, peristome ; a , inner membrane ; b, outer teeth. 4, areolation of leaf. A pocket lens will be required for the examination of the plants in the field, one having a power of about ten dia- meters, i.e. about one inch focal length, will be found serviceable, and if with two powers, i.e. a one inch and a half inch focal length, still more so. These lenses, in horn and other fittings, may be obtained from all opticians, at is. upwards, the price varying according to the finish of the article. If the School Microscope (mentioned p. 8) is obtained, one or more of the lenses supplied with it may be made to do service in the field ; but if so used, they should always be carried in a small chamois leather bag to protect from scratches. It is better however not to use them for this purpose. 6 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. It is advisable to acquire the habit of noticing all the features of the mosses with the unassisted eye. The con- stant use of a lens is trying to the eyes, and I believe often materially injures them. Most of the ordinary details may be thus observed, such as the position of the leaves on the stem, general characters, etc., noticing whether they are erect, spreading, curved, or falcate, and so on, and their direction when in the dry state. This latter character is often a ready guide to nearly allied species. For instance, two mosses common on wall tops, Bryum capillare and B. ccespiticium (fig. i), both having many features in common when moist, differ materially in appearance when dry, the former having the leaves remarkably twisted, the latter straight and imbricated. Many other like instances might be cited. It is also well to acquire the habit of using the lens to advantage, as it is often possible to gain such a knowledge with this aid as will enable one to dis- pense with the further aid of the microscope. A good text-book will, of course, be indispensable. There are several to select from, published at various prices. For instance, Stark’s “ British Mosses,” having twenty coloured plates, is offered for 5s. ; but although very cheap, this is not to my thinking a satisfactory book, the descriptions are too vague to be useful ; still many of the more frequent mosses may be made out by its aid. Berkeley’s “ Handbook of British Mosses,” with twenty-four coloured plates, costs 21s. new, but may frequently be obtained second-hand for about 14 s. This is a valuable work, and contains, in addition to the descriptive text, much matter of interest and value. Its greatest fault is, that the nomenclature is not in all cases that most generally adopted, and that the author gives us no synonyms. This, I think, is a serious fault, as it often leaves a tyro in uncertainty as to the name adopted by other authors. As a field book, and also of greatest value in the study, no English work I am acquainted with equals Hobkirk’s “ Synopsis of the British Mosses,” pub- lished at 7 s. 6d ’, for cheapness and for correctness ; its only fault is the absence of plates, which cannot, of course, be expected in so cheap a book. A new edition of this work APPLIANCES AND MATERIAL REQUIRED. 7 has recently appeared, and in this we have all the newest discoveries duly recorded and described; the size is very convenient for the pocket. Wilson's “Bryologia Britan- nica" is invaluable; but as it is out of print it can only be met with rarely in second-hand book catalogues, and the price ranges from three to six guineas, according to The con- dition of the book. In this the descriptions are excellent, being those of one of the most able bryologists this country has produced. Besides excellent descriptions, there are also figures of every moss described, and the later plates are very good. This work, having been published in 1855, is quite behind the time in some respects ; but a student who makes good use of this work will find that many of the diffi- culties surrounding the subject will be dispelled. Another very valuable work is Schimper’s “ Synopsis Muscorum Euro- paeorum ” ; costs 28^, and contains descriptions of all the European species. In the second edition, published 1876, we have a fairly complete record of bryological discoveries so far as Europe is concerned. The work is entirely in Latin, and there are eight plates illustrative of the various genera. The descriptions are very ample, and the notes on the comparative characters of the various species remark- ably useful. Lesquereux and James' “ Manual of American Mosses ” will also be found of great assistance to British students, as it contains descriptions of at least two-thirds of our native mosses; this costs 24s. But the most beautiful and valu- able work is the “ British Moss Flora," by Dr. R. Braith- waite ; in this the various species are graphically described and illustrated, the illustrations being those of a master's hand. The work is being issued in parts, and when finished will be one of the best that has yet appeared. Every moss student requires a microscope, and, when possible, it is well to have a really good one. These instru- ments vary in price, a first-class microscope being an expensive luxury ; but there are some very good instru- ments to be obtained at most moderate prices. A great amount of good work may be done with even a cheap microscope ; in fact, much of the best work that has been HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. done for science has been done with comparatively in- expensive instruments. The most useful cheap instrument I know, is Field’s School Microscope, a very compact little instrument, having three simple lenses, which, separate or combined, give a magnifying power of from five to forty diameters. This, with the simple lenses, live box, needle, and other appli- ances, costs io.r. 6d. ; a compound body may be added for 2s. 6d . extra. This will give powers of from twenty to eighty diameters. It is well to have this compound body at first, as the cabinet is then made of sufficient size to hold the compound body and all the other apparatus. For an additional 2 s. 6d. a Wollaston doublet may be added ; and, as this lens is a combination of plano-convex lenses placed in such a manner and of such a focus as to reduce chromatic and spherical aberrations, for 15 s. 6d., it is possible to possess a microscope nearly achromatic, giving a power of 120 diameters, which is sufficient for almost all the work which the young botanist will have to do. All my own earliest work in mosses was done with this instrument, and I believe I learned more by its aid than I have ever done with the more expensive instruments I have since used. As a simple microscope it will always be useful for dis- secting and mounting purposes, and I can say with con- fidence, that the student who has acquired all the knowledge of structure that this cheap little instrument will place with- in his reach will have gained such an insight into the moss world as will enable him to determine with a little patience the most difficult of mosses. ON THE STUDY OF THE MOSSES. II. DEVELOPMENT. In the last chapter the material and apparatus required for the collecting and study of these plants were treated of. In the present I purpose giving some account of the development of mosses. Mosses are cellular plants, having distinct stems, leaves, and roots (the Sphagnums, or bog-mosses, are exceptional, as they do not possess roots) ; they have a capsular fruit, and are developed from spores ( seedlike contents of ripe capsule , fig. 2, i), or gemmae ( cellular bodies capable of be- coming plants fig. 2 d). Fig. 2. i, spores of moss. 2, gemmiform state of Aulacomnion androgynum ; stem ; b , stalk ; c, gemmae. 