UC-NRLF B OSSES WITH A HAND-LENS A-'J- SECOND EG1 11 ON HEPATICS GIFT OF BIOLOGY R 6 V MOSSES WITH A HAND- LENS A NON-TECHNICAL HANDBOOK OF THE MORE COMMON AND MORE EASILY RECOGNIZED MOSSES OF THE NORTH-EASTERN UNITED STATES BY A. J. GROUT, PH. D. \\ BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN, N. Y. SECOND EDITION, REVISED, ENLARGED AND INCLUDING THE HEPATICS ILLUSTRATED BY MARY V. THAYER PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 360 LENOX ROAD, FLATBUSH BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN NEW YORK CITY AND THE O. T. LOUIS COMPANY 59 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY COPYRIGHTED 1905 BY A. J. GROUT, PH. D. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IGHAMTON REPUBLIC/ PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. | HE preparation of the First Edition was an experi- ment, as there was some doubt as to the demand for such a book and considerable uncertainty as to how many people would be able to use it successfully. The sales of the First Edition have proved con- clusively the demand for a book of this kind, and it has also been proved that the hand-lens can be successfully used to determine a much larger number of mosses than was included in the First Edition. This is shown by the readiness with which persons of no special scientific training have identified the com- mon mosses by its use. By the use of slides prepared as for the compound micro- scope, and the very best lenses such as are advertised in the last pages of this book; many characters which were little or not at all used in the First Edition can be utilized in determining diffi- cult species. Such characters are the gross structure of the per- istome, the characters of the costa, and the margins of the leaves, position of the reproductive organs, and in many cases the gen- eral outline of the cells. The hand-lens can never equal the compound microscope for making out these finer details of structure, but the compound microscope is beyond the reach of many who would gladly study the mosses if it can be done with a hand-lens. No characters have been utilized which the author has not been able to make out with his lens, but it may easily be true that the beginner may not*be able to see as much at first. The author believes that the limit of utility of the hand-lens has been reached in this edition, so far as the mosses are concerned at least. The section on the Hepatics is less complete owing to the limitations of the author. 439307 VI MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The arrangement of the families has been slightly changed and the glossary has been greatly changed ; all the terms describ- ing characters discernible by the compound microscope alone have been omitted and a number of common botanical terms have been added for the convenience of amateurs. My thanks are due Miss Thayer for her careful work in preparing the illustrations not otherwise acknowledged, and to Dr. Evans for suggestions and the use of some of his illustrations of Hepatics. Many of the additional illustrations are from the Bryologia Europea and a smaller number from Sullivant's Icones and Gray's Manual. Miss Alice Crockett has read all proofs. Mrs. Annie Morrill Smith has greatly assisted by the loan of books, specimens, and illustrations. A. J. GROUT, BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL, MARCH, 1905. BROOKLYN, N. Y. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. JOSSES are individually so small and inconspicuous that the effect which they have as a mass in creating and enhancing the beauty of natural scenery is often overlooked. Yet if one recalls the desolate and uninviting appearance of a wood in which the mosses have been destroyed by fire, or observes carefully the part which mosses play in completing the attractions of mountain scenery, he will feel like saying a hearty amen to Ruskin's enthusiastic words in the closing paragraphs of his essay on " Leaves Motionless." The freshness which a summer shower brings to the land- scape is largely due to the unfolding of the mosses on tree and fence and boulder from patches of lifeless brown into soft cushions of living green. Many lovers of nature have observed the beauty of mosses and have collected them for their beauty alone. Many more would have collected and studied them had not the difficulties been so numerous and hard to overcome. Until very recently there has been no literature in the English language that was suited to the needs of the beginner. Owing to the small size of most mosses, the characters which separate species and even genera are so largely microscopic that a compound microscope has been considered an absolute necessity for their study. Many years of study of mosses in the field and in herbaria have convinced the author that any person of average intelli- gence can easily learn to recognize seventy-five to one hundred common mosses with the aid of an ordinary hand-lens of ten to fifteen diameters magnifying power. The purpose of this work is to give, by drawings and de- scriptions, the information necessary to enable any one interested to become acquainted with the more common mosses with the least possible outlay of time, patience, and money. The drawings were made without the aid of the compound microscope in order that nothing might be represented that is not readily distin- guished with the simple microscope. Finally it must be borne in mind by the student that the present work is limited and incomplete in its treatment, and is but a stepping stone to the larger and more complete works, and to the broader and fuller study of bryology. A. J. GROUT, BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL, AUGUST, 1900. BROOKLYN, N. Y. KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF MOSSES. In using these keys the student is advised to turn to the illustrations in the main part of the book, to explain any of the characters used in the key that are not otherwise perfectly clear. A free use of the glossary is also suggested. PAGE 1. Plants whitish or light gray, scarcely appearing green 2. Plants green, yellow-green, or dark green to almost black 3. 2. Plants of bogs; capsules nearly globular, ovoid when dry and empty, without peristome Sphagnaceae. u Plants of moist shady places, growing in dense tufts or cushions; capsules elongated, with a peristome Leucobryum in Dicranaceae. 50 „ 3. Leaves in two rows, with edges apparently to- wards the stem 4.* Leaves in more than two rows, or if apparently two ranked, the edges of the leaves are not toward the stem 5. - 4. Leaves apparently split on the inner edge and sheathing each other and the stem, costate; peristome present Fissidentaceac. 30 Leaves ecostate, not split at base, but forming a continuous wing-margin along the stem in the sterile plants ; peristome lacking Schistostegaceae. 86 5. Acrocarpous 6. Pleurocarpous 20. 6. Plants black or blackish green; leaves opaque or nearly so because of the very thick cell- walls ; growing on trees or rocks 7. Plants green to light yellow-green, or, if black- ish, growing on soil 9. *Some hepatics will be sought here. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE 7. Capsule dehiscing by four valves, as in the Hepaticae, almost exclusively alpine or sub- alpine Andreaeaceae. 15 Capsule dehiscing by an operculum ; peristome of 1 6 jointed teeth 8. 8. Peristome single (very rarely lacking), with teeth not united in pairs, but usually per- forate or bifid, richly colored and rarely re- flexed when dry. Plants often hoary with colorless leaf apices, nearly all growing on rocks Grimmiaceac. 51 __- Peristome double (with one or two exceptions), teeth often united in pairs, rarely perforate, usually reflexed when dry, inner peristome of very narrow linear erect segments. Plants very rarely hoary, mostly tree-grow- ing Orthotrichaceac. 78 " 9. Peristome of four large distinct unjointed teeth Georgiaceae. 17 Peristome havi-ng an inner plaited whitish cone ; outer peristome of shorter teeth often pres- ent. Odd plants best recognized by a refer- ence to the illustrations Buxbaumiaccae. 28 Peristome lacking, or of more than four teeth. . . .10. 10. Peristome of 32 to 64 short teeth, joined at the tips to a membrane which nearly closes the mouth of the capsule ; calyptra densely hairy with long whitish hairs (except Cat harmed) ; leaves with numerous vertical lamellae on the upper surface of the costa. Plants large and very dark colored, growing on soil.... • Polytrichaceae. 18 Peristome when present consisting of 16 to 32 plainly articulate teeth, frequently lacking; mouth of capsule not closed by a membrane. .II.*- 11. Capsules cleistocarpous. . . .Bruchia in Dicranaceae. 36 Capsules cleistocarpous. . .Astomum in Tortulaceae. 37 Capsules gymnostonn-s; leaf-cells small, dense Pottia and Weisia in Tortulaceae. 91, 64 — X MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE Capsules gymnostomous, leaf-cells large, clear Physconritrium in Funariaceae. 90 Capsules peristomate 13 13. Capsules with a large swollen hypophysis, which is usually larger and more conspicuous than the spore-bearing part ; leaves not papillose ; growing on decaying animal matter Sp lac hnaccae. 88 Capsules without hypophysis (some with slender necks) 14. 14. Capsules strongly plicate when dry and empty, often strongly unsymmetric 15.- Capsules not plicate or striate when dry or only very slightly so 18. - • 15. Peristome single Dicranaceae. 34 Peristome double 16.- 16. Capsules subglobose ; inner peristome without cilia, or cilia very small Bartramiaccae. 94 Capsules elongated, cilia well developed 17... 17. Capsules strongly unsymmetric with the mouth nearly on one side; segments opposite the teeth Funariaceae. 89 Capsules only slightly unsymmetric; segments alternating with the teeth Aulacomniaceae. 92 18. Capsules subpendent to pendent; peristome double Bryaceac. 96 Capsules often unsymmetric or inclined, but never subpendent; peristome single, teeth usually forked or twisted or both 19. 19. Leaves nearly always crisped when dry; per- istome in most cases of filiform twisted teeth. Tortulaccae. 63 Leaves rarely crisped ; peristome of 16 reddish forked teeth which are never twisted Dicranaceae. 34 20. Aquatic, long and floating, with leaves straight ; or plants shorter with falcate-secund leaves and often only partially submerged ; capsules immersed or emergent, never exsertecl. . . . . . . .Fontinalaceae. 146 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS XI . PAGE Terrestrial (or a few aquatic), seldom slender or floating, with capsules exserted on long setae..2i;x 21. Tree growing species with the capsules partially immersed in the perichaetial leaves or at most barely exserted 23. Not growing on trees, or if so with capsules long exserted 22. 22. Leaves subopaque, dense, usually small; leaf- cells short Leskcaccae. 108 Leaves nearly transparent, leaf-cells in most cases elongated ; peristome with cilia except in species with erect capsules Hypnaccae. 114 23. Stems and branches flattened ; leaves appear- ing two-ranked Neckcraceae. 143 Stems and branches nearly terete; leaves not appearing two-ranked Lcucodon. 141 KEY TO GENERA, Plants with luminous protonema, growing ex- clusively in caves and dark holes. .Schistostega. 86 Plants gray to gray-green, growing in bogs and swamps Sphagnum. 1 1 Plants not gray (except Leucobryum) growing in various situations i. 1. Acrocarpous A. 2. Pleurocarpous B. A. 1. Capsules square in cross-section; calyptra dense- ly hairy Polytrichum. 19 Capsules round in cross section ; calyptra ex- tinguisher-like, completely covering the cap- sule Encalypta. 76 Capsules round in cross-section; calyptra various. 2. 2. Blackish to brownish-green ; growing on the bark of living trees 3. Blackish to brownish-green, growing on rocks .-..34. Green, growing in various situations but not on trees 5. Xll MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE 3. Capsule long-exserted, not wrinkled when dry. .. 4. Capsule short-exserted, strongly wrinkled when dry ; leaves crisped when dry Ulota. 79 Capsules immersed or partially exserted, strong- ly wrinkled (except O. speciosum) when dry ; leaves not crisped Orthotrichum. 81 4. Leaves crisped; capsule pear-shaped and puck- ered about the mouth when dry. Ulota Ludwigii. 79 Leaves scarcely crisped, capsule ovoid, not puckered or folded Drummondia. 79 5. Capsules immersed or partially exserted; seta not apparent 6. Capsules exserted ; seta evident 9. 6. Capsules green, without distinct lid; plants of sandy fields 7. Capsules with lid and peristome ; plants growing on shaded banks Webera. 29 7. Leaves strongly crisped to spirally coiled when dry Astomum. 37 Leaves not crisped when dry 8. 8. Capsules pear-shaped, partially exserted. . .Bruchia. 36 Capsules nearly spherical, immersed and nearly hidden in the long slender leaves. . . .Pleuridium. 35 9. Capsules erect, urn-shaped, no peristome 10. Capsules erect, greatly swollen at base. .Splachnum. 88 Capsules strongly ventricose ; mature plant with- out leaves Buxbaumia. 28 Capsules erect, ovoid to cylindric, nearly or quite straight 1 1 . Capsules arcuate, unsymmetric, usually cernuous..22. Capsule symmetric, cernuous or pendent; ovoid, pyriform, or subglobose 33. 10. Costa excurrent Pottia. 91 Costa ending below apex of leaf. . . .Physcomitrium. 90 11. Plants growing on moist cliffs, usually on lime- stone; peristome lacking Gymnostomum. 63 Plants growing on various substrata ; peristome present 12. 12.} Growing on stones in running water Fissidens Julianus. 34 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE Growing on rotten wood or occasionally on peaty banks 13- Growing on soil !4- Growing on rocks or cliffs Dicranum. 45 13. Peristome of four teeth Georgia. 17 Peristome of sixteen teeth .... Dicranum ftagellare. 49 14. Plants with hairy calyptra and appearance of the Hair-caps Pogonatum. 23 Plants without hairy calyptra IS- 15. Peristome of 32 teeth attached to the columella as in the Hair-caps Catharinea. 25 Peristome of 32 hairlike, strongly twisted teeth ; leaves crisped when dry 16. Peristome of 16 teeth often divided and slender at apex but not hairlike or twisted 18. 1 6. Costa excnrrent into a long white hair. . . .Tortula. 72 Costa not excurrent or barely so I/. 17. Basal hyaline cells forming a V at the base of the leaves Tortella. 70 Line of separation between hyaline and dense cells running nearly straight across the leaf Barbula. 67 18. Leaves tongue-shaped with long-excurrent costa as in Tortula Desmatodon plinthobius. 74 Leaves short, closely imbricated ; not tongue- shaped Ditrichum. 37 Leaves long and slender, lanceolate ; costa not excurrent or only shortly so 19. 19. Plants comparatively large; cells at basal angles of leaf abruptly enlarged and usually colored Dicranum. 45 Plants small ; cells at basal angles of leaf not conspicuously enlarged or colored 20. 20. Plants rusty red ; capsules more than twice as Jong as broad Didymodon rubellus. 38 green; capsule nut moie 111 long as broad wl 21. Plants of sandy fields; leaves crisped when dry Weisia viridula. 67 XIV MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE Plants of moist banks ; leaves not crisped Dicranella. 41 22. Plants greenish-white Leucobryum. 50 Plants dark to light-green, not white 23. 23. Leaves two-ranked; plants appearing flattened Fissidens. 30 Leaves not two-ranked, arising from all sides of the stem 24. 24. Capsules smooth when dry 25. Capsules furrowed or wrinkled when dry 28. 25. Capsules with a long slender neck. . . .Trematodon. 40 Capsules with neck short or wanting 26. 26. Plants in habit, peristome, and calyptra like the hair-caps Pogonatum alpinum. 25 Calyptra not hairy ; peristome of 16 teeth 27. 27. Peristome double ; dry capsules usually with a short neck (long in Polilia clongata) Bryum and Pohlia. 97 Peristome single ; capsules without neck, not strumose Dicranum. 45 Peristome single; capsule plainly strumose.... Oncophorus. 39 28. Capsules subglobose when wet Philonotis and Bartraniia. 94 Capsules elongated, often subcylindric 29. 29. Growing on rotten wood Dicranum. 45 Growing on soil or bases of trees 30. 30. Growing in swamps or very wet places ; per- istome double Aulac omnium palustre. 92 Growing in barren places, roadsides, paths, etc. ; peristome various 31. Growing on soil, base of trees, or rocks ; per- istome single Dicranella. 41 Growing most commonly at base of trees in woods ; peristome double Aulacomnium hcterostichum. 94 31. Capsules strongly curved, mouth at one side Funaria. 89 Capsules inclined, only slightly unsymmetric. . . .32. 32. Seta yellow Ditrichum pallidum. 38 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS XV PAGE Seta dark red-brown Ceratodon. 40 33. Leaves like those of Dicranum longi folium (see plate XI); seta arched in the middle; cap- sule without neck, pendent ; peristome single Dicranodontium longirostre. 48 Leaves lanceolate ; seta bent at the top ; capsule long-necked Leptobryum. 102 Leaves lanceolate; capsule with short neck.... Pohlia nutans. 100 Leaves broadly ovate-lanceolate to ovate Mnium and Bryum. 103 34. Leaves without costa 35. Leaves costate • 36. 35. Leaves acute, white tipped ; capsules entirely im- mersed, subglobose, opening by a lid. .Hedwigia. 52 Leaves obtuse, without white tips ; capsule split- ting into 4 valves Andreaea petropliila. 15 36. Leaves crisped when dry, never white tipped. . . . Ptychomitrium. 53 Leaves not crisped, often white tipped Grimmia and Rhacomitrium. 55-59 Leaves not crisped ; capsule splitting into four valves Andreaea. 15 B. 1. Growing on stones in or near running water. ... 2. Not growing in water 4. Growing on the stems of partially submerged bushes Dichelyma. 146 2. Long and floating (Fissidcns Julianus may be sought here) Fontinalis. 146 Not long and floating 3. 3. Leaves without costa Hypnuui. 115 Leaves costate - Rhynchostegium rusci forme, Brachythecinin, Amblystegium, Hypnum ochraceum. 4. Leaves two-ranked or appearing so, flattened into one plane 5. Leaves not lying in one plane 7. 5. Leaves without costa 6. XVI MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE Leaves costate ; plants growing on cool moist rocks Homalia. 144 6. Plants growing on trunks of trees Neckcra. 143 Plants growing on decayed wood Entodon and Raphidostegium. I37> 127 Plants growing on soil or decayed wood Plagiothecium. 136 7. Plants regularly once or twice pinnate, looking like miniature ferns Thuidium, Hypnum, Hylocomium proliferum.iii, 115, IJ3 Plants not regularly pinnate 8. 8. Capsules erect, straight 9- Capsules cernuous, curved. . . . .• Hypnum family. 114 9. Growing on bark of trees 10. Growing on soil or decayed wood 13. Growing on stones or bark of trees . Amblystegium adnatum. 119 10. Growing only near the base of trees 1 1 . Growing at various heights on tree trunks, sel- dom near the base 12. 11. Light green ; branches julaceous Thelia. no Dark green ; branches somewhat flattened or at least not julaceous Anomodon. 109 12. Small ; seta many times as long as the per- ichaetial leaves Pylaisia. 136 Larger ; seta not more than twice as long as the perichjetial leaves Leucodon. 141 13. Plants treelike, growing on the ground in swamps Climacium. 139 Plants growing in prostrate mats on soil or decayed wrood 14. 14. Leaves without costa Entodon. 137 Leaves costate Anomodon rostratus and Brachythecium acu- minatuui 108, 139 INTRODUCTION. |O many different kinds of plants are called mosses that it may be well to clear the field by defining the true mosses as distinguished from the other plants popularly called mosses. The sea-weeds or marine algae are often known as sea mosses, but no true moss grows in salt water. The moss which drapes the trees in swampy regions of the South is not a true moss, but a flowering plant bearing flowers and seeds like a rose or a geranium. Lichens are frequently confused with mosses, but they never bear leaves and never are a bright green, but a grayish or brownish green, rarely black or bright colored. The majority of species consist of a flat thin body usually prostrate and closely applied to the substance upon which the plant grows. The " Reindeer Moss " is a lichen with shrubby hollow stems ; the gray " moss " that hangs from the limbs of trees in Northern swamps is also a lichen. The Hepaticse, or liverworts, are most closely allied to the mosses and some species are difficult to distinguish from them. In general, however, the liverworts consist of a flat expanded body like a bright green lichen, or, if leafy, the leaves, which never have a costa, are arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the stem and often in the same plane, giving the plant a flat- tened appearance unlike the great majority of mosses. In fruit the capsule of the leafy forms opens by four valves instead of by a lid as in the mosses. The terms used in describing mosses are fully defined and illustrated in the glossary, and the student should make himself familiar with the principal terms as early in his study of the mosses as practicable. The beginner in the study of mosses should be content with the study of well developed fruiting specimens. Sterile spec- imens should never be attempted unless their genus is readily recognizable from previous experience, or some marked pecul- iarity renders recognition easy. Imperfect or non-fruiting mosses 2 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS often prove an insoluble puzzle to the advanced student and would be nothing but a source of discouragement to the begin- ner. Many mosses of the more difficult genera like Hypnum and Bryum are not included in this book because they can not be recognized with any degree of certainty without the aid of the compound microscope. As some of these difficult species are common they will prove a source of annoyance to the beginner, and it is hoped will lead him to obtain, sooner or later, the necessary books and apparatus for a more extended study. Almost any form of simple microscope will serve for the study of most of the mosses with this book, but to obtain the best results it should be of a construction suitable for carrying in the pocket into the field. The hand-lens recommended for this book is of so short a focus that it can not readily be used for a dissecting lens, so that some form of dissecting microscope will prove very useful. If one can not afford a regular dissecting microscope costing from three to five dollars, a tripod costing less than one dollar will give good results. Place the object to be dissected on a piece of plain glass over white paper and stand the tripod on the glass. For ordinary work a lens of from 15 to 20 diameters is needed, for the finer details a lens of 30 or more diameters is necessary. In studying very minute parts it will often be neces- sary to mount in water in the same manner as for the compound microscope. For the preparation of these slides the student should have half-a-dozen blank slides of glass, such as can be purchased of any dealer in optical goods, a small pair of fine flat- pointed forceps and two fine-pointed dissecting needles. A small scalpel is useful, but a good pocket knife will answer all pur- poses. Circles or squares of thin glass are useful, but two slides can be used with the object mounted in water between them. Mica can be used for covers or for slides and covers both. In preparing these slides all specimens not fresh and moist should first be soaked out in hot water, the parts to be studied should then be carefully removed with the forceps and placed in a drop of water on one of the glass slides and covered with a cover circle or another slide. If one has a dissecting microscope with stand and mirror the slides can be studied in the usual manner, but almost as good results can be obtained by holding the slide up to a strong light and examining it thus as a transparent object. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 3 Two blank slides, two rubber bands, a pair of fine-pointed forceps, and a small vial of water carried in the pocket into the field will enable one to mount slides on the spot and will often save the trouble of carrying home useless material or, what is worse yet, leaving a good thing behind because it is not recog- nized. The rubber bands are to slip over the two slides and keep them in place when objects are mounted between them. To use a hand-lens with the best results the object or slide should be held with the thumb and fore finger of the left hand, and the lens with the right hand. Then by resting the right hand on the left the lens can be focussed without difficulty. It is usually best to let the thumb of the right hand lie on that of the left. If the hands do not touch it is very difficult to keep them steady enough to keep a high power hand-lens in focus. The only parts for the study of which the dissecting micro- scope is absolutely necessary are the antheridia and archegonia. These organs are readily found in acrocarpous mosses if not too badly decomposed by age, and after a little practice one will have little difficulty in distinguishing them with a high power lens. In the pleurocarpous mosses they are often difficult to find. The best plan is to soak the plant thoroughly and place it on a large piece of glass, over white paper, and dissect off all promising buds. These are to be dissected separately in a drop of clean water on a slide, but they are so small and so often shrunken or partially decomposed as to make their recognition difficult. In counting peristome teeth it is well to remember that the teeth are always in multiples of four, 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64, so that if a number more than one of these numbers is found one may know that the entire number is not less than the next higher. Every one intending to study mosses will find a collection of dried specimens invaluable, and a collection is more easily made and cared for than with any other group of plants. The only- reason for pressing specimens of mosses is that they may be stored satisfactorily in the herbarium. Each species has a dis- tinctive look when naturally dried in situ, and the pressure should not be great enough to obliterate this. Note the difference be- tween plants of Hedwigia dried under pressure and dried in the open, and you will easily see how important proper drying is for the student. My own practice is to place the mosses in an or- dinary plant-press and press with medium pressure for twenty- 4 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS four hours, and then remove and dry thoroughly in the open air. Mosses growing in thin mats are best spread out in the drying papers in their natural position, care being taken to remove any surplus of adherent substratum, soil, rotten wood, etc., also any other species that may be intertangled with the one it is desired to collect. If the mats are thick and consist principally of erect stems, it is better to break them up into vertical sections or slices before pressing. The substratum, the habitat, the locality, the date, and the name of the collector should be noted for each specimen, and either put in with the specimens or else recorded in a note-book, numbered to correspond to numbers attached to the specimens. The name of the person identifying the plant should also be written on the label. Many times it is also im- portant to give the altitude at which the specimens were col- lected. The following is a good sample label: NORTH AMERICAN Musci Pseudoleskea rigescens (Wils.) Lindb. Bark of Alder Trees. Alt. i, 800 ft. Beaver Meadows, Vancouver, Id., Aug. 26, 1901. Cull. J. W. Bailey. Det. G. N. Best When dried the mosses may be placed in suitable envelopes or pasted on cards, and preserved in an herbarium in the usual manner. In the pronunciation of the scientific names it is well to re- member that the best authorities give the English pronunciation of the Latin with the accent according to the rules of Latin gram- mar. The Roman pronunciation so much in vogue in schools and colleges is sure at some early date to supersede the English, but at present the English has the weight of authority. The pronunciation is indicated by the same signs as in the re- cent works on the flowering plants. \ Indicates the accent and the long, broad, open, or close English sound of the vowel. 'Indicates the accent and the short English sound. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 5 Life History and General Structure. | HE fruiting moss plant consists of two distinct parts, the green leaf-bearing portion and the spore-bearing part — a slender bristle-like seta (sometimes almost lacking), bearing at its summit the capsule which con- tains the spores. The main use of the seta is to bear the capsules up above the surrounding plants to get light and air, and especially to place the spores where they will readily be dis- tributed by the wind. If you shake the freshly ripened capsule of any of the larger mosses you can easily see a small cloud of fine powder — the spores. If you mount such a capsule in water and press down upon the cover the mass of escaping spores can readily be seen. When the spores fall on moist earth, under favorable condi- tions, they germinate by sending out tiny green threads called protonema ; these continue growing until a green felt-like cover- ing is formed over the bare soil or other substratum. From this protonema grow the moss plants. If one examines damp earth that has been undisturbed for a few months he will readily find this green felt with tiny moss plants sticking up here and there. Greenhouses and old gardens are particularly good spots to search for this purpose. If one is fortunate enough to find fresh plants of the Slender Pogonatum the green protonema will be very conspicuous. On the leafy portion of trie plant are borne male and female reproductive organs, antheridia and archegonia. From the fertil- ized egg-cell in the archegonia develops the spore-bearing part — the sporophyte or sporogonium. It is just as necessary that the spores of mosses be widely distributed as it is that the seeds of flowering plants be scattered far and wide, and very similar means are employed. The cap- sules of the Peat Mosses explode and shoot the spores as much as four inches into the disturbing breeze or onto the hair of pass- ing animals. Webera and Buxbaumia are miniature powder guns fired by falling rain drops or by passing insects or other small animals. By far the greater number of capsules are like miniature pepper boxes, shaking their life-bearing powder onto every breeze .and shaken by every puff of wind and every passing object. The mechanism of the boxes is most wonderful. The seta 0 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS is often as full of spring as if it were tempered steel, and the little boxes are made with a lid which keeps everything snug until the spores are ripe, when it falls and leaves the perforated cover, which can open and close, open when dry and close when moist. In damp weather it closes so that the spores may not be beaten straight down by the rain or become wetted and spoiled inside the capsule by a premature germination. This automatic per- forated cover is in most cases composed of a fringe of teeth around the mouth of the capsule ; these teeth close up when moist and spread out when dry by a purely mechanical action which can be performed long after the cells of the capsule are entirely lifeless. With the high power lens the teeth and cilia (see Peristome in Glossary) can readily be seen in a dry capsule which is well pre- served. In Georgia the capsules are erect, and its four teeth well separated when dry, as seen in Fig. 3, PI. I. Dip one of the dry capsules in warm water for a moment and see the peristome close like a tiny vise, giving an almost comical impression of grim determination. In Polytrichum the teeth are sixty-four in number, and of themselves are usually so short that they would have little effect on spore distribution, but they are all attached by their tips to the expanded membranous upper end of the columella, forming a most effective and ingenious pepper-box, entirely automatic in action. When the weather is dry, the teeth become shrunken in width, and strongly incurved ; the columella also shrinks, pulling the ends of the teeth inwards (Fig. 2. PI. I). This leaves ample room for the spores to be shaken through the openings between the teeth. The columella shrinks more at the margin than in the EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. i. Moist peristome of Polytrichum Ohioense, R. & C. 2. The same dry. 3. Dry peristome of Georgia. 4. The same wet. 5. Four teeth of the peristome of Catharinea undulata (I/.), Web. & Mohr. 6, 7, and 8 represent different positions of the peristome of Barbula amplexa, L,esq.* 7 shows the peristome immediately after the removal of the operculum. 8 shows the appearance of the peristome of a dry capsule from which the spores are escaping. The loosely twisted mesh of the narrow teeth forms a perfect sieve to control the escape of the spores. If you place a per- istome in this condition under the microscope without mounting medium or cover-glass and breathe upon it the teeth will straighten perceptibly. If you dip it in warm water it will assume the original position shown in 7, if it be comparatively fresh; if it be rather old and somewhat broken it may look like 6. The perfect cone in 7 is, of course, a waterproof covering for the spores inside. *As the peristomes were drawn by reflected light, the basal mem- brane was scarcely noticeable. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 8 PLATE I. (See explanation on preceding page.> 8 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS central portion, causing it to assume the shape of a pie-plate. This upturned margin of the columella also enables the teeth to remain attached to its edge in their changed position. In species of this family with more nearly erect capsules the teeth are longer and often fewer in number, making the escape of the spores easier. If you take a capsule in the condition represented in Fig. 2, and place it in warm water for a few minutes, it will assume the appearance shown in I, and no spore can be shaken out ; although a careful examination of the contents of the capsule will show that the spores are not wetted, for when mounted in water they are still surrounded by an envelope of air. The pepper-box is closed, but how? Kerner von Marilaunt states that the teeth, when wet, curve inwards so strongly that the columella is pressed against the mouth of the capsule, closing it effectually. Five minutes' study, however, will show any one that the teeth do not curve in when wet, but, instead, straighten up and outwards ; the columella also expands and becomes of nearly the same diameter as the capsule. This makes the open- ings lateral instead of terminal. The teeth expand enough laterally so that not a single drop of water can enter or a spore escape. In addition, the spores seem to be protected by the nature of their outer surface, for it takes a very long soaking to wet the spores so that they can be satisfactorily mounted in water for microscopic study. Plate II, Fig. 2 shows the peristome of Hypnum in its dry state. Note how the cilia fill the spaces between the segments, forming a perfect sieve. Fig. I shows the same peristome wet and closed so tightly that no water can get in or spores get out. One can easily see from an examination of these two figures the advantage of having the segments alternate with the teeth. This illustration is from a Hypnum with a strongly curved capsule. If an illustration were chosen from a species with an erect capsule the cilia would, in most cases, be more or less rudimentary and the segments narrowed, as is explained in the beginning of this topic. In Fig. 4, the dry peristome of Ceratodon purpureus is shown. The loosely incurved teeth form a capital sieve. Fig. 3 shows the same dry. The peristome of Dicranum, shown in Figs. 5, tNat. Hist. Plants, 2: 814. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PI.ATB II. tnm f °f HyPnum> moist- 2. The same dry. 3. The peris- ie of. Ceratodon purpureus, moist. 4. The same dry. 5. A dry peris- frmwh^TMW- 7', The/amemoi«t. 6. The peristotne of a JD,VrS»«m irom which the operculum had just been removed. 10 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LKNS FIGURE i. Peristome of Orthotrichum callistomum (From Bry. E)ur.) 6, and 7, is very similar to that of Ceratodon, only the teeth are broader and less incurved when dry. In Fontinalis, which is always submerged, the peristome consists of a network, through the meshes of which the spores gradually escape. In a European moss, Orthotrichum callis- tomum Fisch., the inner peristome is a domelike structure with apertures near the base which are opened and closed by the hygroscopic teeth of the outer peristome. This last is so curious yet so beautifully adapted for its work that it seems almost like a fairy tale, and would be scarcely credible if told of some rare unknown tropical plant instead of having been seen and described by several of the most matter- of-fact botanists. A somewhat similar arrangement is found in Cinclidium stygium. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS W FAMILY \. SPHAGNACEAE. The Peat Mosses. |HE Peat Mosses (PI. III.) are so different from the other mosses that many bryologists do not consider them as mosses at all, but would put them in a separate class. Their protonema is much like the prothallium of a fern, and the stalk upon which the capsule is borne is not at all homologous with the seta of the other mosses, as it is an out- growth from the gametophyte and not the lower portion of the sporophyte, i. e., it is developed from the moss plant instead of from the fertilized egg-cell. The structure of the leaves is also- very different from that of the other mosses. The leaves of some species are pink or deep red and furnish microscopic mounts of very great beauty. Although the Sphagnaceae consists of but one genus, the number of species is very large and the distinctions are very puzzling, so that only two or three of the commonest and most easily recognized species are here discussed. Economically, the Peat Mosses are of more value than any others. In many portions of Ireland and Scotland peat is almost the only fuel supply of the peasantry. In the United States there is an abundant supply of peat. Dana estimates that there are 15,000,000,000 cubic feet in Massachusetts alone. Cheaper and more satisfactory fuels are so abundant that peat is little used in this country. The memorable coal strike of 1902-03 called attention to our enormous and easily accessible supply of fuel of this sort, and some attempts were made to utilize this source of fuel supply. During the civil war, when coal was scarce and high-priced, peat was used to a considerable extent, and if coal should again be- come scarce and high-priced for any considerable time there is no doubt that the peat supply of our country could be made to furnish fuel for its needs for a century or more. At present it is not likely to compete with coal, because people are unfamiliar with its use, and the demand has not warranted any great invest- ment in plants for scientifically preparing it for market. Those interested in the matter should read an article by Mr. S. Power, in the "Outlook" for January 17, 1903. Peat Mosses grow in and near water in swamps. They keep growing at the top and dying below. Sticks, leaves, and' other vegetable matter is washed in among the decaying stems. 