2 d , one of the gemmae detatched and magnified. The spores are minute, round, cellular bodies, varying in size, colour, and external marking, and are composed of IO HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. two membranes or coats, an inner and an outer one, in- closing a thickened granular mass. Though similar in function to the seeds of flowering plants, they differ from those organs, in being capable of germinating from any part of their surface, and in possessing no embryo ( the young plant contained in the seed ) ; hence plants developed from spores are termed Acotyledons (Gr. a , without, and kotu - ledon , a seed-lobe). The spores which are formed in the capsule are the bodies from which the moss-plant is nor- mally developed. But many even of our common mosses rarely produce their fruit, and are perpetuated in other ways ; as, for instance, by gemmae, which may be seen forming little globular heads (2 c) on the top of a pale, naked stalk (2 b) in Aulacomnion androgynum (2), so frequent on wayside banks; or from thread-like cellular bodies, abundant on the leaves of some mosses, O7'thotrichum Lyellii , for instance, frequent on poplars, elms, etc. ; or from bud-like bodies formed in the axils of the leaves, as in Bryum annotinum , found on sandy banks ; or even detached leaves may give origin to a new plant, as in Campylopus pyriformis , frequent on heath lands. When the spores germinate, they give rise to a green, thread-like body, called the protonema (fig. 3 b ), which is formed by the protrusion of the inner membrane of the spore through the outer one. This, by frequent cell- division, becomes elongated and branched. The primary branch, at first green, frequently turns brown, and, in some cases, penetrates the ground and performs the function of a root. The secondary branches are well charged with chloro- phyll (, green , granular matter in the interior of the cell), and branch frequently. On various parts of the protonema bud-like bodies arise. These are the rudimentary moss- plant. From the buds roots are sent down into the medium on which they grow. By frequently repeated cell-division these buds develop into the leafy moss-stem. Mosses, like ferns, horsetails, etc., grow at the apex only, and are hence termed Acrogens ( plants which increase at the summit only). The protonema, which looks very like masses of green DEVELOPMENT. II conferva, may be seen forming a velvety mass on the ground in the neighbourhood of mosses ; and if a portion of such masses is examined with the microscope, all the stages of growth may frequently be seen. In most mosses the protonema is short-lived, perishing before the moss- plant is fully grown ; but in some of the lower forms, as in Phascum serratum (fig. 3), it lasts throughout the plant's lifetime. This moss may be found in fallow fields in autumn and spring. The gemmae before mentioned ger- minate much in the same way as the spores, forming first the thread-like protonema, upon which the leafy stem is developed. t‘iG. 3. Phascum ^Ephemeruui) serratum. i, plant enlarged ; x a , capsule ; i h, protonema. 2, leaf enlarged, showing loose cellular tissue (areolation). The stem varies in length considerably ; in some mosses it is imperceptible without a lens, as in Phascum serratum , but in many others it is very apparent. It may be erect, as in Poly trichum ; or prostrate, as in some of the Hypnums , or feather-mosses ; simple, as in Pottia (fig. 4) ; or branched, as in Hypnum (fig. 5). In some of the terminal-fruited mosses it branches by what are termed innovations ; these are extensions of the stem, often arising at the top of the old stem, and such branching is usually forked, each fork representing a year’s growth. This mode of branching may be seen in many Bryums and other mosses ; a convenient 12 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. example occurs in Grimmia pulvinata (fig. 19), the little hoary, cushion-like patches of which may be seen on wall- tops and thatch. The stem and branches are more or less densely clothed with leaves, which are always simple (undivided), and vary in shape from awl-shaped to round, the most frequent forms being lance-shaped, or oval. The leaves, vary in structure, but are usually formed of a single layer of cells ; exceptions ! occur, as in Lencobryum ; in this case the leaves are formed I of three layers of cells. Fig. 4. Pottia truncata. i, plant slightly enlarged. 2, obliquely rostrate operculum ; a , columella, which remains attached to lid, and falls away with it. 3, tip of leaf ; a , upper leaf cells ; 3 b , cells of base of leaf. The cells forming the leaf assume a variety of forms, but may be referred to two types — I. Parenchymatous (> having the cells placed end to end ), as in Pottia , etc. (fig. 4, 3 b) ; II. Prosenchymatous ( having cells which overlap one another at their ends) ; these have pointed ends, and are longer than broad, as in Hypnnm (fig. 5,40, and fig. 1, 4). The study of these leaf-cells is one of great importance, as the generic and specific differences of many mosses are often made out by the character of the cells forming the leaf. Among other forms assumed by cells we have round (fig. 34, 4 a ), as in Orthotrichum ; quadrate, as in Pottia (fig.' 4, 3 b) ; hexagonal, as in Tetr aphis ; oblong, as in Isothecium ; rhomboid, as in DEVELOPMENT. 13 Bryum (fig. 1, 4), etc. The cells at the base of the leaf are frequently of different form from those of the upper part of the leaf, and are often colourless and transparent. The centre of the leaf is often occupied by elongated ~C _> Fig. 5. Hvpnnm rutabuhnn . i, a plant natural size, showing pleurocarpous inflorescence. 2, fruit magnified, showing 2 «, conical operculum ; 2 b, rough seta, or fruit-stalk ; 2 c, recurved perichaetial leaves. 3, fringe, or peristome ; a, inner peristome ; b, outer peristome. 4, stem leaf ; 4 a, cells of leaf highly magnified. cells, forming what is called the nerve or midrib (fig. 5, 4). This nerve is usually simple, but may be forked, as in Isothecium myiirum ; or there may be two nerves, as in Hypnum triquetrum , common on marly banks ; or the leaves 14 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. may be nerveless, as in Hypnum stellatum . The nerve is of variable length, in some cases vanishing below the tip of the leaf, in others projecting beyond the tip and forming a short point or mucro, as in Tortula marginata ; or it may form a long, transparent, hair-like point, as in Tortula muralis , a moss very frequent on wall-tops. The leaves are placed spirally upon the stem and branches, their arrangement being various, as \ or distichous in Fissidens , J or tristichous in Anoectangium , -Jths in Poitia , or § as in Bryum. Their direction is variable, and it is advisable to pay attention to this. Sometimes they are crowded and imbricate ( overlapping like tiles ), as in Bryum argenteum , common on walls ; or they may be spreading, as in Tortula fallax , which may be seen on sandy or clayey banks. In some species secund ( curved to one side), as in Dicranella heteromalla , frequent on wayside banks ; in others remarkably recurved at the tips, or what is termed squarrose, as in Hypnum squarrosum , to be found on heath lands and in woods. When dry the direction of the leaves is often very dif- ferent from that assumed when the plant is moist. Thus in Bryum capillaix the leaves are spreading when moist, but much twisted when dry; in Tortula spadicea much spread- ing when moist, but closely imbricate when dry : but ex- perience will soon show that these characters vary in different species of moss. The margin of the leaf (fig. 5, 4) is sometimes plane, at others formed of a double row of cells, and hence thick ened, as in dortula marginata ; in some cases entire, in others variously toothed. In some species, Weissia controversa , for instance, it is involute ( rolled over towards the upper surface) ; in others revolute (rolled over towards the lower surface), as in Tortula revoluta, to be found on wall tops ; or the leaf may be rolled upon itself from side to side, or convolute, as in the leaves sur- rounding the base of the fruit-stalk of Tortula convoluta, and in some cases, as in A trichum undulatum, the margin is undulated. The leaf-surface is usually smooth, but in some species, such as Thuidium tamariscinum (fig. 23, 2 a), it is covered with minute projections, and is termed papillose. DEVELOPMENT. 15 The leaves vary in colour, being of every shade of green, in some cases reddish, in others brown, or again, as in Leucobryum glaucum , nearly white. Mosses are often termed flowerless plants, which is a misnomer, as both male and female flowers occur on these plants, and may readily be found in most species when the leafly stem has arrived at ma- turity. In many of our mosses, as in the Bryums and Poly- trichums , they occur as star-like bodies at the top of the stem ; in others, such as the common Hypnum rutabnlum , both male and female flowers may be found as bud-like bodies in the axils of the stem-leaves. In the bog-mosses, or Sphagnums , they occur in pendulous cat- kins, which are often tinged with red or brown. If these flowers are dissec- ted, it will be seen that they consist of a number of leaves surrounding or enveloping the organs of reproduction, the Antheridia (fig. 6 A ), ( bodies which perform the function of an anther ), i.e. the male ; or the Archegonia (fig. 7 B ), ( bodies which perform the func- tion of a pistil or ovary), i.e. the female reproductive bodies. The leaves surrounding the antheridia form what is termed the perigonium ( that which surrounds the male organ) ; those surrounding the archegonia form the perigynium ( that which surrounds the female organ). The male flowers Fig. 6. Funaria hygrome - trica, . A, an antheridium burst- ing ; a, the antherozoids ( x 350). By the antherozoids more strongly magnified ; b, the mother cell ; c, free antherozoids of Poly trichum (x 800). 1 6 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. are sometimes developed in the axils of the ordinary leaves, and have no perigonium, as in Sphagnum . Mosses are said to be synoicous when male and female organs occur in the same enveloping leaves (fig. 28, 4), as in Mnium subglohosum; monoicous when these organs occur in different buds on the same plant, as in Hypnum rutahulum; dioicous when the male organs occur on one plant and the female on another plant of the same species, as in Ceratodon purpurens. The antheridia (fig. 6 A), are sac- or sausage- shaped bodies, and are usually surrounded by a number of thread- like jointed bodies, called the paraphyses (Gr. para , beside, and phuo, I grow). The function of these bodies is probably that of nutrition. In the Sphagnums these paraphyses are absent, and the antheridia are very differently shaped, con- sisting of a short stalk, surmounted by a globular head, the antherozoids being developed in the globular head ; these antheridia may be readily obtained by carefully dis- secting away the leaves of the catkins, which are usually reddish or brown, and often occur near the summit of the stem. If the antheridia of ordinary mosses are examined microsopically with a \ or A-inch objective, they will be seen to contain a number of closely packed cellules, and in each of these cellules a spiral, thread-like body may be seen. This spiral body is the antherozoid, or fertilizing principle of the antheridium ; and, supposing that the antheridium is ripe, a very slight pressure of the cover glass will cause it to burst at the apex, and the inclosed cellules will be seen swarming out with a sort of jerky motion (fig. 6 a). In a few minutes the cellulose coat of the cellules is dissolved, and the spiral bodies, the antherozoids (fig. 6 c), thus liber- ated, commence moving about in the water, much like some infusoria. This beautiful sight may be seen readily, and the star-like male flowers of Polytrichum are the most easily examined. These should be got about the end of May or in June. The outer leaves of the flowers should be dissected away, and some of the ripe antheridia should be examined in water with the 4-ioth or J-inch objectives. DEVELOPMENT. 1 7 The archegonia (fig. 7 B ), the Sphagnums, are also surrounded by paraphyses, are somewhat flask-shaped bodies, the upper part con- sisting of a slender neck, the lower part being somewhat pear-shaped. In the centre of the pear-shaped body, and near the top, is a small cavity, within which a nucleated cell is developed, called the 00s- phere(fig.7,i?£); and after the archegonium has acquired some size, a closed canal will be seen passing down the neck, into that part of the pear-shaped body in which the oosphere (fig. 7 ,Bb) is situated. After a while, as growth goes on, the cells bounding the top of the neck fall away, thus leaving an open passage down the canal to the oosphere. Down this canal the antherozoids pass, and reaching at length the oosphere bring about im- pregnation. After impregnation has taken place cell-division com- mences in the oosphere, and continues until by frequent repetition the sporogonium is formed. During this time the archegonium increases in size, the sporogonium (fig. 8, Bf) growing longitudinally, the base of the archegonium. ich, with the exception of Fig. 7. Funaria hygrometrica. A , longitudinal section of the sum- mit of weak female plant (x ioo); a, archegonia , b, leaves. B, an arche- gonium ( x 550) ; b, ventral portion with the centre cell , h> neck ; m , mouth still closed. C, the part near the mouth of the neck of a fertilized archegonium, with dark red cell walls. id striking deep down into This continued upward and i8 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. downward pressure on the delicate tissues of the arche- gonium causes it to rupture near the base ; the upper part being carried upwards by the growing sporogonium (fig. 8, B c), forms the hood or calyptra, the lower part is left sur- Fig. 8. A , origin of the sporogonium. ff in the ventral portion of the arche- gonium (longitudinal section x 500). B, C, different further stages of development of the sporogonium, A and of the calyptra, c ; h , neck of the archegonium (x about 40). rounding the base of the sporogonium and forming a sheath, which is called the vaginula (Lat., a little sheath). At the top of the sporogonium the capsule is formed, within which the spores are developed. DEVELOPMENT. 19 If longitudinal and transverse sections of the unripened capsules of mosses, in various stages of growth, be cut for microscopical examination, # these will form valuable aids to the study of the growth and development of the capsule and the spores. If a good section is made through a fully formed but unripened capsule of Funaria , care being taken to choose a nice, plump, green specimen, and this section be examined with a power of about 140 dia- meters or more, the structures to be observed will be as follows : Beginning with the outer por- tion of the section, there is first a single layer of cells, forming the outer wall of the capsule (fig. 9 f). These are thick-walled cells, which become hardened as the fruit ripens, are truly cuticu- lar, and have occurring among them at intervals stomata , similar to those found on the cuticle of the leaves of flowering plants. These cells in ripening are often deeply coloured, assuming in the different species various shades of brown, yellow, purple, at times almost black, and in some cases blood red. The next layer or lining membrane of the capsule is formed of two or more series of large, thin-walled, spongy cells, more or less filled with the green chlorophyll granules. Next after this is the air cavity (fig. 9 7i). This air cavity is intersected by numerous jointed alga-like cells, richly charged with chlorophyll. These are attached to the lining Fig. 9. Funaria hygromeirica . Longitudinal section of the theca or capsule, bisecting it symme- trically ; d , operculum ; a , an- nulus ; c, columella ; h , air cavity; s, the primary mother cells of the spores ; f, outer wall of capsule ; /, peristome, or fringe. * Directions for cutting these sections will be found in the last chapter of this work. 20 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. membrane of the capsule, and proceed from that to the central body, the columella (fig. 9 i, plant natural size. 2, fruit enlarged ; ay peristome ; b , cylindrical capsule ; c, obovate apophy- sis. 24 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. occurs, called the annulus (Lat., a ring). The function of this ring is that of casting off the lid when the spores are ripened, and thus aiding their dispersion ; but in many mosses, such as Tortula unguiculaia , there is no annulus, and the lid is then cast off by the swelling of the contents of the capsule. The operculum is not always present, and here nature adopts other means to bring about the disper- Fig. 12. Urn or capsule of Pottia intermedia, i, naked mouth of urn. 2, beaked or rostrate lid (operculum). 