12 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The whole mass, being saturated with water, decays slowly, leaving a black substance whose combustibility depends upon the purity of the carbon. The " muck " of the farmers is an in- complete or impure peat. Peat Mosses grow into small ponds from the margin and frequently fill them entirely, forming quaking bogs. In other instances there is a small black pool in the center of the bog — all that remains of a much larger body of water that once occupied the whole area now occupied by the bog. These bogs are very treacherous, and men and animals not infrequently perish through being engulfed in the black slimy mud. There is some antiseptic property in this mud which pre- serves animal and vegetable tissue for a long time. Huge logs are often dug out of these swamps in a condition fit for excel- lent lumber. In Ireland, the body of a woman dressed in hair- cloth was unearthed from under eleven feet of peat, where it must have lain for centuries. Peat Mosses absorb water very freely and serve to hold back the water that falls during heavy storms, preventing floods and retaining the water until it is more needed. Because of this absorbent power these mosses are much used by florists for packing flowers and by stable-men for bedding. Peat Mosses are dried and baled like hay and sent to the cities in great quantity for use in stables instead of straw. The moss absorbs liquids and gases so freely that stables using it are almost free from odor. These mosses are easily recognized by their light gray-green color (sometimes pink or red at the top) and their peculiar shape, which is well illustrated in the figures. Professor Goebel, in his Organography of Plants, gives an interesting account of the method of spore dispersal in Sphag- num. According to him, the ripening capsule absorbs air, and when fully ripe the sun's rays dry out the moisture, causing the capsule to shrink in all directions, but a great deal more trans- versely than longitudinally. This gradually compresses the air until the lid of the capsule is forced off with an explosion that has thrown the spores as far as four inches. Although Professor Goebel did not mention it, it seems to me that this explosion is very probably " touched off " by passing animals or even by sudden breezes, so that the spores will find a ready means of dispersal. Certain it is that the spores will MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PLATE III. a. Sphagnum squarrosum, Pers. b. S. acutifdlium, Ehrh. c. S. cymbifdlium, (Ehrh.) Hedw. d. Capsules of Sphagnum. 14 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS escape in dry weather, which is most favorable for wide dis- persion. The Peat Mosses of Europe and America are the same in the main. There are, according to recent continental authors, a great number of species, which it requires all the trained ability of an expert to recognize. But for our purposes there are two easily recognized groups, each of which contains many so-called species. The Spoon-leaved Peat Mosses, PI. Ill, c, c , c" , are easily recognized by their thick branches and their broad spoon-shaped leaves. The acute-leaved Peat Mosses are figured in a, a , and b, b. Figure b represents the Acute-leaved Peat Moss, which is common in all the peat bogs of Europe and America. It is often tinged at the top with a bright red or crimson color. The Squarrose Peat Moss is one of the acute-leaved group, but is easily distinguished by the spreading tips of the leaves, as is indicated in Figs, a, a'. The branches are much stouter than in the Acute-leaved Peat Moss. <&d.L<*r*i K..) £ J Jine«,-^-ju.f •*,.__ He.. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY 2. ANDREAEACEAE. The Andreaea Family HIS family is characterized chiefly by the dehiscence of the capsule, which splits into four valves after the manner of the Hepaticae, the valves remaining attached at the apex. The plants of this family are all mosses of al- pine or subalpine habitat, growing upon granitic or slaty rocks. The appearance is always dark, sometimes black, and the leaves are very brittle and dense. The pres- ence of chlorophyll in the leaves is not apparent except in very young leaves. There is very little difference in the capsules of the different species. ANDREAEA PETROPHILA Ehrh. is common on exposed rocks in the mountains of our range. It is easily distinguished from any species of Grimmia or Orthotrichum by its lack of costa, and it is much more slender than Hedwigia, and without hyaline points to the leaves. The other points in its structure are best made out from the illustration. It is abundant on the face of the Old Man of the Mountain in Franconia Notch, N. H. A. ROTHII W. & M. (A. rupestris of many authors) occurs with the preceding and oc- casionally descends to lower levels on "exposed rocks. It has been found along the Hudson, at Yonkers. It is easily distinguish- ed from A. petro- ... FIGURE 2. Andreaea Rothii. (From Bry. ICur.) phila by the elon- gated- lanceolate Andreaea Rothii. (From Bry. Leaves and leaf sections. .VI n i6 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PLATE IV. Andreaea petrophila (From Bry. Eur.) -4- Plants natural size. 27 & 29. Capsules in different stages of drying. The other figures are self-explanatory. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS leaves and the strong costa reaching to the apex of the leaf, or beyond. The last species, if sterile, will be with difficulty distinguished from Grimmia, by one not familiar with it, unless comparison with authentic specimens is possible. The time of maturing spores seems to be spring in each of the species. In A. petrophila they mature in May and June. FAMILY 3. GEORGIACEAE. The Georgia Family. LL of our mosses belonging to this family are distinct in the four-parted peristome, each of the four teeth being composed of a solid mass of cellular tissue. The leaves are ovate or lanceolate, costate, leaf-cells rounded-hexagonal. GEORGIA. The botanists of preceding centuries were often under royal patronage and frequently found it convenient to pay their re- spects to kings and queens. Thus, Georgia is named for King George III of England, and Catharinea for Empress Catharine II of Russia. G. PEivivUCiDA (L.) Rabenh., the Common Georgia (Tetraphis pellu- cida of many authors), is very abundant on decayed stumps in moist woods. On the western end of Long Island, where decayed wood is scarce, it grows luxuriantly on the banks of brooks in swamps, the black peaty soil being as rich in or- ganic matter as decaying wood. The Flagellate Dicranum, which in New England grows almost ex- clusively on decayed wood, on Long Island and southwards has a habitat similar to that of Georgia. This goes to prove that some mosses growing on decayed wood are true sapro- phytes, although their saprophytism FIGURE 3. a. Georgia pellucida, X 2. b. Gemmiferous branch, X 2. c. Capsule, X 10. d. Peristome, X 20. See also Plate I and Figs. 3 and 4. l8 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS has not gone so far as to enable the plants to dispense with chlorophyll. The Common Georgia has two characteristics that will serve to make its identification easy. Its peristome consists of four long teeth that are readily distinguishable under the lens. It is the only common moss with this number of teeth in the peristome. The other character is the possession of slender branches bearing cup-like clusters of leaves. In this cluster of leaves are minute green bodies, gemmae, which fall off and give rise to new plants in the same way that the bulblets of Cystopteris give rise to that fern. It fruits very abundantly and the capsules persist for a year or two, so that there is no difficulty in finding or identifying it. The capsules are in the best condition late in autumn. G. BROWNII (Dicks.) C. M. (Tetrodontium Brownianum Schwaegr.) is a very rare species found in less than half a dozen places in North America. It is a very small plant with a very few minute leaves at base ; entire plant, including sporo- phyte, less than 1-3 inch in height; capsule oval, teeth very broadly triangular, almost equilateral. This species has been found in the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire and in Newfound- land. It often grows inverted on overhanging rocks. FAMILY 4« POLYTRICHACEAE. The Hair-Cap Family* HE plants of this family are usually of a large size, the simple or slightly branched stems growing from a creeping underground stem (except Pogonatum brevicaule and P. brachyphyllum) . Leaves usually narrow, with the base sheathing or at least with the basal part of the leaf hyaline with larger cells; the costa bears on its upper surface, except at the hyaline base, longitudinal strips of tissue (lamellae) one cell thick' and attached to the upper surface of the costa by one edge, making the costa appear very wide and dense. The upper leaf cells are usually hexagonal. The plants are usually dioicous with the antheridia borne in conspicuous terminal rosettes. The capsule is on a long smooth seta, large, cylindrical, "or prismatic with 4-6 angles. The. calyptra is cucullate, covered with a dense felt of hairs, or at least roughened at apex with MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS IQ short spinose projections. Peristome of 32 or 64 teeth, short, without joints, triangular in cross-section. Columella expanded at the top into a circular membrane, the epiphragm, which is attached to the tips of the teeth, and helps control spore dis- tribution. (See Plate I.) The plants of this family are among our most common and conspicuous species, and the student will be sure to fall in with them in his first day's study. KEY TO THE GENERA. 1. Capsules square or six-angled Polytrichum. Capsules cylindric 2 2. Calyptra hairy; leaves not crisped when dry Pogonatum. Calyptra not hairy; leaves crisped when dry Catharlnea. POLYTRICHUM. The Hair-Cap Mosses. The Hair-Cap Mosses, called Bird Wheat or Pigeon Wheat in many localities, are the largest and most highly developed of all our mosses, and by reason of their size and common occurrence are familiar objects to nearly every one. Many an old field and meadow is carpeted with the dark rich green of the Common Hair-cap. The farmer, however, votes it a pest, as it often entirely supplants the grass over large areas of meadow. The hairy cap that gives this genus of mosses its name is composed of long hairs growing from a little scale-like body, the calyptra proper, at the top of the capsule. The Hair-caps, in common with most other mosses, are subject to great extremes of moisture and dry-ness, and their appearance when dry is very different from what it is when moist, as the leaves fold up against the stem to check the rapidity of evaporation. Some plants that do not produce a sporophyte end in a rosette of highly modified leaves. These are the male plants, and among the leaves of the rosette are numerous antheridia. The male plants of many other dioicous mosses end in a similar rosette. The leaves are large, not bordered, with a sheathing membranous base and very numerous lamellae occupying the greater part of the width of the leaf above the base, making the central portion of the leaf very dark and dense. Capsules prismatic, four- to six-angled, often nearly cubical. Peristome teeth generally sixty-four. Pogonatum is put with the Hair-caps by some authors, but is readily distinguished by the cylindric capsules. In other respects there is very little to distinguish the two genera. 2O MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS V KEY. 1. Leaf margins serrate, not infolded 2. Leaf margins entire, thin and infolded 4. 2. Capsule four-angled 3. Capsule ovoid, obscurely 4- to 6-angled, beak long gracile. 3. Capsules cubical, beak short commune. Capsules much longer than broad, beak long, neck taper- ing Ohioense. 4. Plants of dry situations, small leaves with long white awns piliferum, Plants larger, leaves without white awns 5. 5. Plants of lowlands without felted radicles; capsules 3 mm to 5 mm long juniperinum. Plants of alpine or subalpine regions; stems covered with a dense felt of radicles, capsules 2 mm. to 3 mm. long, strictum. Our species are readily divided into two groups, as shown in the key. One with serrate plane margins and the other with margins thin and infolded, not serrate except at the extreme apex. The plants are so large and the characters so well de- fined that there will be no need to make use of microscopic char- acters except perhaps in the case of P. gracile. These species are all earth-growing. P. COMMUNE L., Common Hair-cap, is our largest moss, sometimes having stems a foot long, although usually much smaller. It is one of the most widely distributed of plants, being found in all parts of North America, in Europe, and in Asia. It is also one of the very few mosses put to some economic use. The Laplanders use it to stuff pillows and beds. In England it is sometimes used for brooms. A decoction of this plant was formerly much used to aid in the growth of the hair in accordance with the curious old doc- trine of signatures which taught that the medicinal uses of plants were shown by their shape and structure ; e. g. cordate leaves were supposed to be good for the heart and Hair-cap Mosses for the hair. The leaves of the Common Hair-cap are very thick and strong, with a thinner clasping base and serrate margins. The young sporophytes appear in late autumn or early spring and the capsules mature in June or early July. The Common Hair-cap is variable in nearly all its parts. The var. perigoniale is a form with very long whitish membra- nous and long-awned perichsetial leaves. The var. uliginosum has the leaves spreading-recurved when dry ; the stems more slender and less rigid than usual. P. OHIOENSE R. &. C., Ohio Hair-cap, without the capsule, is not readily distinguished from the Common, as leaves and PLATE V. a. Fruiting Polytrichum commune, X i. dry. b. The same moist with the calyptra removed, c. Leaf of the same, X 10. d. Capsule of the same, X 5- e. Capsule of P. Ohioense, X 5. f. Male plant of P. com- mune, X i- g and h P. piliferum, dry and wet X i- o. Leaf of P. juniperinum, X 10. 6. Portion of the same, X 30. p. Leaf of P. piliferum, X 10. 22 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS general appearance are very similar. But with the sporophyte present the distinctions are clear. In Figs, a, b and d, note that the capsule of the Common Hair-cap is almost cubical, that the lid has a very short beak, and that the capsule is entirely covered by the calyptra. The capsule of the Ohio Hair-cap (e) is elongated, slender, with a tapering neck ; lid much longer-beaked. The lid and the calyptra of the Ohio Hair-cap fall early in June, very soon after the spores are ripe, and it is not always easy to find either in position ; but, if the calyptra be found, it will be seen to cover the upper portion of the capsule only. The Common Hair-cap, although occurring in woods, is most com- mon in open fields. The Ohio Hair-cap is most frequent in shady, more moist spots, often in deep woods. P. GRACILE Dicks, is a rare form, which I believe is often confused with P. Ohioense. The length and the number of angles of the capsule are somewhat variable, although the capsules usually have more than four angles. Microscopic sections of the leaves are necessary definitely to determine this species. P. JUNIPERINUM Willd., Juniper Hair-cap, resembles P. commune very closely in general appearance except for the light glaucous-green color of its open leaves, so different from the dark green of the latter that they are strikingly distinct at a glance when moist, especially if the two species are growing intermingled, as they often do. It usually grows in drier situ- ations than commune. A glance at the upper surface of the margins of the leaves under a hand-lens will serve to distinguish the two species without the shadow of a doubt. This species matures its spores at about the same time as commune or possibly a little later. P. PIUFERUM Schreb., the Awned Hair-cap, has the same light color as the preceding and also has its leaf-margins turned in, but the leaves differ in shape as shown in the figure, and end in long white awns. The entire plant is much smaller than in any of the other species, rarely growing larger than the figure. It also grows in much drier places than the other species, the thin layers of soil around the edges of ledges in dry pastures being a favorite habitat. It matures in June and July. I have found this species on ledges next the bare rock, next it but farther from the ledge the Juniper Hair-cap, and in moist depressions in the ledge the Common Hair-cap, growing on the accumulated soil and humus. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 2J P. STRICTUM Banks will surely be found by all mountain climbers. It is very common in open boggy places at an altitude of 3,000 feet or more. It is closely related to P. Juniperinum, but is readily distinguished by the more slender, densely radicu- lose stems and the much smaller capsules. POGONATUM. The Pogonatums differ from the Hair-caps mainly in the cylindrical capsules, not square or angular in section. The teeth are thirty-two and the capsules are straight or curved. The spores mature in autumn or winter, except in P. alpinum, in which they mature about July. KEY. 1. Stems branching 2. Stems simple; leaves numerous, strictly alpine, growing close together capillare. Stems simple; leaves few, radical; protonema persistent, forming a green layer on which the plants are scat- tered; plants of low and median altitudes 3. 2. Plants dark green; capsules smooth, curved alpinum. Plants glaucous; capsules papillose, erect or very nearly so urnigerum. 3. Leaves lanceolate-subulate, serrate brevicaule. Leaves lingulate, blunt, entire brachyphyllum. P. BREVICAUEE (Brid.) Beauv., the Slender Pogonatum, [P. tenue (Menz.) E. G. B.] is probably the most common of our species. It grows on bare moist banks of clay or loam where other plants have not yet obtained a foothold. The plants do not grow close together, as with most mosses, but singly and scat- tered, the soil between them being covered with green felt-like' protonema. All mosses grow from just such green felt; but after the moss plant proper has developed, the protonema usually disappears. In P. brevicaule, however, the protonema is per- sistent and plays an active part in the nutrition of the plant, seeming to perform the function of leaves, for the leaves on this plant are very few and short as compared with the allied species. This is well illustrated by the figures, the dark shaded upper portion of the leaf being the only part that contains chlorophyll and therefore the only portion that performs the functions of a leaf. These marked and interesting modifications may be due to the fact that this moss grows on freshly disturbed earth, and by this method is enabled to fruit before its competitors for the space are able to develop The capsules mature in late autumn. PLATE VI. a. Pogonatum brevicaule, X 2. a'. Leaf, X 15. a". Cap- sule X 10. b. P. urmgerum, X 2. b'. Z^af, X 10. c. P. alpinum, X 2. c'. Z,ea^ X 10. c". Capsule, X 10. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 25 P. BRACHYPHYLIAJM (Mx.) Beauv. is found on sandy and loamy soil, in the New Jersey pine barrens and southwards. slt is very much like P. brevicaule, but is easily distinguished from it by its entire leaves. It need riot be looked for in the northern part of our range. P. ALPINUM (L.) Roehl. is common in woods and shady places, especially in elevated regions ; thus it is at once recognized by its larger size and longer curved capsule with long-beaked oper- culum. The leaves, also, are much longer and more slender. Without the capsules this species is most likely to be mistaken for some of the Hair-caps. Its capsules mature in June or early July. P. URNIGERUM (L.) Beauv., the Urn-like Pogonatum, grows in woods and shady places, preferring elevated regions. It is not uncommon and in some localities may be even more com- mon than either of the species mentioned above. I, however, have met with it much less frequently. It is at once distingushed from P. alpinum by its straight erect capsule, which is scarcely to be distinguished from that of P. brevicaule. It is usually smaller than the P. alpinum and much larger than the P. brev- icaule, but is so variable that this is not to be depended upon. Its leaves, however, will serve to distinguish it readily from P. brevicaule, when its size is deceptive. The capsules mature in autumn. P. CAPIIXARE (Mx.), Brid. will be found on most of our higher mountain-tops. It has broad leaves like those of P. urnigerum, but they are much more strongly curved when dry. It is also much smaller, with simple unbranched stems and shorter capsules. CATHARINEA. The Catharineas are very closely related to the Hair-caps, but have the calyptra nearly bald. It is merely roughened with a few vestigial hairs. For this reason it has been called Atrichum, meaning without hairs. Polytrichum means many hairs. The leaves are not sheathing and but slightly embrace the stem, lingulate or ovate-oblong, crisped when dry; margins bordered, serrate, teeth often in pairs. Capsule cylindric, often somewhat curved; operculum long rostrate; peristome of thirty-two teeth. 26 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The capsules of the Catharineas are in good condition from late autumn to early spring. KEY. 1. Capsule 4: i; leaves not at all wavy on the margins when moist, midrib narrow crispa. Capsule 6-8: i ; leaf margins wavy when moist 2. 2. Midrib constituting 1-8 — i-io of leaf undulata. Midrib constituting 1-3 — 1-4 of leaf angustata. FIGURE 4. a, a, a. Catharinea undulata, wet and dry, X 2, and capsule X 5- b. Leaf X 10. c, c. Capsule and leaf of C. angustata X 5 and 10, re- spectively. C. UNDULATA (L.) W. & M., Wavy Catharinea. Leaves lingulate, strongly undulate when moist and strongly spined at the back. Occasionally specimens are found with two or more setse from a single plant. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The Wavy Catharinea is one of the very common mosses, occurring everywhere in eastern North America. It seems to be rather rare on Long Island, but in most parts of the country it is exceedingly common. It grows best on moist shady banks of brooks. It can easily be recognized by its long slender slightly curved capsules, leaves strongly crisped when dry, and the narrow midrib due to few and short lamellae. (See glossary). C. ANGUSTATA Brid., Narrow-leaved Catharinea, resembles the Wavy Catharinea very closely, but grows in dryer, more sandy soil, and is usually much smaller with narrower straighter capsules, as shown in the cut. The only sure way to distinguish them is by the leaves. The differences are shown in the cut. Although the leaf of the Narrow-leaved Catharinea is narrower, the midrib is much broader, constituting one-third to one-quarter the breadth of the leaf. C. CRISPA James is a rare species in most parts of the country, but it is common in swamps along the south shore of Long Island. It will prob- ably be found fairly common along the Middle Atlantic coast. Its leaves are oval-oblong, thrice as broad in proportion to their length as those of C. un- dulata, not at all wavy when moist, and not spinose upon the back; the lamellae appear as darker lines on the costa, i/l but do not materially increase its apparent width. The capsule is much shorter than in either FIGURE 5. Catharinea crispa, x i. of the other species. When sterile, this species is almost sure to be mistaken for a Mnium. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY 5* BUXBAUMIACEAE. The Buxbaumia Family* I HE plants of this interesting family are small, almost or quite stemless, with leaves few or none. They grow on earth or rotten wood. Perichaetial leaves present but often disappearing long before the maturity of the capsule. Capsule very large in proportion to the size of the plant, oblique and asymmetric. Calyptra small, conical. Peristome single or double, forming a whitish cone. A most peculiar and fantastic family, the members of which will readily be recognized by a comparison of the figures given under the species. BUXBAUMIA. The drawings speak for themselves. No one who finds the queer looking objects figured here will have any difficulty in iden- tifying them. The leaves are few and are clustered at the base of the seta. They entirely disappear before the capsule ripens, so that the ma- ture plant consists of only the roughened seta with a few rhizoids at the base and the queer bug-like capsule. Mrs. Britton calls the Buxbaumias " The Humpbacked Elves." To the author they look like bugs on a stick. We have two species in eastern North America, Buxbau- mia aphylla L., and B. indusiata Brid. B. APHYLI/A has the capsule red-brown, shin- ing, strongly flattened above ; outer peristome of a single series of very short teeth; spores ma- turing from December to June, occasionally found FIGURE 6- mature in September. Two different views of Buxbaumia . ., aphylla, X I. Two different views, X 4- PlantS Bowing on SOll. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 29 B. INDUSIATA has the capsule green or yellow, dull, little flattened above; outer peristome of four concentric rows of linear teeth, of which the outer row is short and the inner more than half the length of the cone ; spores maturing a month or so earlier than in the preceding. Plants growing on very rotten wood, rather smaller. Both species are widely distributed across the continent, but B. aphylla is much the more common. WEBERA.* Much more common than Buxbaumia and scarcely less in- teresting is the odd little Webera shown in Fig. 7. The capsules have much the same one-sided tilt, but are less irregular in outline and are partially incased in the fringed perichaetial leaves. The capsule resembles a grain of wheat in appearance and is almost sessile, the seta being so short as to be scarcely apparent. The leaves are persistent and the non-fruiting plants are fre- quently so abundant as to make a broad mat of dark green, dotted here and there with the lighter colored capsules. In look- ing for Webera search for a moist bank where there is little or no tall vegetation, and which at a little distance appears dark green mottled with white. (The white is a lichen that is nearly always found with the Webera.) Webera is so common and so easily recognized that every lover of mosses should be able to col- lect it in his home locality. The capsules persist for a long time, but July is a good time to collect this species. In Webera, as well as in Bux- baumia, the upper surface of the capsules is flattened in cross-section and the capsules all point in the direction of the light supply, often looking like soldiers in close array at " shoulder arms." Both the position of the- capsule and the flattening of the upper surface is an adaptation for light absorption, but in Webera the first drops of rain that FIGURE 7. a. Webera sessilis, X 4- b. Leaves, X 4. c. Perichaetial leaves, X 4. d and e. Peris- tome and operculum, X 10. *We have but one species of Webera, W. sessilis (Schmid .) Diphyscium foliosum of many authors. 3O MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS fall in a storm strike the upper surface (Vide " Goebel Organ- ograhpy," Pt. I, p. 237, Balfour's translation) and send the spores out in little puffs, sometimes to a height of two inches. This effect can be produced by tapping a mature deoperculate capsule lightly upon the upper side. Note how the nozzle-like peristome is pointed straight up so that the spores are fired as high as possible from the miniature powder gun. It seems probable that the wind which accompanies summer storms serves to further disperse these spores and that the ejection of the spores ceases after the capsules are well wetted; but this needs further in- vestigation. It also seems perfectly sure that other agencies than rain- drops will serve to force the spores out of Webera and Bux- baumia's "powder guns;" for example, the impact of the feet of large insects and other small animals. Perhaps the jet of spores may leave some clinging to the hair or fur of the animals which discharge them, and through that means they may be carried for considerable distances. FAMILY 6. FISSIDENTACEAE. The FissMens Family. HIS is one of the most natural and easily recognized of the families of mosses. Only one genus, Fissidens, is common and the characters of this genus are the characters of the family for the most part. FISSIDENS. The leaves of Fissidens are in two rows on opposite sides of the stem and both rows lie in the same plane, giving the plants a peculiar flattened appearance like a Hepatics. The leaves are vertically placed and apparently split along the basal portion of the upper margin so as to clasp the stem and the base of the leaf next above. > The leaf-cells are small, rounded or hexagonal. The sporophyte PLATE VII. Fissidens adiantoides. (From Bry. 5. Plant natural size. 8. Perigonial leaf. 9-11. Leaves, u x. Cross sections of the lower part of leaf, n a. Apex showing border of lighter cells. PLATE VII. (See explanation on preceding page.) 32 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS is lateral or terminal, exserted ; peristome like that of Dicranum, with sixteen forked, highly colored teeth, which are often papillose above. The peculiar structure of the leaf has been explained in several ways, but the explanation given by Robert Brown in 1819 has recently been verified by the studies of Mr. K. S. Salmon. According to this theory the clasping portion of the leaf represents the original leaf, while the rest of the leaf is made .up of lamellae, one dorsal and the other terminal. This theory is strongly confirmed by the fact that these supposed lamellae are wanting in the perigonial leaves and very much reduced in size or wanting in the lower-stem leaves. Moreover, the peristome shows this family to be closely related to the Dicranaceae, in which dorsal lamellae are often strongly developed. The leaves are often bordered, sometimes with a number of elongated cells, much as in Mnium, but, more frequently, with cells of the same shape and size but of a different color; the border is usually too narrow to be distinctly made out with a hand-lens. F. CRISTATUS Wils. is apparently the most common species. It grows on moist soil or stones in shaded places. The sporophyte is lateral and the leaves are margined with a border of lighter cells as shown in the plate of F. adiantoides. F. ADIANTOIDES (L.) Hedw. can be told from F. cristatus with certainty by the compound microscope alone. The latter species seldom reaches more than an inch and a quarter in height while F. adiantoides may be two or three inches high. Both species mature their spores in winter. F. OSMUNDIOIDES (Swtz.) Hedw. is one-fourth to two inches in height (rarely twice this) ; leaves not bordered ; dioicous; with terminal sporophyte; capsule suberect or inclined; operculum with a needlelike beak nearly as long as the rest of the capsule. Spores ma- ture in summer (July). Common on various substrata. Uaf-apex'of " Life,™. F. TAXIFOLIUS (L.) Hedw. is usually (From Bry Eur } PLATE VIII. Fissidens Julianus (From Bry. Eur.). i and 2. Plants natural size. 34 FIGURE 9. lyeaf-apex of F. osmundi- oides. (From Bry. Eur.) MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS less than l/2 inch in height; sporophytc lateral; capsule inclined, often cern- uous; beak of operculum long, usu- ally bent at base; spores maturing in late autumn or winter. On damp clayey soil. Its "ear-mark " is the excurrent costa. F. JUUANUS (Savi.) Schimp. grows on stones in brooks and looks like a small Fontinalis. The lens readily shows the leaf structure to be that of Fissidens. This species is frequent in brooks in New York and New Jersey in the vicinity of New York City. (See PI. VIII.) FAMILY No. 7. DICRANACEAE* The Dicramim Family* HE plants of this family vary in size from exceedingly minute to several inches in height. The leaves are broadly lanceolate to subulate, often sheathing at base, costate ; leaf-cells square, or rectangular to linear, filled with chlorophyll above, more elongated and with little or no chlorophyll toward the base, often with special inflated cells at the basal angles. The calyptra is smooth, narrow, and cucullate. The capsules are an elongated setse, narrow, oval to cylindrical, frequently cernuous and curved; operculum usually long-beaked ; peristome of 16 teeth which are cleft half-way to the base or further into two lanceolate or subulate divisions, usually of a reddish color, transversely barred.* There are a few cleistocarpous species with capsules rounded and immersed or elongated and exserted. The leaf character and the peristome when present will usually indicate the family to one who is at all familiar with it. The plants of this . family are inhabitants of soil and rocks, rarely growing on trees, frequently on decaying wood. *For an illustration of a Dicranum peristome and a description of its workings see p. u. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 35 subitlalum FIGURE 10. Pleuridium subulatum (From Bry. Eur.) i. Plant natural size. 3. Basal part of stem with leaves. 4, 5, and 6 are leaves from different parts of the stem. PLEURIDIUM. Pleuridium and Bruchia are both exceptions to most of the statements made above, as they are degenerate members of the family. P. SUBULATUM (L.) Rabenh. Down among the tufts of grass in dry and sandy fields in early spring, one can find soft silky tufts of green containing innumerable little green spheres like 36 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS emerald dewdrops. These green spheres are the capsules nestling among the leaves because of the shortness of the setae. The drawing can give no idea of the beauty of a dense tuft several inches square, fresh from the field, wet with the spring snows and rains. The plants are one-twelfth to one-eighth inch high; the spores mature from April to June. Not uncommon in old fields on sandy banks, etc., less frequent northwards. As shown in the figures the leaves taper gradually to the apex. In P. alternifolium which is not rare near the coast, the plants are about one-fourth inch in height and have many of the leaves so suddenly narrowed as to resemble a ladle in outline. FIGURE ii. Bruchia Sullivantii. i. Natural size. 2. Magnified. (From Sulliv. " Icones.") BRUCHIA. Bruchia is named after one of the famous old world bryologists, Ph. Bruch, one of the authors of the great Bryologia Europea, from which many of our illustra- tions are taken. Our most common species is B. SULLIVANTII, named by Austin after Sullivant, the greatest American bryologist, so that this little plant is very interesting for its name alone. It may be found growing with Pleuridium, but it is at once distinguished by its partially exserted, pear-shaped capsule and mitrate calyptra. Its spores mature about two weeks later than those of Pleuridium s u b u I a t u m. Neither Pleuridium nor Bruchia have lid or peris- tome, but set free their spores by the irregular breaking apart of the capsule (cleistocarpous). MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 37 ASTOMUM. A. SULUVANTII Schimp. is associated in habitat with the two mosses mentioned above and is also small and cleistocarp- ous so that it is better to treat it here, although it belongs in the Tortula family. The plants are larger than in Pleuridium or Bruchia and are readily distinguished when dry by the spirally twisted leaves and also by the fact that the spores begin to mature in the fall. The plants without fruit much resemble Weissia viridula and the cuts of that moss will help in the study of the leafy part of this. The lower part of the stem is omitted in the cut and the capsules are FIGURE i2 Astrmnum usually much more concealed by the leaves cnspum (From Dixon J and Jameson.) when dry; indeed they are so hidden as to tinlulshecf 'from ^A. be often overlooked, the plants are undoubt- SulKvantii with the edly mistaken for sterile Weissia viridula. hand-lens. DITRICHUM.* D. VAGINANS (Sulliv.) Hampe, the Dark Ditrichum, has a habitat very similar to that of Ceratodon and at first sight might be confused with it. The capsules are much the same color and somewhat furrowed, but it is smaller with more erect symmetric capsules that have much less conspicuous furrows when dry. It matures its spores late in autumn, which of itself will be sufficient readily to distinguish it from Ceratodon. It is not frequent in the more northern portion of our range. D. TORTILE (Schrad.) Hampe, the Brown Ditrichum, is fre- quent throughout in moist sandy or gravelly soil by roadsides and in old fields. It is closely related to the preceding, but is smaller, with light brown capsules which mature at about the same time and are smooth when dry. It is more common than the Dark Ditrichum, especially northwards. It grows in more moist places of the same general nature, being especially fond of moist banks of recently disturbed *Ditrichum Timm.=Leptotrichum Hampe. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIGURE 13- a, b, and c, Ditrichum pallidum, vaginans and tortile respectively, X 2. d, Capsule of D. pallidum X 20. e, Capsules of D. vaginans X 10. f, Capsule of D. tortile X 20. soil, which as yet have not become occupied with other vegeta- tion. The young sporophytes sometimes bend over towards the light until they are parallel with the incident solar rays, so that the young green capsules with their abundant assimilative tissue are equally illuminated on all sides. Such plants remind one very strongly of house plants in a window. Its spores mature in autumn. It is a most variable species in pretty nearly every character. These two species often grade into each other and the Dark Ditrichum is probably only a variety of the Brown. The Red Didymodon [D. rubellus (Hoffm.) B. & S.] some- what resembles the Dark Ditrichum, but is more red than brown and its leaves are two or three times as long and somewhat curled when dry. It belongs in the Tortula family, although evidently related to the Ditrichums. D. PAUJDUM (Schreb.) Hampe, the Yellow Ditrichum, is more abundant southwards and in the lowlands, and is much larger than the other two species. It is easily recognized by its bright yellow setae and unsymmetric capsules, which mature in late spring. It is most frequent in dry sandy soil. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 39 ONCOPHORUS. (Cynodontium Schimper). The species of this genus are as a rule alpine or subalpine, but one of the number, O. WAHLENBERGII Brid. is frequent enough to warrant mention here. This is a pretty little moss growing on rocks and soil in cool situations in or near the mountains. Its crisped spreading leaves, somewhat resembling Dicranum fuscescens in appearance, with their suddenly dilated bases, and the arcuate, smooth or irregularly-wrinkled, plainly strumose capsule render it easy of recognition by one who has ever seen it before. CERATODON B«d. C. PURPUREUS (L.) Brid., our only species, is one of the commonest of all our mosses. It is found on the edges of paths, roofs of old buildings, sand by the seashore, and in general any barren compact soil is its favorite habitat. The plants are short and grow close together, forming dense Capsule Xi3, leaf x 10, thin mats of dark green. The lance- and leaf cells x 200 ot Hke oung spOrophytes appear early in Oncophorus Wahlenbergii. , ., , spring as soon as the snow is melted. By the middle of the summer the capsules often decay beyond recognition and the seta breaks from the plant at the touch. Unless one has become familiar with Ceratodon it is not always easy to recognize it without mature capsules. FIGURE 14. 40 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The leaves may be entire or slightly denticu- late at apex, and the costa is sometimes percurrent or even excurrent. The stems sometimes become three inches long in shaded places. When the capsules have fully matured they shrink when dry and be- come furrowed. This pe- culiar furrowing and the dark rich color of the capsules, a color called purple by the older bot- anists but which is really a very dark chestnut or red-brown, make it easy to recognize. The peristome is shown in Plate II. Aulacomnium palustre has a capsule furrowed in a similar manner, but it is easily distinguished by the characters noted under the description of that genus. FIGURE 15. Ceratodon purpureus X 2. Leaves, calyptra, and capsule X 10. TREMATODON MX. T. AMBIGUUS (Hedw.) Hornsch., the Long-necked Moss, is so odd in appear- ance that it will need little description. It is not common, but will be met with occasionally in rather dry soil in copses and old fields where the grass is thin. Be- sides the long neck, the bright yellow setae, closely resembling those of Dit- richum pallidum, are an additional aid in identification. The capsules mature in summer. T. LONGICOLUS MX. is easily distinguished by its much longer neck, twice the length of the rest of the capsule, which is more cylindric than in T. ambiguus. Moist clayey or sandy soil in the southern part of our range and southwards. Trematodon ambiguus X i, and capsule X5- MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 41 DICRANELLA. Plants small, like miniature Dicrana, scarcely branched. Leaves lanceolate-subulate, without specialized angular cells. Capsule short, erect or inclined, frequently striate ; lid beaked ; peristome dicranoid, of 16 teeth, cleft to the middle into two filiform divisions. The small size and narrow silky leaves, narrowed gradually or abruptly from a broader base to a channelled subulate apex, render the genus easy of recognition, especially if the dicranoid capsule be present. The capsules present variations similar to those of Dicranum, but capsules that remain erect and sym- metric when dry and empty are rare; dioicous. KEY. 1. Seta yellowish, sometimes becoming dark with age 2. Seta red 3. 2. Capsule oblong, tapering at the neck, sulcate, mouth incurved when dry heteromalla. Capsule oblong, tapering at the neck, scarcely plicate, mouth erect when dry heteromalla Fitzgeraldii Capsule gibbous, strumose at neck, smooth when dry cerviculata. 3. Leaves scarcely secund, not pellucid varia. Leaves secund or erect, pellucid by reason of very large thin-walled cells rufescens. D. HETEROMALLA (L.) Schimp. is our only common species. It is found on shaded, sandy banks throughout our range. The plants are simple or forked, one-half inch to two inches in height, and grow in dense tufts or sheets of various shades of green from bright yellowish to dark. The leaves are falcate- secund. gradually narrowed from the base so that the lower portion of the leaf has a triangular form ; the upper part is subulate, and channelled with costa percurrent or excurrent. The seta is yellow, becoming dark with age; capsule oblong to oblong-ovoid, suberect, typically slightly curved, brown when dry and empty, and furrowed and constricted below the mouth ivith the mouth oblique in a very characteristic manner; oper- culum rostrate, oblique. The obliquity of the mouth and the deepness of the fur- rows in the capsule walls seem to be progressive with age. The capsules mature in November and December, but do not as a rule appear to assume their characteristic pose until spring. This fact accounts for some of the discrepancies in descriptions, especially of the varieties, although the species as a whole is exceedingly variable. MOSSKS WITH A HAND-LENS PLATE IX. Dicranella heteromalla (L,.) Schimp. (From Bry. IJur.) i and 2. Plants natural size. 5. Leaves, n. Perichsetial leaf. 16 and 17. Capsules. 18. Dry capsule with mouth oblique. 19. Peristome. The variety ORTHOCARPA (Hedw.) E. G. B. is a form with erect straight capsules and, as far as I am able to determine, is MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 43 FIGURE 17. a. Dicranella hetcromalla Fitzgerdldii. b. Cap- sule of the same X 10. c. Capsules of different ages. an inhabitant of elevated inland re- gions. The cap- sules, however, ap- pear to become curved and fur- rowed with age. Var. FITZGER- AI.DII (R. and C.). I cannot agree with Mrs. Britton. whom I followed in the FIRST EDI- TION, in making this a synonym of var. orthocarpa, as it appears to be a southern and seaboard form, being very abundant about New York city. The capsules are only lightly striate until very old, and the mouth is slightly or not at all oblique. It has been found along Lake Champlain and may occur near the Great Lakes. In the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club for Novem- ber, 1895, Mrs. Britton describes and figures a very interesting mountain form with pedicels strongly curved backwards which straighten in drying so as to assume the normal form. D. CERVICULATA (Hedw.) Schimp. grows in wet places, typically on peat. It appears to be rare. The plants are smaller in every way than the last, the leaves are less falcate, with a half-sheathing base, often n e a r ly entire; capsule arcuate and gibbous, with a clearly strumose neck. The spores ma- ture in summer, according t o FlGURE l8 European an- Capsules and penstome of D. ceri'iculata. (From Bry. Eur.^ thors- 44 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS D. RUFESCENS (Dicks.) Schimp. The smallest of our species, less than 1-3 in. high and very slender. Plants usually simple, yellowish green or reddish green, turning more strongly reddish in drying; leaves small, pellucid by reason of the large thin- walled cells, linear-lanceo- late, gradually narrowed; costa percurrent but not excurrent ; margin plane, denticulate above ; cap- sule erect or inclined, symmetric, oval, small, urn about 1-32 inch long; seta and capsule dark red, seta tzvistcd to the left; operculum short-rostrate to apiculate; spores maturing in summer. Not infrequent on bare moist earth, espe- cially on clayey soil. The seta of D. hetero- inalla and its varieties is twisted to the left and sometimes becomes very dark, so that forms of var. Fitsgeraldii may be mistaken for D. rufescens unless one has specimens for comparison. But ru- fescens is very much smaller and more slender, and the leaf-cells are so large and pellucid as to strike one's attention at once. D. VARIA (Hedw.) Schimp. is a somewhat similar species with a similar habit, but rather less frequent. It is larger, bright or yellowish green, not reddish, with short, usually branching stems. The leaves are entire with margins narrowly rcvolute ; the cap- sule is larger and curved, the seta twisted to the right; spores maturing in autumn and winter. FIGURE 19. Dicranella rufescens (From Bry. Eur.) i and 2. Plants natural size. 6.b. Por- tion of base of leaf. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 45 DICRANUM. The Dicranums have leaves that are narrowly to broadly lance- olate with lower cells rectangular, angular conspicuously dilated. The capsules are on straight erect setae, erect or inclined ; teeth red, cleft half-way into two or occasionally three segments. (See Plate II). The Dicranums of our region are one of the most common and beautiful elements in woodland scenery. They are, for the most part, bright yellow-green and grow in wide thick tufts or mats. The leaves are fre- quently more or less se- cund, as though the wind had blown therri all in one direction. They are com- mon on the ground, stones, rotten wood, and sometimes they occur on the base and trunks of trees. Most Dicranums mature their spores in autumn, but more obser- vations are needed to give exact dates for each species. There are eighteen or Cap- twenty species of Dicra- b . num within our range, but only seven are common enough for treatment here. These seven are best treated in three groups. The first group contains two species with single curved capsules, the Broom Moss and the Fuscous Dicranum. The second group contains two species with curved clustered •capsules and undulate leaves, the Wavy Dicranum and Drum- rnond's Dicranum. In the third group are three species with single erect cap- sules, the Flagellate Dicranum, the Fulvous Dicranum, and the Long-leaved Dicranum. D. SCOPARIUM (L.) Hedw., the Broom Moss. The plants are large, sometimes four inches in height, and grow in rather dense tufts on decayed wood, stones or soil. The lower part of FIGURE 20. a. Dicranum scoparium X i. d. sule X 5. b. D. fuscescens X Capsule and calyptra X 5- 46 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS the stem is usually covered with a dense felt of radicles. The leaves are falcate-secund but not undulate or crisped. The cap- sules are curved but are not plicate or striate when dry except in a rather rare variety which has the capsules slightly striate. The spores mature in late summer or autumn. The Broom Moss gets its name from its resemblance in miniature to a hair broom or counter brush. It is almost as com- mon and widely distributed as the Common Hair-cap, being found in all portions of the northern hemisphere. It is often used by florists to form banks of green in show windows. D. FUSCESCENS Turn., the Fuscous Dicranum, is a smaller plant yet frequently larger than the figure. The leaves are strongly crisped when dry and the capsules when dry are plainly striate or sulcate. It usually grows on decayed wood in cool moist woods at an elevation of 1000 feet or more, but may be found on soil or bases of trees and occasionally at lower alti- tudes. The differences between this species and the last are well shown in the figures. D. UNDULATUM Ehrh., the Wavy Dicranum, is very robust, 3 to 10 inches high, often decumbent at base; growing in loose wide tufts, densely radiculose, bright glossy yellow-green. The leaves are undulate, innth a silky luster, very long, lanceolate, gradually narrowed, scarcely secund, margin recurved below for 1-3 to 1-2 the length of the leaf, above this strongly serrate to apex. The costa is comparatively narrow, with two strongly serrate lamellae on the back above. The alar cells are dis- tinctly marked. The capsules are clustered (several setae from the same perichsetium) and the setse are long and reddish. The capsules are cernuous and arcuate, striate when empty, with spores maturing in late summer. Our largest and most beautiful species, common in shaded places on soil and stones covered with humus, but not fruit- ing freely. The only species with which it could possibly be confused is the next. D. DRUMMONDII Muell., Drummond's Dicranum, is most likely to be mistaken for D. undulatum, but it is rather smaller and less glossy; its leaves are less undulate and are secund and strongly crisped, not recurved at base below ; they are much more slender pointed than in the Wavy Dicranum. The cap- sules of the two species are very much alike. The spores mature in summer. It grows on decayed wood in forests in elevated regions, not common. a. Dicrannm undulatnm X i. a'. Leaf X 8. b. D. Drummondii X i- &'. Leaf X 8. c. £>. Aagellare X 2. c'. L^a/ X 10. d. Flagella X 10. e. D. fulvum X 2. ^. L,eaf and capsule X 10. 48 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS D. LONGIFOUUM Ehrh., the Long-leaved Dicranum. This species grows only in rocky elevated regions, sometimes found on the base of trees as well as the surrounding rocks. The leaves are very long and narrowly acuminate so that the leaf apices look somewhat like hairs, giving the plant a silky ap- pearance, secund but scarcely crisped when dry with costa more than y2 the width of the leaf at base. A little above the base the leaves are suddenly narrowed and in the upper part of the leaf nothing but costa is left for the rest of the length of the leaf. The capsules are cylindric and smooth; the spores mature in summer. DICRANODONTIUM LONGiROSTRE is a moss very closely resem- bling this species when without capsules, but the setae are very long and curved so that the capsule is sometimes almost pendent. D. FLAGELLARE Hedw., the Flagellate Dicranum (PI. X), has slender branchlets (flagella), with minute leaves, which give it its name. It is one of our most common species and by reason of its crisped leaves and narrow costa is not likely to be confused with any of its group. The flagella are very charac- teristic when present. It grows on decaying wood and peaty banks in moist shady places everywhere. D. FULVUM Hook., the Fulvous Dicranum (PI. X). This is the only other common Dicranum with erect capsules. It is fulvous broztm in color, always growing on rocks. The leaves are secund, somewhat crisped when dry, gradually narrowed from a lanceolate base to an almost linear apex; margin serrate in the upper 1-5 to 1-4. The costa is at least 1-3 the width of the leaves at base, somewhat excurrent, toothed at back, with the apices much more slenderly tubulose than in D. nagellare. The Flagellate and Fulvous Dicranums need never be con- fused, for the former grows on rotten wood or peaty banks, while the latter always grows on rocks. The Fulvous Dicranum is distinguished from the Long-leaved by its color, its shorter leaves, and by growing at lower altitudes in more shaded, less exposed localities. PLATE XI. Dicranum longifolium (From Bry. i. Plant natural size. 5. Leaf. S.a. and 5.0. Leaf apex and base. 5x. Cross sections of leaf, n and 12. Capsules. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS LEUCOBRYUM. L. GLAUCUM (L.) Schimp., the White Moss. Any one accustomed to walk in the woods must have noticed the grayish- white tufts of the White Moss, looking like gigantic pincushions This moss does not fruit freely, but by searching in moist woods the sporophyte can usually be found without a great deal of trouble. It matures from September to June. The White Moss prefers moist or even swampy woods, but is often found in drier situations. The plants grow densely packed together, those in the center continually elongating and new plants being added around the edges of the tuft. The White Moss re- sembles the Peat Mosses in color, and the cushion-like tufts take up and retain water in the same sponge-like way. Braithwaite states that this species often produces on the upper leaves of the female plants, minute tufts of " radicular tomentum " with young plants which fall off and serve to reproduce the plant, which produces spores rather infrequently. The amount of rainfall has apparently some influence on the spore production oF this species, for I have noticed that it produces spores •"'i'1 illr'1 >i1nindnnp.r nflp.r an faiiH.Ud.lIV wet_siunmor.- FIG. 21 Leuco- b r y u m glaucum X i. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 51 FAMILY 8* GRIMMIACEAE. The Grimmia Family. OR a long time most members of this family seemed too difficult to study with a hand-lens, but nearly all the more common forms can be distinguished if one knows what to look for as characteristic of each species. The plants grow in tufts or mats and almost always grow on rocks. They are dark-brown or blackish, often green at the surface of the tufts where the young grow- ing portion of the plant is. In many plants the leaves end in a whitish hairlike point that gives the plants a gray or hoary ap- pearance. It is of great importance in determining the species to find out whether the margins of the leaves are plane or recurved when dry, and this can readily be made out by a careful examination with a hand-lens in a strong light. In appearance the plants of this family are much like those of the Orthotrichum Family, but in the Grimmia Family the calyptra is never hairy; the capsules are smooth when dry or at most irregularly wrinkled; the peristome single with the 16 teeth sometimes spreading but never reflexed, often forked, but never united in pairs; leaves never crisped (except Ptychomitrium). In the Orthotrichum Family the calyptra is often hairy, the capsules are nearly always deeply plicate when dry with 8 or 16 regular folds; the peristome is double, though the segments are often very narrow; the 16 teeth are often united in pairs, and nearly always strongly reflexed when dry, sometimes bending so far back as to touch the capsule wall ; and the leaves are often crisped, although not so in the genus Orthotrichum. With few exceptions the plants of the Orthotrichum Family grow on the trunks of living trees. Two species (Orthotrichum anomalum and U lota Americana) of the Orthotrichum Family grow on rocks, both have hairy calyptras and a double peristome. Some species in both families lack the peristome. Some species of Andreaea when sterile are hard to distinguish from this family, but nearly all are subalpine. Farther distinctions are found under Andreaea. KEY TO THE GENERA. Leaves crisped, without whitish tips, costate; capsules long ex- serted Ptychomitrium Leaves not crisped, with whitish tips and no costa; capsules im- mersed Hedivigia. Leaves not crisped, costate, whitish tips present in some forms, absent in others; capsules immersed or exserted Grimmia and Rhacomitrium MOSSES WITH A HAND-UJNS HEDWIGIA is named for Hedwig, one of the best bryologists of the eigh- teenth century. jj H. ALBICANS (Web.) Lindb. (H.\ ciliata Ehrh.) is our only species. It is common on boulders, ledges, stone walls, and dry exposed places. The1 plants vary a great deal in size, but in ' general have much longer stems and branches than their relatives, besides being much the most common of all the family. The lower part of the plant is' brown or black, the upper green, with a tinge of gray due to the colorless tips of the leaves. The perichsetial leaves are ciliate along their up- per margins as shown in the cut. There is no costa in any of the leaves, and no peris- tome, both of which charac- ters are rare in this family. The capsules are en- tirely concealed in the longer more slender perichaetial 1 A fVi leaves, and the Fl^RE 22" 4a a 4a' APlces °f leaves T0a_ Apex of perichaetiai leaf. °f Hedwigia albicans. (From Bry. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS only indication of their presence is a slight enlargement of the ends of some of the branches. The capsules are almost spherical, with a clear-cut lid and no peristome ; they mature in spring. An attempt has been made to illustrate the remarkable trans- FIGURE 23. Hedwigia albicans, a, X i, dry and wet. b, Capsule with a portion of the perichsetial leaves removed X 10. c, Branches, dry and wet X 5- d, Leaves X 10. formation that these plants undergo when moistened, but no drawing can do justice to the magic of the change. PTYCHOMITRIUM. This genus is rare in most parts of our range and only one species is likely to be found. P. INCURVUM (Schwaegr.) Sulliv. The plants of this species are about % inch in height (^2 inch with fruit) and PLATE XII. Explanation on next page. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 55 grow on granitic rocks from Connecticut southwards. The leaves slender. The spores mature in winter or early spring, are crisped and without whitish hair points ; the calyptra is mitrate, plicate and without hairs; the operculum is long beaked; the capsule nearly smooth when dry, and the peristome teeth are The crispate leaves remind one very strongly of Ulota and indeed it is most likely to be mistaken for a member of that genus so far as general appearance goes, but its habitat on gra- nitic rocks and its long beaked operculum, scarcely striate cap- sule and single peristome of slender teeth will easily differ- entiate it. GRIMMIA AND RHACOMITRIUM are so much alike, except in microscopic characters, that it will be much more convenient to treat them together. The family description will answer for these genera. KEY TO THE SPECIES. 1. Capsule exserted or at least shorter than the seta 3. Capsules immersed, longer than the seta 5. 2. Seta strongly curved; leaf margins not reflexed G. Olneyi. .Seta straight ; leaf margins recurved 3. 3. Stems usually elongated and slender, bearing numerous short clustered obtuse lateral branchlets; leaves lanceolate, acute; subalpine or growing on exposed rocks 4. Stems stout without short lateral branchlets; leaves Ungulate broadly obtuse; growing near waterfalls and on wet rocks in cool or elevated regions R. aciculare. 4. Leaves without whitish hair tips R. fasciculare. Whitish hair tips present on some of the leaves R. microcarpum. 5. Plants with conspicuous whitish leaf tips, columella not attached to operculum G. Pennsylvania. Whitish leaf tips absent or inconspicuous; operculum falling with columella attached G. apocarpa. GRIMMIA. G. APOCARPA (L.) Hedw., the Common Grimmia, is our most common member of the family next to Hedwigia, for which it might possibly be mistaken, but it is smaller, with whitish leaf tips scarcely visible, often lacking on many of the leaves, with leaves plainly costate and with margins strongly recurved. The peristome is well developed and plainly visible with a lens. The most distinctive character is the falling of the columella attached to the operculum. This character is best ascertained by remov- XII. Ptychomitrium incurvum. (From Sulliv. " Icones.") 2. Plant, highly magnified. 6. Apex of leaf. 12. Side view of annulus and peristome tooth. 6 and 12 require a compound microscope. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 57 ing the lid from a ripe capsule with dissecting needles and ex- amining with a high power lens. There are other species with this peculiarity, but they are rare or local. G. PENNSYLVANIA Schwaegr., the Pennsylvania Grimmia, seems to be our most common species next to apocarpa, but in the northern portion of our range it seems seldom to fruit and is apparently little col- lected. It is a large coarse dark green moss from l/2 inch to i inch high, slightly hoary at the ends of the stems; leaves lanceolate, appearing very dark and opaque in the upper part, margin strongly recurved, hair-point short and rough, cells at extreme base elongated-rectangular and hy- aline or yellowish; next above these the cells are short rectangular, as shown in the figure. The spores mature in late autumn, but operculate capsules may be found in April. G. OLNEYI Sulliv., Ol- ney's Grimmia, grows in dark green tufts, blackish be- low, more compact and finer Pints'' nftu°rS grained than apocarpa; stems 12. Capsule and often nearly denuded of leaves below, about I inch high ; leaves lanceolate from an ovate base, the upper ending in a long rough hyaline hair, margins not at all reftexed; capsule ex- serted on a curved seta; operculum beaked ; spores maturing in April. On rocks, not rare in the lowlands of the central portion PLATE; XIII. Grimmia apocarpa (From Bry. Bur.), i, 2, 3 and 4. Plants natural size. Fig. 60. Apex of upper leaf. Fig. 1 8. Operculum with the attached columella. The other figures are self- explanatory. Leaf apex PLATE XIV. Explanation on next page. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 59 of our range especially along rivers, extending north to southern Vermont. This is our only species with curved seta, and even in this a portion of the setae seem almost erect. In the dried specimens the capsule appears more fully exserted than is indi- cated in the figure. This is the only one of the species here treated that has plane leaf-margins. RHACOMITRIUM. R. ACICULARE (L.) Brid. is one of our common mosses occurring around waterfalls and on wet rocks in cool and in elevated situations. Plants large, I to 3 inches long, and very stout ; the broad leaves broadly obtuse, entire or denticulate at apex with small distant teeth, characterize this species so dis- tinctly that no further description is needed, except that given by the plate. The leaf-characters are so distinct that this species is easily recognized with a hand-lens. The spores mature in spring, but well-developed capsules are found in autumn. In this species as well as in most others of the genus nearly an entire year seems to be needed for the complete development of the sporophyte. R. FASCICULARE (Schrad.) Brid. grows in rather close flat patches, yellowish green above, black or brownish below, bearing very numerous short obtuse lateral branchlets (see PI. XVI) ; leaves lanceolate, nearly or quite obtuse, without hyaline point; costa faint, vanishing below the apex; peristome teeth divided to the base, spores maturing in spring. Most likely to be con- fused with microcarpum, but easily distinguished by the total absence of hair-points. Common in alpine or subalpine regions, but not likely to be met with elsewhere. R. MICROCARPUM (Schrad.) Brid. resembles the last in gen- eral appearance, but with leaves shorter and having a stronger percurrent costa and hyaline-tipped leaves (in the perichsetial leaves the costa ceases below the apex and the apex is some- times obtuse without hyaline tips, making a puzzling combina- tion), hyaline apex of leaves denticulate; capsule smaller and PLATE XIV. Grimmia Pennsylvania (From Sulliv. " Icones "). i. Plants natural size. Figs. 15, 16 and 17. Antheridial buds, perigonial leaf, and antheridium respectively. The other figures are self-explanatory. A number of the figures require a compound microscope for their demonstration. PLATE XV. Rhacomitrium aciculare (From Bry. Eur.). i. Plants natural size. 5, 6, 7. leaves. PLATE XVI. Rhacomiirium fasciculare. (From Bry. . i. Plant natural size, showing characteristic method of branching. 7. a. Apex of leaf. The other figures are self-explanatory. 62 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS lighter-colored than in the last ; spores maturing in spring. Our most common species after aciculare, growing on exposed rocks on hills throughout our range, but apparently somewhat local. The form with obtuse peri- chsetial leaves which seems common in the Franconia Mountains is likely to be mistaken for l-Wfi^ \\M fasciculare, unless the lower leaves be examined. FIGURE 25. Rhacomitrnim microcarpum (From Bry. Evtr.)- Leaves and leaf-structure. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 63 FAMILY 9. TORTULACEAE. Tortula Family* HE family name is particularly appropriate, as not only are the leaves twisted (often strongly crisped) when dry in nearly all the species, but the peristome also is strongly twisted in a large number of the genera. The family is a large one with a very great range of variation which is partly due to the degeneracy of several of its members. The species here treated all grow on soil or crumbling moist rocks and cliffs. Nearly all are short stemmed with radicles present at base only. The leaves in nearly every case have the basal 1-3 to 1-2 made up of thin- walled hyaline or slightly colored cells, while the upper portion is made up of minute thick-walled cells so that it appears nearly opaque. The costa is nearly always strong and aften excurrent. Astomum, which is treated with Pleuridium, does not open its capsules by a lid, and Pottia, which is treated with Physcomitrium, and Gymnos- tomum have no peristome, but the great majority of the species have a well developed peristome which may consist of 16 straight, slender, more or less divided teeth, -or in many cases of 32 fine hairlike teeth spirally twisted in several turns (see Plate I, Figs. 6, 7, and 8.) The capsules are on rather long straight setae and are usually erect and cylindrical or nearly so. KEY TO THE; GENERA. 1. Leaves tapering gradually from the base to the acute apex 3. Leaves increasing in width from the base upwards, or at least not narrowed until near apex, broad in outline and rounded at apex except for the costa, which often extends out into a long white hair 2. 2. Peristome of 32 filifoim strongly twisted teeth which arise from a high basal membrane (basal membrane short in T. muralis) . , Tortula Teeth 16, short, not twisted Desmatodon. 3. Peristome lacking. Plants common on wet ledges and cliffs where lime is present . Gymnostomum. Peristome present, operculum falling as soon as detached 4. 4. Leaves curled to slightly crisped, with margins revolute; basal part of leaf usually somewhat colored; peristome twisted. .. .Barbula. Leaves strongly crisped when dry with margins plane or rolled inwards and base usually hyaline 5. 5. Peristome of 16 short teeth; plants small Weisia. Peristome of 32 slender twisted teeth; plants large for the family Tortella. GYMNOSTOMUM. If you can find a wet cliff with some lime in its composition 64 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS you will be almost sure to find a portion of it covered with the dense mats of Gymnostomum which we might call, after the manner of a well known Flora, the Toothless Twisted Moss, as the generic name means, lacking a peristome. The dense mats usually produce an abundance- of small ovoid capsules which mature in autumn. The leaves are really less twisted than any other genus of the family, hardly enough to be noticeable. G. CURVIROSTRE (Ehrh.) Hedw. This is apparently our most common species as well as our largest. The plants sometimes reach a length of 4 inches. The leaves are scarcely twisted when dry, narrowly lanceolate, acute, with one margin, at least, recurved. The seta is usually longer than in the other species; capsule dark red-brown, glossy, thick-walled, widest at mouth when dry and empty. The operculum remains attached to the columella after separating from the urn and is thus attached for some time. The spores mature in late summer or autumn. This species and the next are very closely related and are often confused. If collected in autumn or winter this species is readily distinguished by reason of the fact that the operculum remains attached to the columella after dehiscence. I have found opercula as late as May or June when the young sporophytes were beginning to appear. When moistened the capsule-walls and the operculum swell so as to again close the capsule and thus do the work ordinarily done by the peristome. G. RUPESTRE Schleich. is distinguished from the preceding by the broader-pointed, plane-margined leaves, the shorter seta, and the thin-walled, yellowish-brown capsule and by the completely virostre. WEISIA. The Weisias are small mosses growing in tufts or mats on soil, especially rather dry sandy soil with our species, freely branch- ing; the upper leaves are usually much larger than the lower, erect-spreading, strongly crispate when dry, elongated- lanceolate with the costa usually excurrent into a short point; capsule well exserted on a seta of moderate length, usually erect and symmetric, ovoid, plicate when dry and empty. W. VIRIDULA (L.) Hedw. is a species common in rather dry XVII. Gymnostomum curvirostre (From Bry. Eur.). i and 2. Plants natural size. 12. Section of capsule. XVII. Explanation on preceding page. PLATE XVIII. Weisia viridula ..(From Bry. Bur.), i, 2, 3, and 4. Plants natural size. The other figures are self-explanatory. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 67 soil and occasionally growing in more moist situations. It is exceedingly variable in its peristome and its size. Our plants are mainly of the smaller size figured in the plate, but the capsules are nearly always erect. It may usually be distinguished from Astomum when sterile by its larger size and longer leaves. The margins of the leaves are so strongly inrolled above as to make them appear almost tubular. The capsules do not apparently become wrinkled as shown in the plate until they have reached a considerable age. The spores mature in spring. In Californian forms the peristome is almost entirely lacking. BARBULA. The leaves of this genus are lanceolate from a broader base (except B. unguiculata) and are somewhat contorted when dry but scarcely crispate, margins revolute. The costa is percurrent or barely excurrent. The capsules are nearly cylindric and the peristomes strongly twisted. Tortella and Tortula are likely to be confused with Barbula, but in Tortella the leaves are strongly crisped when dry and the transparent cells at the base run up the margin so that the boundary line between the transparent and opaque areas is in the shape of the letter V. In all our species of Tortula here described the costa is long excurrent into a hair point. B. UNGUICULATA (Huds.) Hedw., the Common Barbula, is our most common and most variable Barbula. The plants are green to dirty green, ^4-inch high ; leaves erect-spreading or slightly recurved when moist, spirally twisted when dry, lingulate to oblong-lanceolate, obtuse. The costa is excurrent into a short round mucro; margin recurved below, but plane above. The perichaetial leaves are longer and more acute. The seta is red- brown; the capsule oblong or cylindric, usually symmetric, with beaked lid. The peristome teeth are long and slender, spirally twisted in two turns. The spores mature from late autumn to early spring. On damp earth, walls, and stones. Exceedingly variable, especially in leaf forms, which may become lance- linear, and even acute in the case of the perichaetial leaves. It might be confused with Tortella caespitosa, but the leaves are shorter than in that species; the margins are recurved and the hyaline basal cells do not run up the margin. In general the plants are much darker colored. PLATE XIX. Barbula unguiculata (From Bry. Eur.). r, 2, 3. Plants natural size. PLATE XX. Barbula convoluta (From Bry. 70 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS B. CONVOLUTA Hedw., the Sheathing Barbula, is next to the preceding our most common Barbula. The plants are slender, less than Y^ an inch high, densely csespitose, yellowish green. The leaves are erect-spreading when moist, crisped when dry, oblong- lanceolate to lingulate, obtuse to obtusely acute. The costa ends in or below the apex, very rarely excurrent into a minute point. The margin of the leaf is said to be slightly recurved at base, but this character is very hard to demonstrate. The perichaetial leaves are long-sheathing, convolute, inner without costa. The seta is ^4 to i inch long, slender, straw colored or becoming red- dish with age, and the peristome several times twisted. The spores mature in spring. On soil, especially in limestone regions, in rather dry places. At first sight this species reminds one of Ceratodon, but the longer operculum, yellowish seta, and convolute perichaetial leaves easily distinguish it, even with a hand-lens. TORTELLA. Much like Barbula except for the differences enumerated under that genus. The plants are usually larger with longer, plane-margined leaves, and grow in denser, often densely radi- culose tufts. T. CAESPITOSA (Schwaegr.) Limpr. strongly resemble Bar- bula unguiculata, but the leaves are much longer, with plane mar- gins and hyaline cells running up the margin. It is common on roots of trees and on soil in woods. The spores mature in spring. T. TORTUOSA (L.) Limpr. The plants of this species are 1-3 inches in height, densely radiculose with red-brown filaments, stout, growing in dense rounded tufts, pale or yellowish green above, light brown below. The leaves are crowded, very long (l/4 inch), linear-lanceolate, tapering gradually to the slenderly acute apex, spreading and flexuose when moist, very strongly crisped, and often spirally contorted when dry. The costa is excurrent into a short acute point, hyaline area at base large and extending obliquely far up the margin. The seta is l/2 to i inch long, red below, paler above. The spores mature in late spring. Common on rocks, especially limestone, perhaps the most com- mon species of the family except Weisia viridula, but fruiting PLATE XXI. Tortella tortuosa (From Bry. Eur.). i and 2. Plants natural size. 72 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS rather infrequently. This species is of almost world-wide dis- tribution. The large size of the plants and the long-linear or lance-linear slenderly acuminate leaves, much crisped when dry, make the species easy of recognition. TORTULA. The Twisted Mosses. The Twisted Mosses are large for the family and are easily recognized by the tongue-shaped leaves with long excurrent, hairlike costa, and long twisted peristome. To make out these characters satisfactorily it is best to mount the parts on a microscopic slide. In all the species except T. muralis the basal part of the peristome is tubular. The Twisted Mosses are not common, and the person who gets good fruiting material has cause for congratulation. T. MURALIS (L.) Hedw. The botanical name of this plant is FIGURE 26. Reaves, leaf sections, and radicles of Tortula muralis. (From Bry. Eur.). PLATE XXII. Tortula mrtralis (From Bry. Bur.). and 2. Plants natural size. 9, 10 and n. Antheridial bud, perigonial leaf, and antheridia respectively. The other figures are self-explanatory. 