3, dimidiate calyptra. ison of the spores ; in the Andreaeas, or split-mosses (fig. 13), the capsule splits into four valves (fig. 13, 5), and in the Phascums (fig. 14, 1), or earth-mosses, the capsule bursts DEVELOPMENT. 25 irregularly, or rots away, and in its decay liberates the spores. The lid or operculum varies in form, being sometimes convex, as in many of the Bryums, or conical (fig. 15, 3), as in Physcomitrium pyriforme , Tetraphis pellucida , etc. ; or it may be rostrate (beaked) (fig. 12, 2), as in Dicranella hetero- malla, , etc. Andrecea nivalis. 3, plant natural size. 4, nerved leaf enlarged ; 4 a, apex of same to show areolation. 5, capsule bursting (dehiscing) by four valves. When the lid is removed, or has been cast off naturally, the inner structure of the capsule may be seen, and in some mosses, such as Pottia truncata , the mouth will be found to be naked, but in many other cases it will be seen to be surrounded by a delicate, fringe-like appendage, called the peristome (fig. 15, 2), (Gr. peri, around, and stoma , a mouth). This fringe consists of minute tooth-like processes, which 26 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. are always some multiple of 4 in number, from 4 to 64, and the number is always constant in the species. This fringe may be either single (fig. 15, 2), or double ; that is, there may Fig. 14. i, indehiscent capsule of Phascum cuspidatum. 2, dimidiate calyptra. be an outer (fig. 5, 3 b) and an inner row (fig. 5, 3 a) of these tooth-like processes. The teeth of the peristome vary in form and structure; in some cases, as in certain of the W eissias, they are very rudimentary ; in others, as in ^3 Fig. 15. Capsule of Grimmia. 1, urn. 2, peristome. 3, conical lid or operculum. Funaria, they are elaborately developed, and beautifully marked with transverse and longitudinal striae or markings. The teeth are often simple, but may be cloven, as in Dicranella heteromallct ; sometimes straight, as in Didymodon rubellus ; or much twisted, as in Tortula muralis , etc. In the Polytrichums the mouth of the capsule is closed by a beautifully reticulated diaphragm (fig. 16, 3 a ), to which the DEVELOPMENT. 27 teeth of the peristome are attached. This is peculiar to the family of Polytrichaceae, so far as British mosses are con- cerned. The study of the development of mosses is one of very great interest, and worthy of the attention of all biological students. Space is too limited to allow the matter to be dealt with here in anything like fulness, and I must there- Fig. 16. A trichum undulatum . 1, plant natural size. 2, leaf enlarged; 2 a apex of same more highly magnified. 2 by middle of same, to show areolation and lamellate nerve. 3, a portion of the fruit enlarged ; a, diaphragm or drum ; b , peristome; c, capsule. fore refer those students who desire fuller information to that grand work of Hofmeister’s (Ray Society’s publications) on the “ Germination, Development, and Fructification of the Higher Cryptogamia,” pp. 129-181, where a most elaborate and exhaustive account will be found. III. MOSS HABITATS. The habitats or natural homes of mosses are very varied, In fact, mosses may be found everywhere in country dis- tricts, so that banks, trees, woods, fields, heath lands, walls, marshes, bogs, and other watery places, all have their several mossy inhabitants. Though in many instances mosses show some degree of preference for particular habitats, no positive line of demarcation can be drawn with regard to the habitats of some species. Ceratodon , for example, seems to be at home in every locality, whilst others, such as the Sphagnums and many of the Orthotrichums , etc., are truly selective with regard to their haunts. Hence I can only indicate the most likely mosses to be found in particular habitats. In many instances the same plants may be found flourishing in equal abundance in a variety of habitats. I have already mentioned Ceratodon purpureus as a moss to be found everywhere. It is abundant on heathy waysides, and on old walls, thatched roofs, and even on trees it is no less plentiful, Banks, whether sandy, marly, or calcareous, are the favourite haunts of many mosses, and if we examine a damp sandy bank between February and April we shall be almost sure to find the dark-green, silky masses of Dicra?iella heteromalla , easily known by its terminal fruit-stalk, which is pale in colour and is abruptly bent back just below the capsule. The leaves will be found to be very narrow and all curved in one direction, and the capsule surmounted by a lid having a longish beak ; the peristome or fringe con- sists of sixteen teeth, each of which is split half way down. In like places we shall also find Weissia controversa , which has straighter leaves, with the margins rolled over towards the upper surface, erect oval . capsules, lid with a long, straight beak, and a fringe of sixteen rudimentary 28 MOSS HABITATS. 29 teeth; when dry, the leaves will be found to be much twisted. Smaller tufts of the apple moss, Bartramia pomi - formis , may also be found, and it may be known, even when barren, by its glaucous, green foliage (fig. 17). The capsules of this moss are apple shaped, and surmounted by a slightly convex lid. The fruit ripens in early summer. Hypnum prcelongutn will be frequently seen fruiting about November, but very often barren. In the barren stat'e it may be known by its long, trailing, feathery stems, which however vary very much in habit. When in fruit it will be known by its long, roughened fruit-stalks (which are lateral, as in all Hypnums), curved capsules, and lid with a long, curved beak; the fringe is in two rows, an outer one formed Fig. 17. Bartramia pomifonnis. i, plant natural size. 2, ribbed capsule en- arged. 3, dimidiate calyptra. of sixteen teeth, and an inner, paler, membranous one, divided into sixteen tooth-like processes. Hypnum rutabu- lum , another of the feather mosses, is more robust, has heart- shaped leaves, roughened fruit-stalk, and a shorter conical lid (fig. 5). Hypnum velutinum is much smaller, and has narrower, lance-shaped leaves, and is more velvety looking; whilst Hypnum confertum , which is constantly associated with the above, has a smooth fruit-stalk, and lid with a longish, curved beak. Many other mosses will also usually be found in like habi- tats ; such as Plagiothecium denticulatum , which will be found on damp sandy banks and hedge bottoms, forming large, spreading, pale-green glossy, masses. It will be noticeable for its flattened (complanate) leaves, usually growing in two 30 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. opposite rows, with an abundance of purple fruit-stalks, capped by the slightly inclined capsule, which has a conical lid. The fruit-stalks are usually inserted near the base of the stem, and examination with a lens will show the male flowers immediately below the fertile flowers. Hypnum purum will also frequently be found in such places, growing in great, scrambling masses. This moss has a beautifully pinnate stem ; the leaves are pellucid, light, glossy green, very concave, blunt, and terminated by an abrupt, recurved point. The fruit, which is very rare, must be looked for in November. On the lower part of these banks, coating any stray stone, or broken bough or tree root, and forming dense, matted patches of bright green, Amblestegium serpe?is will be frequent. This is a minute species, with abundant Fig. i 8. Fissidens Iryoides . i, plant slightly enlarged. 2, conduplicate leaf much enlarged ; 2 a, axillary male flower ; 2 a', the same more highly magnified ; 2 a ", antheridia. 3, capsule ; 3 a , slightly beaked (rostellate) lid. thread-like branches ; it will usually be found in abundant fruit, a noticeable character being the little white calyptra vhich surmounts the capsule. This will be in good fruit about April or May. Marly and clayey banks will yield such mosses as Fissidens bryoides (fig. 18, i), a very beautiful little moss, known by its flattened foliage, with leaves on opposite sides of the stem, looking very fern-like, fruit-stalk arising from the top of the stem and surmounted by an erect reddish capsule, with a cone-shaped lid, and a fringe of sixteen bifid teeth. The fruit of this moss ripens from October to the end of the year. A larger species, Fissidens taxifolius , will frequently occur with this ; but the fruit-stalk aiises from the base of MOSS HABITATS. 3* the stem, the capsule is somewhat curved, and has a longish beak (fig. 20, upper fig.); fruit ripe in November. A species similar to F bryoides is also frequent in Warwick- shire ; this is readily distinguished from it by the capsule, which is curved to one side. This is Fissidens incurvus . This species ripens its fruit about February or March. Another moss, frequent on banks such as I have described, is Tortilla unguiculata. It may be known by its somewhat tongue-shaped leaves, terminated by a small mucro or point, and having the margin recurved, or turned towards the lower surface ; the fringe of the peristome consists of thirty- two spirally twisted teeth. It fruits from December to April. A close ally, Tortula fallax , not unfrequent, has leaves tapering from the base, a more curved capsule, and fringe also twisted. Another frequenter of marly banks is the minute Dicranella varia , which occurs in patches of a reddish green colour. It has narrowly lance-shaped nearly erect leaves. The capsule is small and slightly inclined to one side, and the conical lid has a very short beak ; the fringe consists of sixteen deeply divided teeth. It fruits about November. A more rare species, Dicranella rufescens , will occasion- ally be found growing with this, and may be distinguished by the erect capsule and more conical lid or operculum. Under the microscope the leaves will be found to have a different texture ; those of D. varia having narrow close cells, whilst D. rufescens has large, pellucid cells, the leaf- margin is toothed or serrated, and the whole plant has a more or less reddish hue. In northern districts, the clay banks will occasionally yield the very interesting Discelium nudum , which may attract attention by its dense masses of confervoid-like protonema, in which will be seen scattered patches of tufted leaves. The stem being almost absent, these little tufts are dull green, or sometimes, after severe weather, of a reddish tinge. But about March the attention will be arrested by the abundant reddish, wavy fruit-stalks, bearing at their summit a somewhat drooping capsule, which has a slightly beaked lid ; and these fruit-stalks will appear the more singular because, owing to the very slight develop-. 32 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. ment of the stem, they appear to arise from amidst the confervoid mass above mentioned, and seem at first sight to have no leaves. Dry banks in maritime situations should be searched for the somewhat rare Tortula atro-vireiis . The stems are short, forming dense tufts. The leaves are broad, concave, with a slight point, and slightly spreading when moist, con- torted or twisted when dry. The most noticeable feature is the strong, spongy leaf-nerve, curiously thickened in the upper part. The fruit- stalk is terminal, short, capsule oval, shining, lid slightly beaked, peristome single, of sixteen teeth. Fruiting in March. Marly banks will also yield Camptothecium lutescens , a fine moss, growing in rather loose yellowish-green or fulvous masses. Stems more or less prostrate, branched and spread- ing; leaves bright yellowish-green, loosely imbricated, lance- shaped, rigid, and strongly striated. The fruit-stalk is lateral, and more or less covered with little prominences. Capsule slightly curved, and lid somewhat beaked. Fruit rare ; April. Anomodon viticulosum (fig. 37), mostly occurring in marly soils, will be found covering tree roots or outcropping rocks with dense masses of verdigris green. The leaves are blunt, imbricated on all sides, slightly spreading when moist, much curled and twisted when dry, and turning yellowish when old. The fruit is rare, but will be found most frequently where the plant has a good supply of moisture. The fruit- stalk is lateral, and the fruit will be found about November. Tortula aloides and T. ambigua frequently occur together on marly and clayey banks. They are very closely alike, and can only be separated by careful examination of minute details, but may be known from other species occurring in like habitats by the short stem, dark-green, somewhat fleshy leaves, with the margins very much incurved. The capsule is cylindrical and erect in ambigua , and slightly inclined in aloides . The fringe is only slightly twisted. Banks in calcareous and chalky districts will yield many of the foregoing species, but will also have among its deni- zens species peculiar to such soils. Such as the Selegerias , Eucladium verticillatum , Encalypta vulgaris , Grimmia MOSS HABITATS. 33 orbicularis , Ditrichum flexicaule , Pottia lanceolata , Mnium stellare , Trichostomum tophacewn , Bartramia calcarea , etc. The Seligerias are minute species, most likely to be found on jutting rocks in calcareous districts, and possibly the species most frequent will be 6*. pusilla , which will be found growing in light-green patches. As it is a very minute species, only close observation will detect it. Usually it occurs in fairly dense masses, and may be recognised by its small, awl-shaped leaves, straight fruit-stalk, and small, top-shaped capsule. It will be in fruit in April or May. Another very characteristic calcicolous moss is Eucladium verticillatum . which appears to favour moist rocks among trickling water, and usually the stems will be found more or less encrusted with a calcareous deposit. The stems vary from half an inch to two inches in height, and it occurs in dense, pale, bright-green tufts. Although this moss really belongs to the acrocarpous or terminal-fruited section, it may appear to the novice to be a lateral-fruited species, owing to the lateral prolongation of the branches. The leaves are narrow, rigid, and strongly nerved. Capsule erect, oval, glossy, reddish; peristome simple, of sixteen teeth ; fruit ripe in June. It may be mentioned, in passing, that when this or any other calcicolous species is intended to be mounted in glycerine or any glycerine compound, it should be first of all soaked for a short time in dilute nitric acid, to dissolve the calcareous matter adhering to the stem, and then well washed in water, otherwise the chalky par- ticles will effervesce in the glycerine, and so spoil the pre- paration. Encalypta vulgaris will also occur on these banks, and this species will be readily known by its large, pale-green, extinguisher-like calyptra (fig. n, 2), which covers the whole capsule, the large leaves, twisted when dry, and cylindrical capsules. It will be found in fruit in April, and may be known from other species of the same genus by the calyptra being entire at the base. In the other species, the calyptra is always toothed or fringed at the base, with fine, hair-like processes. Grimmia orbicularis should also be sought in such districts, but may be looked for on calcareous rocks rather than banks (fig. 19, 4). It D 34 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. grows in dense cushions, very similar to the familiar j£. pulvinata (fig. 19, 1), from which however it may be known by the convex lid — that of G. pulvinata being beaked, — and by the calyptra being split on one side, and not five-lobed as in the latter species, and by its fruit being ripened about a month earlier than in the latter species. Qitrichum flexicaule occurs in loose, glossy, yellowish-green tufts, one or two inches high. The leaves are spreading, lance-shaped, and narrowed into a longish, awl-shaped point. Under the microscope the nerve will be seen to form all the upper portion of the leaf. The stems are somewhat matted together by root-like processes. This moss is always barren in British dis- tricts. Pottia lanceolata, which grows in large patches, will be frequent in such soils. The stems vary in length from half to one inch high, the leaves are lance-shaped, terminated by a hair-like point, fruit-stalk terminal, capsule egg-shaped, brown and smooth, peri- stome single, of sixteen teeth. Mnium- stellar e occurs both in calcareous and marly soils, on shady banks, growing in dense tufts of full green or bluish green colour. The leaves are oval, lance-shaped, without the thickened border usual in these species. The leaf-cells are dense and roundish, and the leaf-margin is serrated. This species has not yet been found in fruit in Great Britain. Trichostomun tophaceum is a native of moist, dripping banks in calcareous and marly soils, growing in densely tufted masses, often matted together saaJLM Fig. 19. Grimmia fndvinata. i, plant natural size. 2, fruit enlarged ; a> conico-rostrate lid; by capsule ; c, curved seta. 3, leaf enlarged to show hair-like prolonga- tion of nerve ; b , areolation. 4, Grimmia orbicularis , to show con- vex lid a. MOSS HABITATS. 35 with earthy deposits, dull deep green in colour, and will be recognised by the lance-shaped, blunt, keeled leaves, having a strong nerve scarcely reaching the leaf tip. The fruit- stalk is terminal, the capsule erect and egg-shaped, peristome of sixteen teeth, lid conical with an oblique beak, fruiting in November. BqzLmima calcar ea may be found in wet places in calcareous or marly soils, and has somewhat the appear- ance of B. fgntana, from which it may be known by the intense and beautiful green colour of its leaves. The leaves are more rigid, destitute of border, with larger cells ; and the leaves of the male flower are acute and nerved to the apex, those of B. fontana being obtuse and nerveless. A moss-grown tree is always an attractive object to me, and many a pleasant hour has been spent looking over these mossy invaders in search of some rare or local species. The trees most prolific in moss tenants in Warwickshire (better known to me than any other county) are the ash, elm, lime, Ontario poplar, sycamore, and apple. The oak is often moss-grown, but not to the extent of the above-mentioned, nor are its inhabitants so truly tree-loving species. On the beech and the coniferae I rarely find mosses. In other climates these also have their special tenants. The mosses which I should designate tree-loving mosses are such as the Orthotrichmns , Cryphcea , Leucodon sciuroides , Zygodon , Weissia cirrhata , Leskea poly carp a , etc. The Orthotrichums are very distinct-looking mosses, oc- curring in larger or smaller tufts. The fruit-stalks are very short and usually hidden by the surrounding leaves. The capsules, with one exception, are striated or streaked (fig. 20, 2), and always erect, the calyptra bell-shaped (fig. 20), longitudinally plaited, and more or less covered with erect hairs, the leaves in most cases erect when dry, and more or less covered with minute papillae, and the leaf- margin in most cases turned over towards the under-surface or revo- lute, leaf-cells roundish. If the above characters are borne in mind they will be great helps. Orthotrichum affine will be found frequently on the ash, elm, and poplar, in large, loose, dark-green tufts, a rather coarse-looking moss, with a pale, yellowish-green calyptra. 36 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. The capsule is oblong, pale brown, with a longish straight beak when ripe, but becomes whitish and somewhat spindle- shaped when dry. O. Lyellii is abundant on the elm and ash, forms large yellowish-green loose tufts, has the leaves much recurved when moist, twisted when dry, the leaf-margins plane, and both surfaces covered with prominent papillae or minute elevations, and much clothed with brownish jointed conferva-like pro- cesses. The fruit very rare. O. diaphanum will be found on many habitats, trees, old palings, walls, etc. It grows in small, bright-green tufts, and has the leaves terminated by translucent toothed whitish tips. O. leiocarpum is rare in the Midlands, and is readily known from the other species by the cap- sule, which is quite smooth, i. e. without striae, when dry. This I find on the Ontario poplar. The Ulotas have most of the characteristics of the Orthotrichums, but have usually more hairy calyptras, and narrower leaves, much crisped when dry. Ulota intermedia , which occurs on both elm and ash, forms little yellowish-green tufts, and has the leaves much twisted when dry From May to July is the best season for all the above in perfect fruit. Cryphcea heteromalla is a local moss, occurring mostly on Fig. 20. Upper figure, Fissidens taxi- folius , fruit-stalks lateral. Left-hand figure, i, pear-shaped capsule, and, 2, convex operculum of Funaria fascicu- laris. Central figure, Zygodon viri - dissimus. Right-hand figure, Ortho- trichum ajjfine ; x, plant natural size ; by calyptra. 2, striated capsule and hairy calyptra, enlarged. MOSS HABITATS. 37 the ash, has a creeping pinnate stem, fruiting branches erect, the capsule immersed in the sur- rounding leaves, the calyptra conical, brownish, and the fringe or peristome white. Fruiting in June. Leucodon sciuroides I find upon the ash, elm, and apple trees, often very abundant, but very rarely fruiting. This species has also a creeping stem, with nu- merous erect shoots ; the leaves are spreading when moist, but imbricate (overlapping) when dry; the shoots are thickened at the end and incurved, and the leaves are nerveless ; mar- ginal leaf-cells round, central ones oblong. In calcareous and marly soils I find the yellowish-green tufts of Zygodon viridissimus (fig. 20, central figure) not unfrequently on the lower part of the trunks of elm, ash, and sometimes oak trees ; when moist and fresh- gathered the leaves are spread- ing, but when dry they are crisped and somewhat twisted; the leaves are widely lance- shaped, have plane margins, very small dot-like cells, and a pellucid nerve. I have not seen this in fruit, but it should be sought for in spring. Weissia cirrhata is an abun- dant moss on trees, gate-posts, and rails, forming dark-green cushions. The leaves are lanceolate, with the margins turned over towards the under- Fig. 21. 1, Mnium undulatum. Milium hornum. 33 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. side, crisped when dry, leaf-cells minute and opaque ; the capsule is terminal, borne on a short, straight foot-stalk, has a long straight beak, and a fringe of sixteen rudimentary teeth. Leskea polycarpa I have found most frequently on the roots of willows, especially near water, but it also occurs in drier habitats. It forms matted yellowish-green tufts ; the stem is creeping, somewhat divided with pinnate branches, leaves spreading, somewhat oval in shape, slightly roughened or papillose on the back, leaf-cells roundish. The fruit- stalk is lateral, the capsules erect and the lid conical, the fringe consisting of an outer and an inner row of sixteen teeth. Woods will yield many of our most beautiful mosses, the borders where the shade is not too great being usually the most prolific spots. Many of the species already mentioned will be found, but the most characteristic are such mosses as Milium undulatum , Poly trichum for mo sum, Hypnum tamaris- cinum , H. triquetrum , JJicranum scoparium , Mnium hornum , Vetc. Mnium undulatum is a very noble-looking moss, not un- frequent in shady woods and on shady banks in a marly soil (fig. 21, i). It grows in large green patches, and has a very tree-like habit ; the leaves are tongue-shaped, obtuse, with a slightly thickened margin, which is toothed with distinct simple teeth ; towards the top of the stem the leaves form a rosette, and from this arise arched or pendulous whip-shaped branches. The leaves are undulated when moist, crisped when dry. The fruit, which is rare, is ter- minal, the fruit-stalks are long, and the capsules pendulous. Mnium hornum , a denizen of like places, is far more fre- quent (fig. 21, 2). This grows in dense green tufts, the stems being matted together with reddish rootlets. The leaves are lance-shaped, the margin thickened and bordered by a double row of teeth ; fruit-stalk terminal and arched at the top like a swan’s neck ; capsule oblong, slightly droop- ing ; lid convex, with a small point ; in both these mosses the fringe is double, and forms a beautiful object for the microscope. Fruiting in May or June. MOSS habitats. 39 Polytrichiim formosum rejoices in open woods, and forms extensive loose tufts (fig. 22). The stems are often five or six inches high, and are terminated by long fawn-coloured fruit-stalks. The capsules are large, four or five angled, and Fig. 22. Polytrichum formosum , natural size, c, k. i, fruit slightly enlarged ; a , calyptra ; b, capsule ; c} apophysis. 2, hairy calyptra more enlarged. 3, fruit to show rostrate lid. slightly swollen at the base, this swollen portion being called the apophysis (fig. 22, i c). The mouth of the capsule is closed by a reticulated diaphragm (fig. 16, 3 a), and fringed by sixty-four short, pale teeth (fig. 16, 3 c). The lid is long 40 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. and rostrate (fig. 22, 3), and the calyptra is clothed with numerous down-like hairs (fig. 22, 2)^ Hypnum triquetrum is frequent in many woods and on shady banks; grows in tall, rigid, shining tufts, several inches long, yellowish-green. The stems are red, and more or less branched. The stem-leaves much recurved, clasping the stem at the base, thence gradually tapering to an acute point, minutely toothed on the margin, and striated or streaked on the surface ; and with a lens two parallel veins will be seen, reaching more than halfway up the leaf. The fruit-stalk proceeds from the side of the stem, bearing a short, slightly curved capsule, with a conical lid. The fringe is double (fig. 5, 3 a, b). Hypnum tamariscinum is fond of like places, and occurs in loose, deep-green tufts (fig. 23). This is one of the most beautiful of the feather mosses. The stem is tripinnate, and more or less clothed with numerous branched thread- like bodies (villi). The leaves are heart-shaped (fig. 23, 2), toothed on the margin, and covered on both surfaces with minute projections (fig. 23, 2 a) (papillae). This moss is often proliferous, i.e. produces young plants from various parts of its surface. Hence the old name H. proliferum . The fruit is lateral and very rarely seen. Dicranum scoparium is a beautiful moss occurring on marly banks and in woods, growing in yellowish tufts (fig. 24, 1). The leaves are turned to one side and curved like a falchion, narrow lance-shaped, and sharply toothed. The nerve is well marked (fig. 24, 3 a\ and has several project- ing ridges on the back. The fruit-stalk is terminal, the capsule curved, lid long and rostrate, and the fringe consists of sixteen deep-red cloven teeth, beautifully marked with transverse bars. Fruiting in July. A more noble-looking species, Dicranum majus , may also be found in woods. This moss grows in great loose masses, having stems often six inches long, and may be known from D . scoparium by the numerous pale fruit-stalks all arising from one point, the olive-green curved capsules, and the longer and more tapering leaves, all curved to one side, like a sickle in shape, and unaltered when dry. The two species MOSS HABITATS. 41 are often found together, but are readily separated by even a tyro if the above characters are observed. Fruiting from May to August. Fig. 23. Hypnum ( Tkuidium ) tamariscinum. 1, plant natural size, fruit lateral (pleurocarpous). 2, papillose leaf ; 2 a , apex of same much magnified to show papillae. ^ t<{ ^ lo 42 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. Dicranella squarrosa is much more rare, and is possibly more frequent in some of the Yorkshire woods than else- where. It occurs in large tufted masses on wet, dripping banks in both woods and shady places, and may be recog- nised at once by the remarkably squarrose leaves (i.e. curved downwards on all sides of the stem). In the York- shire districts the stem is often six inches long. The leaves are lance-shaped obtuse, and clasp the stem at the base, and are quite smooth on their lower surface. Fruiting about August. Fig. 24. Dicranum scoparium. 1, plant natural size. 2, dimidiate calyptra. 3, a portion of leaf to show enlarged basal cells ; 3 a , nerve. 4, apex of leaf to show the toothed or serrated nerve, 4 a . Dichodontium pellucidum , which is nearly related to the last, is far less rare, and may often be found covering the sandstone banks and rocks in streams. It grows in light- green patches, from one to two inches high ; the leaves are squarrose when moist, twisted when dry, and more or less covered with minute protuberances, or papillae, on the under surface. The leaf-cells are dot-like, and the nerve scarcely continued to the top of the leaf. Fruit, often very abundant, MOSS HABITATS. 43 may be found from October to April. Fruit-stalk terminal; capsule curved with an oblique beaked lid. Plagiotheciiim undulatum grows in large flattened patches of whitish-green colour. The stems are prostrate, and the leaves distichous (ie. inserted in two opposite rows), membranous in texture, egg shaped and pointed, and noticeable for the tranverse undulations which characterize them. The fruit-stalk is lateral ; capsule oblong, curved, and turned to one side ; lid beaked. The plant is very rare in fruit, which should be looked for in April or May. Hypnunt piliferuvi occurs on shady banks and in woods and is rarely found in fruit. It grows in large patches, much like H. pm uni, both in general appearance and mode of growth. The leaves are imbricated, slightly wavy, elliptical in shape, and suddenly contracted into a long hair-like point. These characters will distinguish it from any allied species. Hypnum Schreberi is also frequent in woods, and may also be found in bushy places on heaths. It has much the aspect of H. purum , from which it may be known readily if the plant be held between the eye and the light, when the beautiful red stem will be seen contrasting with the yellowish green of the leaves ; in H. purum the stem is pale green. The leaves are elliptical in shape and imbricated, concave, and terminated by a short point. Fruit-stalk lateral. The fruit is rare, and should be looked for from November to April. A newly ploughed field, or, better still, one that has lain fallow for some little time, although presenting few charms for the general observer of Nature, will be spots to which the would-be bryologist must give his particular attention ; and during those dreary months which intervene between October and April he will, if in any way an enthusiast, find plenty of work for his microscope. The mosses to be found in such habitats are usually the simplest, from a pretty point of view the least noticeable, and the shortest lived of any he may study, and when pre- served for the herbarium are, perhaps, the most disappoint- ing, looking very often more like dried masses of mud than 44 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. aught else, still these earth mosses, or, Phascei , are worthy of his attention. The plan I adopt with these minuter species is not only to dry some of them with their underlying mud, but also to mount a few specimens of each on the ordinary 3in. by iin. slips of glass, in glycerine jelly, for my cabinet, and very pretty objects many of them make when thus pre pared. The older botanists placed all the Phascei in the genus Phascum; but modern botanists, seeing that the group was a very heterogeneous one, have split these Phascei into several genera, such as ~ Pleuridium, Phascum , Sphcera7igium , Ephemerum , Archidium , etc. I shall speak only of those that I have myself found most frequent. Besides these I also find in like habitats such mosses as Pottia niinutula , Funaria fascicularis , and Tortula uu- guiculata. The Phascei usually occur in scattered patches, and, being minute, require the constant use of the field lens, and rather close searching in many cases. Taking their general characteristics, they may readily be known by their small bladder-like capsules, usually more or less concealed by the surrounding leaves, the fruit-stalk being very short in most species, and by the absence of a true lid or operculum. Pleuridium subulatum is a not unfrequent inhabitant of sandy and marly fields. It may also often be found in great abundance in the cleared spaces of woods, and is in good condition about April ; will be found in yellowish patches, often rather extensive ; the capsule is oval, and immersed in the awl-shaped bristly looking leaves ; the leaves are rigid, and have a broad nerve, which scarcely extends to the tip of the leaf ; the uppermost leaves are longer than the lower ones, and much narrower. Phascum cuspidatum is a frequent denizen of sandy fields, and occurs in small scattered light-green patches. The leaves are large for the size of the plant, are concave, oblong lance-shaped, and somewhat keeled, with the margin turned over towards the under side ; the nerve projects beyond the leaf-tip, forming a short cusp-like point; the capsule is roundish and more or less hidden among the MOSS HABITATS. 45 leaves ; leaf-cells quadrate, slightly papillose ; spores slightly roughened. Sphcerangium muticum is much more rare, occurs in sandy and marly fields in dark-green or brownish tufts, looking to the unassisted eye like small tufts of minute bulbs. It is more minute than the last, and has broad, roundish, con- cave leaves, not keeled, but rounded on the back, the nerve rarely reaching the leaf-tip, and the leaves are usually slightly toothed in their upper part, and have plane margins ; the capsule is round, and quite hidden among the upper leaves ; the spores pale, roundish, smooth ; leaf-cells large. In good fruit, March or April. Ephemeriwi serratum occurs most abundantly in marly fields, but may also be found in sandy ones, and looks to the unassisted eye like a little patch of green conferva ; the lens will, however, show the small reddish-brown sessile capsules, surrounded by the narrow lance-shaped, slightly toothed leaves ; the leaves are nerveless, light-green, with transparent longish leaf-cells ; spores yellow, globose, slightly roughened. In this moss the protonema (fig. 3, 1 b) continues throughout the lifetime of the moss; and hence, in a single specimen under the microscope, the life- history of a moss may often be seen — the protonema, young buds, perfect plant, and capsule bearing the spores. Fruit, October to April. Archidium phciscoides I have rarely found in fields, but it does occur occasionally in marly fallow fields ; it is very minute, and requires close searching, and as the capsule is very small may often be passed over as a mere barren tuft of Dicranella varia. It may, however, be known by its round capsules and strongly nerved leaves, and by its giving off lateral, sterile, whip-shaped shoots from the fertile stem. Pottia minutula I find not unfrequent in marly fields, in small, brownish-green tufts. The stem is very short, the leaves oblong, lance-shaped, tapering to the point, slightly overlapping and spreading when moist, erect when dry, margin much recurved ; capsule on a short fruit-stalk ; mouth naked, i.e. without a fringe ; lid large, conical ; leaf- cells quadrate. 46 HANDBOOK OF MOSSES. Tortula unguiculata occurs in every sort of soil, is very variable, and often puzzling. Sometimes great glaucous green tufts of this moss will be seen without a vestige of fruit, at other times fruiting specimens will be abundant. The leaves are oblong, lance-shaped, blunt, with a minute point formed by the projecting nerve, margin curved towards the under side ; leaf-cells dense and quadrate in the upper part, large and transparent below ; leaves much twisted when dry ; capsule erect, cylindrical ; fringe of thirty-two twisted teeth ; lid awl-shaped. Funaria fascicularis occurs in sandy fields, in scattered tufts, and will be readily known by its widely lance-shaped toothed leaves, with large leaf-cells, pear-shaped capsule, convex lid, and inflated calyptra (fig. 20, 1), no peristome or fringe. Many of our heath-lands are being rapidly reclaimed ; and vexatious as it may be to the botanist to see the haunts of some of his favourites destroyed, he will, if wise, feel that it is far better that these lands should be made the means of employing labour and adding to the wealth of the country, rather than allowed to lie idle, the mere producers of weeds. But, in the neighbourhood of these reclaimed wastes, the borders of many of the fields, and the waysides of the lanes will still retain much of their heath-like character, and in such localities I have found the mosses of our heath-lands fairly represented. The mosses that I shall characterize as heath-mosses are Ceratodon purpureus , Campylopus pyri- formis , Bryum nutans , Funaria hygrometrica, Polytrichum piliferum , Hypnum cupressiforme . These mosses, although abundant on heath-lands in Warwickshire, are by no means confined to such localities. Ceratodon purpureus will be found abundantly on heathy waysides in good fruit about the middle of May, and will be found forming large dull-green patches, the purple fruit- stalk and fruit giving quite a character to the locality. The leaves are lance-shaped, with reflexed entire margins keeled on the back ; the capsules oval, slightly curved, furrowed when dry, and slightly strumose at the base ; lid conical, and fringe of sixteen teeth united by transverse bars. The MOSS HABITATS. 47 fringe of this species forms a beautiful object for the micro- scope. Funaria hygrometrica will be found very abundantly in like places, more especially where the soil has been burnt, forming large yellowish-green patches, and when abundant has a very striking appearance (fig. 25). The leaves are large, very concave ; the leaf-cells large, hexagonal ; capsule curved, somewhat pear-shaped, purple, and furrowed when ripe, surmounted by a beautifully marked plane-convex lid ; the peristome or fringe double, the outer fringe being formed Fig. 25. Funaria hygrometrica. 1, young leafy plant ; a , inflated calyptra. 2, nearly mature plant, natural size ; a , leaves ; b, seta, or fruit-stalk ;