74 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS typical of the compactness and convenience of scientific terms. It means the Twisted Moss that grows on walls. And it is on walls and stones, especially those that contain lime, that one should look for this moss. It grows abundantly on the mortar of the wall at the upper side of the Richmond trolley line on Staten Island at the point opposite the New Dorp Railroad station. It typically grows in small dense cushions, short, averaging about ^2 inch high, dull or bright green ; leaves twisted and curled when dry, oblong-lanceolate below to elongated-lingulate above ; margin closely revolute, causing the leaves to appear margined; costa excurrent into a very long smooth hyaline hair which is usually one-half the length of the le&f; capsule broadly cylindric, on a red-brown seta which is orange when young. Distinct in fruiting forms by the narrow basal membrane. The combination of papillose leaf-cells, smooth hair- point and revolute margin will serve to distinguish from every- thing except possibly Desmatodon plinthobius. T. RURAUS (L.) Ehrh. is larger than the preceding, I to 2^ inches high, branched, bright green above, reddish-brown below ; leaves recurved-squarrose above when moist, when dry appressed and somewhat twisted, oblong to oblong-spatulate, rounded or notched at apex; perichsetial leaves acute; costa excurrent into a very long and very rough hair which is hyaline above and often colored at base; margin reflexed almost to apex. The capsule is cylindric, long, with lid half as long as capsule, basal mem- brane constituting one-half the long peristome ; spores maturing in spring. On ground in woods and on stones. Common on the Pacific coast but infrequent eastward. Variable but distinguished by the italicized characters. The hair-point is so very strongry toothed that the roughness can be seen with a hand-lens. The western forms of this species grade into the form known as T. ruraliformis (Besch.) Dixon, a more robust plant with the leaves acuminate; the lamina at the base of the hair-point scarious and running up along the base of the hair. DESMATODON PLINTHOBIUS Sulliv. & Lesq. is a small moss about J4 inch in height, or less, which is common in the Central States. The leaves are smaller than those of Tortula muralis and the hair point is often as long as the leaf, but otherwise so much like that species that confusion is likely to result. The small size of the plant and the short untwisted peristome will serve to identifv it. PLATE XXIII. Tortula ruralis (From Bry. Eur.). 2. Plant natural size. The other figures are self-explanatory. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY JO, ENCALYPTACEAE. Extinguisher Mosses. E have but one genus of the Extinguisher Mosses, which as a whole are closely related to the Twisted Mosses in habit and leaf structure. The leaves are large and tongue-shaped and are crisped when dry as in Tortula, but the costa is little or not at all excurrent. When i n perfect fruit there is no possi- bility of mistaking the Extinguisher Mosses, as the large extinguisher- like calyptra ex- tends well below t h e capsule as shown in figure 27. FIGURE 27. Dry. Bur.). I. larged. Bncalypta streptocarpa. (From Plant natural size. ib. Plant en- ENCALYPTA. E. S T R E P T 0- CARPA Hedw., the Common Extin- guisher Moss, is very common on limestone, but rarely or never fruits in this country. The plants are very large, i to 2l/2 inches in height, and many of the large (about l/4 inch in length) coarse leaves are strongly incurved at apex and sub- PLATE XXIV. (From Bry. Eur.). 3 and 43. Leaf and flattened leaf- apex of Encalypta streptocarpa. The rest of the figures are of B. ciliata. 1 6. Mouth of capsule with peristome. At the left of 16 is the fringed calyptra. 2. Leaves. 33. Apices of leaves. 30. Cells at base of leaf. 2x. Cross-section of leaf. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS cucullate. The costa does not reach the obtuse and rounded apex. E. CILIATA (Hedw.) Hoffm., the Fringed Extinguisher Moss, is -frequent on rocks in mountain regions. The plants are about one inch in height. The slightly excurrent costa, leaves plane- margined in the upper portion, and the fringed calyptra are its ear marks. The spores mature in summer. scopic. FAMILY \\. ORTHOTRICHACEAE. The Orthotrichum Family* JOMEWHAT resembling the Grimmia Family, but nearly always growing on trees. The plants are small, rarely reaching an inch in height and usually much shorter, blackish or brownish green below. The leaves are oblong- or linear-lanceolate and usually very hygro- The calyptra is nearly always hairy and the capsules often immersed, with very distinct longitudinal wrinkles when dry and empty. The peristome usually consists oi 16 rather short teeth which are nearly al- ways reflexed when dry and are often united in pairs ; the inner peristome is usually represented by 16 slender hairlike proc- esses, almost too minute for the hand-lens. In the First Edition this family was united with the Grimmiaceae. Mem- bers of these two families may become so dry and brittle as to crumble to dust in the fingers and yet retain their vitality un- impaired, springing into re- newed growth with the next rain. DRUMMONDIA, Drummondia is a com- FIGURE 28. Drummondia clavellata. mon moss of the Orthotrichum a, x i. b, X 10. c, Calyptra X 10. family. It always grows on the d, Empty capsule X 10. bark of trees, but is easily dis- MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 79 tinguished from its tree-growing allies by three characters. Its stems are long and closely applied to the bark of the tree, sending out short horizontal branchlets so thickly that the stems below become apparent only when the plant is removed. The capsule is on a long seta, the calyptra is cucullate, and the peristome is so small as to be scarcely apparent. Drummondia is named for Drummond, one of the earliest collectors of American mosses. D. clavellata Hook, is our only species. ULOTA (Weissia of the First Edition*) The Ulotas have the characteristic brownish-green or black- ish-green color of the Orthotrichum family. They are distin- guished from all save Orthotrichum by the hairy calyptra. Both Orthotrichum and Ulota grow on the bark of trees or more rarely on rocks, in cushions of varying size and thickness. The Ulotas growing on trees usually grow in more rounded tufts with the leaves more crisped when dry than is usual with Orthotri- chum growing in similar situations. The books all say that the hairs on the calyptra of Ulota are flexuous, and those on Ortho- trichum straight, but this distinction appears to be rather too fine for the amateur to profit by it. The capsules in both genera are erect and symmetric and quite regularly striate when dry with eight or sixteen ridges and as many alternating furrows. These ridges consist of cells larger, darker, and thicker-walled than the alternating tissue. The seta in Orthotrichum is so short that the capsule is nearly always partially immersed; in Ulota the seta is long enough to exsert the capsule entirely beyond the perichae- tial leaves. U. LUDWIGII Brid., the Puckered Ulota, has pear-shaped cap- sules, abruptly narrowed to the very small mouth ; the ridges and furrows extend only a short distance from the mouth of the capsule, giving it the peculiar and characteristic appearance shown in the cut. U. CRISPA Brid. The capsules of the Crisped Ulota have a much larger mouth and are Striate for the entire length. The seta is shorter, the color is lighter, and the tufts are rather thicker than in the Puckered Ulota. In the not uncommon variety crispula of the Crisped Ulota the capsule is much shorter and is suddenly contracted into a neck, narrow and much 8o MOSSES WITH A HAND-VENS FIGURE 29. a. a, Ulota cr'.spa X 4 and X i respectively, b, b', Cap- sules of the same X 20. c, Young sporophyte with calyptra X 20. d. d', U. Ludwigii X 4 and X i respectively, e, Capsule X 20. f, Calyptra of mature capsule X 21. twisted when dry. These two species grow exclusively on trees. U. AMERICANA (Beauv.) Lindb., the American Ulota, grows exclusively on rocks. Its leaves are rigid when dry like those of Orthotrichum, not crisped as in the two tree-growing species ; the capsules very closely resemble those of the Crisped Ulota. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 8l All three of the Ulotas are common in the hilly regions of our range. Their capsules mature in autumn or early winter, but apart from the calyptra are more characteristic when dry and empty. The tree-growing species furnish good collect- ing for winter and early spring, when most other mosses are buried under the snow. The use of the name Ulota instead of Weissia seems to be sanctioned by the best authorities, hence the change. ORTHOTRICHUM. The Orthotrichums are most frequent on trees about houses, and in orchards and village streets, although they are not lacking in other situations where the trees stand somewhat apart. They can be found abundantly on almost any fruit or shade tree in the country. In the larger cities for some reason they do not seem to thrive. They may frequently be found growing with Ulotas, from which the immersed or emergent capsule and non- crisped leaves distinguish them at once. One species (O. anomalum) grows on rocks. The calyptras are less densely hairy than those of Ulota ; O. strangulatum has a calyptra without hairs. The species are usually considered difficult to identify even with a compound microscope, but I find that a few of the commoner species can be recognized with the aid of a hand-lens. Capsules must be thoroughly dry to answer the description of dry capsules. The leaves have revolute margins, except in 0. obtusifolium, which appear as a darker margin when the leaves are mounted on a slide. Drummondia has the general appearance of an Orthotrichum with an exserted capsule, but the calyptra is cucullate and without hairs and the capsule is not wrinkled when dry. The plate of O. sordidum gives a good idea of the character- istics of the genus. KEY. 1. Rock-inhabiting species; peristome teeth 16, erect or erect-spread- ing on dry capsules; capsule fully exserted, i6-striate. . . .anomalum. Tree-inhabiting species; peristome teeth usually united into 8 pairs, recurved or reflexed when dry; capsule immersed or emergent, 8-striate 2. 2. Leaves obtuse (rarely with some leaves acute), broad pointed, margins plane obtusifolium. Leaves acute, margins revolute or involute 3. 3. Capsule almost or quite exserted, smooth, or very slightly plicate around the mouth when dry and empty speciosum. 82 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS Capsules immersed or slightly emergent, plicate the whole length when dry 4. 4. Empty capsule strongly contracted below the mouth when dry and empty, dark colored 5. Empty capsule only slightly contracted below the mouth, straw colored Ohioense. 5. Empty capsules dark red-brown on the folds, so deeply folded in many cases that the folds almost touch each other; calyptra without hairs strangulatum. Plants larger with hairy calyptras; capsules lighter colored and less deeply plicate sordidum. O. ANOMAIAJM Hedw. Rock O. (Figure 31) grows on rocks in rather dense cushions, dark olive green or brown below; calyptra hairy; capsule usually fully exserted, i6-striate, the 8 intermediate folds less distinct, oval-cylindric when moist, cylin- dric when dry, abruptly narrowed to the neck. The peristome is erect when dry, of 16 teeth, usually separate. Spores maturing May-June. Not rare. This species will not be confused with any other species of Orthotrichum, but may be confused with Ulota Americana. The latter has the dry capsule gradually narrowed into the long neck and the teeth reftexed when dry ; besides it is almost black in color except at the extreme ends of the stems and branches, and grows in loose wide mats. Its spores mature much later, July-September. O. OHIOENSE S. & L. (Figure 30) grows in rather dense, small cushions, yellowish green, brown below; stems about i-inch long; leaves oblong-lanceolate; calyptra hairy, moist capsule immersed, oblong- ovate, when dry slightly 8-plicate, cam- panulate, becoming more narrowed with age, straw-colored; peristome of 8 double teeth, strongly reflexed when dry. The spores mature in early spring (April). . Common on trees. When sterile it is a FIGURE 30. Orthotn- ..,, ... chum Ohioense. Dry difficult matter to distinguish this from O. and empty capsule. 10 strangulatum, but the straw-colored lightly- Stoma. plicate capsules are easy of recognition. O. SPECIOSUM Nees., the Smooth Orthotrichum, is perhaps the largest of our species, being an inch to an inch and a half in height, yellow-green above; leaves tapering, very acute. The calyptra is large, hairy, campanulate ; capsule oblong-cylindrical, almost exserted, the upper leaves barely reaching the base, smooth or barely marked zvith irregular ridges when dry; oper- MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 83 FIGURE 31- Orthotrichum anomalum (From Bry. Bur.). 2, 3, 4 and 5. Reaves; x and x' indicate where the sections $x and 3x' were made. u. Vaginula. culum rostellate; peristome of 8 teeth, which when dry are recurved rather than reflexed, as the tip of the tooth some- times touches the capsule wall in a way to remind one of the handle of a mug. The spores mature by October, but I have collected operculate capsules in March. O. SORDIDUM S & L. somewhat resembles the preceding in leaf characters. It is at once distinguished by the immersed or PLATE XXV. O. speciosum (From Bry. 2, 3 and 5. Leaves. 7, 8. 10 and 15. Capsules and peristome. PLATE XXVI. O. sordidum (From Sulliv. " Tcones Muse. Suppl.") i. Plants natural size. 3. Leaves. 4. Leaf sections. 5. Cellular struc- ture of leaf base and apex. 12. Antheridial branch with antheridium and paraphysis. n. Segment of peristome highly magnified. 13. Superficial stoma. The other figures are self-explanatory. 10 PLATE XXVI. Explanation on preceding page. 86 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS emergent plicate capsules. The spores mature in late spring or summer. „ '+ . O. STRANGULATUM Sulliv. (Figure 32.) This is one of our commonest mosses, abundant on shade trees almost everywhere. It can be recognized with a hand-lens by the characters given in the key if one is familiar with it. The capsules are not so deeply plicate until a month or more after the spores ripen. It is a little smaller than the preceding, the leaves are narrower, and the calyptra naked ; the spores apparently mature about a month later. In August I have found O. speciosum, O. sordidum, O. strangulatum, and O. Ohio- ense growing together on fruit trees. O. strangulatum is much the most abundant, and is easily rec- ognized by the strangulate, dark red-brown capsules appearing as described in the text. O. Ohiocnsc is about the same size, but the straw-colored capsules catch the eye at once. O. sordidum stands out at once by reason of its greater size and larger leaves and capsules less plicate than in O. strangulatum. O. speciosum is somewhat smaller than sordidum, and at this time the cap- sules are immature with the hairy calyptra still firmly attached. The comparative size of speciosum and sordidum is just the reverse of what my herbarium specimens and the book descriptions lead me to expect as the specimens of speciosum I collected were much smaller than those in my collection. FIGURE 32. Capsule of Orthot cliuin strangulatu FAMILY \1. The Luminous SCHISTOSTEGACEAE. Moss Family, JCHISTOSTEGA OSMUNDACEA (Dicks.) Mohr., the Luminous Moss, belongs in a family all by itself because of its numerous peculiarities. It is found in caves and dark holes in the woods, sometimes under the roots of over- turned trees. It has once been found under the sill of an old shed. On looking into one of these caverns containing the Luminous Moss, the bottom seems covered with a golden-green glow, some- thing like the appearance of a cat's eyes in the dark. In order MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 8/ to see the glow one must look into the cave in the direction from which the light enters and care must be taken not to shut off all the entering light, as the Luminous Moss, like the moon, shines by reflected light alone. If one attempts to gather the glowing substance he will find nothing but dirt and stones with possibly a few tiny green plants like those in the figure. The compound microscope will reveal threads like those shown in the plate, but the lens will show only a cobwebby appearance of fine green FIGURE 33. Schist osega osmundacea (From Bry. Eur.). i, 2. Plants natural size. 29. Protonema as it appears under the compound microscope. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS threads. This beautiful plant is probably the reality upon which are based the fairy tales of goblin gold. The discovery of this rare and curious plant will* repay a search in every dark hole •one sees. If present it can always be seen .from the outside, as it •cannot grow beyond the reach of light. Mrs. Britton's Observer articles give a much fuller account of this moss. FAMILY \ 3. SPLACHNACEAE. The Splachnum Family* SPLACHNUM. | HERE are several species of Splachnum, but only one is likely to be found. S. AMPULLACEUM L,., the odd looking moss repre- sented in Fig 34, is not very common and will not be found readily by most students. It is so striking in appearance that no one can fail to recognize it. The spores are borne in the slender upper portion ; the swollen and colored (lilac or pur- plish) lower portion is the neck of the capsule, which is covered with stomata and filled with loose tissue suit- able for the assimilation of carbon dioxide. When dry this portion becomes irreg- ularly shrunken in a man- ner very difficult to repre- sent in a drawing. There are several other rare mosses of the Splach- num Family, all remark- able for the swollen neck (much less conspicuous than in Splachnum, how- FIGURE 34 Splachnum ampullae eum, \ j r leaf X lolcapsule, ripe and unripe X ever)> and for growing 5. (The plant and capsules represented on animal excreta or de- are rather small, as they are often found of twice this size). caymg animal tissue. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY J4. FUNARIACEAE. The Cord Moss Family* FUNARIA. UNARIA HYGROMETRICA (L.), Sibth., the Cord Moss, is so-called because of the twisted seta, which is very hygroscopic and untwists when moist. Its Latin name, Funaria, is derived from funis, a rope. This twisting of the seta is not peculiar to this moss, however, but is a very common thing in nearly all moss families. The Cord Moss is to be found every- where, being especially abun- dant in waste places and on soil re c e n 1 1 y burned over. 1 have seen it completely cov- er the soil in an old strawberry bed. When mature it is easily r e c o g- nized by the peculiar look- ing curved cap- sule with its mouth on one side. When im- mature it is much harder to recognize, be- cause the capsule is erect and nearly symmetric and the calyptra has not assumed the rakish position indicated in the figures. This moss has perhaps been given " a more careful study than any other species ; it is described in nearly every text book on botany. There are several other species in the United States, but this is the only one commonly found. The capsules mature early in June. FIGURE 35. Funaria hygrometrica X 2, with capsules of various ages and degrees of magnification. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS F. FLAVICANS MX. is found from New York southwards. We are indebted to Mr. R. S. Williams for the fol- lowing notes which are taken from the " Bryologist " of January, 1901 : " The species grows in separate tufts as well as mingled with hygrometrica, from which it may be distinguished by the average smaller size, erect pedicel, more pointed leaves, and mouth less oblique, as well as less furrowed capsule, which matures a week or two earlier than in hygrometrica, in this region at least, where the best specimens were collected from the ist to the loth of June. When well ripened, the capsules are very dark reddish, with a low convex lid, not apiculate." Mr. Williams also states that the mouth of the capsule is constantly smaller in flavicans. PHYSCOMITRIUM. The Urn Mosses* P. TURBINATUM (Mx.) Brid., the Common Urn Moss, is com- mon on earth in conservatories, by roadsides and in old fields. It is abundant in moist places by paths in the parks of Greater New York. It must be collected in May to get the calyptra in position. Although a very near relative of the Cord Moss, it entirely lacks the peristome which is so conspicuous in that species. A much rarer moss, Pottia, may be found and confused with the Urn Moss, which it closely resembles. Pottia, however, is smaller, be- ing about one-half as large, matures its cap- sules in winter, and un- der a lens will be seen to have the midrib ex- FIGURE 36. Physcomitrium turbinatum current instead of end- X 4; capsule x 15- ing below the apex of the leaf, as in the Urn Moss. There are several species of Urn Mosses, but this is much the most common and most likely to be met with. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS QI POTTIA. Pottia belongs in the Tortula Family, but is treated here be- cause of its resemblance to Physcomitrium. Plants short, branched, scattered or in tufts. Leaves soft, broad in outline, enlarging upwards, ovate to oblong, costa reaching apex or be- yond. Capsule erect and exserted on a straight seta, ovoid to cylindric ; peristome lacking in our species. P. TRUNCATULA (L.) Lindb. (P. truncata Fuern.) is our only common species, and will be readily recognized from the generic description and the figure. It is most likely to be confused with Physcomitrium, as its habitat and general appearance are some- what similar. The spores mature from late autumn to early spring. FIGURE 37. Pottia truncatula (From Bry. Eur.), i, 2, and 3. Plants natural size. 8b. Leaf cells. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY J5. AULACOMNIACEAE. Bog Moss Family. LOSKLY related to the Mniums, but distinguished in our species by the capsules, which are strongly and regularly wrinkled when dry. Gymnocybe has been dropped for Aulacomnium because the latter seems to be in most general use. AULACOMNIUM. The Bog Mosses. A. PALUSTRE Schwaegr., the Ribbed Bog Moss, is very abundant in swamps and wet shaded hollows. It is rather lighter in color than most of the accompanying mosses. When in fruit it is readily distinguished by its capsules, deeply furrowed when dry. From the figures the capsules might possibly be confused with those of Ceratodon, but they are much longer and much ff FIGURE 38. Aulacomnium palustre X 10; capsules X 10; pseudopodia X 4- 94 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS lighter colored (yellow-brown). The plants are several times as large as those of Ceratodon, often reaching a height of two or three inches. Note also the difference in habitat. When not in fruit, this species frequently bears on the end of the stem a number of long slender pseudopodia, which, when young, bear clusters of gemmae at their ends. These gemmse serve to reproduce the plant asexually and may account for the rather infrequent appearance of the sporophyte. The capsules mature in early summer. A. HETEROSTICHUM (Hedw). B. & S. looks so much like a Mnium that it might well be called the Ribbed Mnium. It is common on rich moist soil (not wet) in woods, especially about the bases of trees. The ribbed, or wrinkled, capsules and broad Mnium-like leaves, coarsely serrate and without border, are its distinguishing marks. The spores mature in early spring, but the young " lances " are well started in the preceding autumn. When thoroughly dry the capsules are more strongly wrinkled and more contracted under the mouth than is shown in the plate. FAMILY 16. BARTRAMIACEAE. Apple Moss Family, HE plants of this family mostly grow on rocks that are moist or in many cases, very wet. The capsules are subspherical when moist, but are strongly wrinkled when dry. BARTRAMIA. The Bartramias grow in moist nithes in cliffs and on moist shady banks, looking much like tufts of green wool. The char- acteristic thing about them is their capsules, which are globular and somewhat unsymmetric when moist, but dry with regular folds and alternate ridges. When very dry the body of the capsule becomes so shrunken as to be smaller than the mouth of the capsule itself. We have two species. B. POMIFORMIS (L.) Hedw., the Long-leaved Bartramia or Apple Moss, easily distinguished by its longer leaves crisped when dry and by its larger capsule. PLATE; XXVII. Aulacomnium heterostichum (From Bry. Eur.). i, Plants natural size. The other figures are self-explanatory. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 95 rtr FIGURE 39. a, Bartramia pomiformis XL b, B. Oederi XL c, -Capsule of B. pomiformis X 10, and e, Mouth of same with operculum. d, Capsule of B. Oederi X 10. f and g, Leaves of B pomiformis and B. Oederi respectively X 10. B. OEDERI (Gunn.) Swartz., the Short-leaved Bartramia. The Long-leaved Bartramia is common throughout our range whenever the country affords a suitable habitat, but the Short- leaved Bartramia is rather rare. The difference between the species as shown in the figures is so marked that they cannot be confused. Both species mature their capsules in spring; the Long- leaved Bartramia in April or early May, and the Short-leaved two or three weeks later. PHILONOTIS. P. FONTANA (L.) Brid. is the only species of Philonotis likely to be met with, is very common where water drips or runs in shallow streams over rocks. When in fruit it may be mistaken for a Bartramia on account of the similarity of the capsules. The capsules of Philonotis, however, have a protuber- ance on the lower side that is entirely lacking in Bartramia. Philonotis grows in much wetter places, has much longer, more slender stems that are often fasciculately branching at the top ; shorter, more acute leaves, and is dioicous. The male heads are conspicuous objects among the fruiting plants, though sel- MOSSES WITH A HAND-UCNS \ I FIGURE 40. Philonotis fontana X i; leaf, capsule, and male head X 10. dom appearing in sterile mats. Although Philonotis is common, the sporophyte is infrequent. The capsules mature in May or June. FAMILY 17. BRYACEAE. The Bryum Family. HE capsules of the Bryum Family are nearly always drooping and frequently have a well marked neck when dry. The peristome is double and well developed. (See glossary under "Peristome"). The leaves are usually plainly bordered by a thicker darker margin of elongated cells, and the costa is stout and often excurrent. BRYUM. Bryum is perhaps the most difficult and troublesome of all the genera of mosses. The genus is large (500 species, 195 in Europe and America), and the distinctions between the species are often few and difficult to observe. There are, however, several species that can be recognized readily. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 97 It is hard to distinguish in a description between Mnium and Bryum, but after one has collected them much he will rarely make a mistake. In general the leaves in Bryum are smaller, and the leaf cells are longer and proportionately narrower. The Giant Bryum, however, is very like a Mnium in size and shape of leaf. Many species other than those mentioned here are sure to be found, but the genus is one of the most difficult, and cannot be thoroughly studied with the hand-lens alone. Pohlia (Webera of many authors) is treated with Bryum because of its close re- semblance. It is by many authors included in Bryum. The leaf cells in Pohlia are much longer and narrower than in Bryum, but it is difficult to see this satisfactorily with a lens. B. ARGENTEUM L,v the Silvery Bryum, grows everywhere at almost all altitudes. It is specially fond of dry compact soil in sandy fields and waste places. It grows abundantly in paths and between the bricks of sidewalks in towns and cities. When fully grown it is a bright silvery gray, due to the fact that the leaves are white and without chlorophyll when old. The young plants are r\ WM tf^w**^ green and may easily be I A (Kf2 ff W N. mistaken for something W !M I m \ else- The leaves end in a slender bristle and are crowded and closely overlapping, making the stems and branches prettily julaceous. The capsules mature in autumn, but can be found in recognizable condition at almost any season. When fully mature the seta and capsules are dark red. B. ROSEUM (Weis) Schreb, the Giant Bryum, is the largest and showiest of all our species, and, moist and fully expanded, is a striking object in any situation. The stems spring from stolons and are nearly leafless except at the summit, where the very large leaves form a rosette. Under favorable cir- cumstances it forms large mats on old rotten logs or at the base of FIGURE 41. Bryum argenteum branch X 10; capsule X 20. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIGURE 42. Bryum roseum X i ; leaf and capsule X 4- trees in rich peaty soil. Although common, it seldom fruits in either America or England, but reproduces freely by its stolons. The antheridia mature in late August or early September, and the male heads are so large and conspicuous that it is easy to find them in almost any locality where the species grows. The antheridia are so large as to be easily seen with a hand- lens. One who has access to a compound microscope should not fail to study the antherozoids with high powers. B.CAESPITICIUM L., the Common or Matted Bryum. There is no particular reason for calling this species " matted " except to translate its scientific name, but it is by all odds the most common species. It grows among thin grass in open fields, around the edges of ledges and bare spots of soil, and on old ash. heaps ; usually in dry places. It is often associated with Punaria. There are two or three species so closely related to it that it is almost impossible to distinguish them with a lens, but this is so much more common than any of the others that in nine cases out of ten anything answering to the following description and figures will be the Common Bryum. The size and general appear- ance of the plants are well represented in the cuts. The leaves are plainly bordered ; the costa is excurrent ; the antheridia PLATE XXVIII. Bryum caespiticium (From Bry. Eur.). 3, 4 and 5. Plants natural size. zb. and ^b. Plants magnified. 6, 7 and 8. Leaves. 100 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS grow intermingled with the archegonia (difficult for the lens). The capsules mature in May and June, and as the antheridia and archegonia are ripe at about this time, it must take the plant a full year to mature its spores ; for this reason the leaves at the base of the seta are often badly torn and decayed. B. BIMUM Schreb., the Red-stemmed Bryum, is another com- mon species, growing on wet cliffs and in swamps. It is known by its large size (2-6 inches) and the dense felt of red-brown radicles that cover its stem. The leaves are rather distant, 1-12 of an inch or more long, plainly bordered, with costa percurrent or excurrent, and red in old leaves. This species is exceedingly variable in size and gen- eral appearance and one who has collected it several times cannot feel sure that he will recognize it the next time he finds it. The spores mature in mid- summer. B. DUVALLI Voit., the Winged Bryum, is a rare plant growing in elevated swamps, but is so peculiar as to be easily recognized even when sterile. The stems are slender and weak with leaves very far apart, much farther than the cut would indicate, and so strongly decurrent as to make the stem appear winged. They are scarcely margined, and the costa is not excurrent. POHUA NUTANS (Schreb.) Lindb., the Nodding Byrum, is one of the mosses most frequently sent me for determination. It grows everywhere in moist or swampy places on peaty soil, rotten wood, etc. The plants vary from ^ to 2 inches in height, rarely over an inch as I find them. The upper leaves are long and narrowly lanceolate, faintly serrate at apex, and not mar- gined. The costa is strong and ends below the apex. With the FIGURE 43- Portion of stem of Bryum Duvallii much enlarged (From Bry. Bur.). XXIX. Pohlia nutans (From Bry. Eur.). i and 2. Plants natural size. The other figures are self-explanatory. 102 W^TH A -HAND-LEASTS lens the costa appears to be percurrent and the leaves entire. The spores mature in early summer. POHUA ELONGATA Hedw. is a rather rare moss found only in the mountains. It grows on damp soil in cool shaded places. It is at once known by the slender long-necked capsule FIGURE 44. Pohlia elongata natural size and capsule enlarged. (From Bry. Eur.). which is never to be confused with the Long- necked Bryum because of the different position of its capsules and its broader, lanceolate leaves. The spores ma- ture in August. LEPTOBRYUM p y R i- FORME (L.) Wils., the Long-necked Bryum, is closely allied to the true Bryums, although placed in another genus. It is ~ r . easily recognized by its FIGURE 45- Leptobryum pynforme X 2; leaf and Capsule x 10. long-necked capsule and MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS lOJ slender hair-like leaves. The capsules mature in June and July. Some species of Pohlia have very long-necked capsules, but the leaves are so much wider that there is no need of confusing them with the Long-necked Bryum. This species is frequent on moist shaded cliffs and on rocks near water. It is not as rare as the author once thought, for it is frequent on damp mortared walls in various situations. The author has collected it on the basement of his Brooklyn house and in the cut which leads up to Montague Street from the Brooklyn end of the Wall Street Ferry. MNIUM. The Mniums are closely related to the Bryums, but in habit and general appearance are different enough so that they can usually be distinguished without difficulty. As a rule, the plants are larger and broader. The Giant Bryum, however, looks very much like the Mniums. There are numerous species of Mnium, many of them com- mon. We have about ten that are common enough and suffi- ciently well characterized to warrant description here. KEY. 1 . Leaves margined 2. Leaves not margined 1 1. 2. Leaves entire 3. Leaves serrate 4. 3. Growing on rocks in the bed of brooks punctatum. Growing on soil in shaded swampy places punctatum elatum. .4 Capsules clustered 8. Capsules single 5. 5. Leaves serrate to base affine ciliare. Base of leaves entire 6. 6. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 5:1 hornum. Leaves oblong, rounded, or obovate 7. 7. Mouth of capsule (peristome) red spinulosum. Mouth of capsule not red sylvaticum. 8. Leaves tapering to the acute apex 9. Leaves obtuse and rounded at apex, mucronate by the excur- rent costa rostratum. g. Teeth at margins of leaf double; peristome red spinulosum. Teeth at margin of leaf not double; peristome not red 10. 10. Plants dioicous, with stolons affine. Antheridia present at base of seta; stolons lacking Drummondii. n. Plants very large resembling large forms of the Large- leaved Mnium cinclidioides. Plants small stellare. M. SYLVATICUM Lindb., Woodsy Mnium. One of the first signs of vegetable life in early spring is the array of upright green sporophytes of the Woodsy Mnium, which is common in lawns and parks in moist shady corners, and is to be found abundantly 104 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS in moist woods everywhere, growing, sometimes on the soil, sometimes on rotten wood. The capsules mature in May, but can be found in recognizable condition until August. M. AFFINE CIUARE (Grev.) C. M., the Toothed Mnium, closely resembles the Woodsy Mnium in many respects, but is easily dis- tinguished by the leaves. The leaves of the Toothed Mnium are serrate with very long and slender teeth, which extend to the base of the leaf. In the Woodsy Mnium the leaves are serrate with shorter teeth that do not extend much below the middle of the leaf. Until one has had some practice, it may be necessary to mount the leaves in order to see the serration plainly. No reliance should be placed on the shape of the leaves in distinguishing these two species, as the leaves vary greatly in shape in different plants and on different parts of the same plant. M. AFFINE Bland. The common form of this species is the variety described above. The species is rather rare and is a puzzling form for the hand-lens student. The figures and description of M. Drummondii in the FIRST EDITION were based on this species largely. It has the capsules clustered, and teeth on the margins of the leaves shorter than in the Toothed Mnium. It is distinguished from M. Drummondii by the longer, less decurrent leaves, absence of creeping stems, and by having an- theridia and archegonia on separate plants. The male heads bearing antheridia can usually be found mixed with the plants bearing capsules. M. DRUMMONDII B. & S.,the true Drummond's Mnium, is so infrequent as not to require a treatment here. It is distinguished from M. affine by the characters given under that species. By carefully stripping off the perichsetial leaves and mounting them and the seta on a slide the presence of antheridia can usually be made out with a high power lens. M. SPINULOSUM B. & S., the Red-mouthed Mnium, is a third species somewhat resembling the Woodsy Mnium and growing in similar situations, but less common and usually growing in woods. The peristome is a very bright red-brown, and after the operculum has fallen it makes a very conspicuous red band about the mouth of the yellowish-white capsule. If the leaves of the Red-mouthed Mnium be carefully studied, the teeth on the mar- gins will be seen to be in pairs. To see this with a hand-lens requires considerable care, as the teeth are small and hide one another. The capsules mature at least two weeks later than PLATE XXX. a, Mnium affine ciliare XL b, Leaf X 4. c, Leaf X 10. d, M. sylvaticum X i. e, Leaves of different shapes X 10. f, Cap- sule X 10. g, M. affine X i. io6 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIGURE 46. Mnium hornum. (From Bry. Eur.). Plant natural size. those of the Woodsy Mnium. Before the lid has fallen its pro- nounced beak is an aid in identification. In Europe the capsules of this species are usually clustered, but in the eastern United States I find the great majority of plants with single capsules. The plants also seem rather smaller than the Western and European forms. M. HORNUM L. There are several species of these double-toothed Mniums, but the only other one readily recogniz- able with a simple lens is the Long- leaved Mnium, whose leaves are pro- portionately much longer and narrower, with the costa ending below the apex. It is dioicous and the disc-like male heads are an additonal aid in identifica- tion. This species is more abundant southwards and is frequent around New York City in shaded springy places. It does not appear to fruit freely, but if one can find fruit in April with the calyptra in its queer position on the seta, instead of on the capsule, he can make no mistake. (See PI. 31, o.) M. ROSTRATUM Schrad., the Beaked Mnium, is a fairly com- mon species which seems to fruit infrequently. The leaves are ob- long to obovate and rounded at the apex with the costa running abruptly out into a short point. They do not taper as in most species, but are rounded at apex into an outline nearly semi- circular. The border is strong and the teeth single, sometimes rather short at the apex. The capsules are clustered and strongly beaked, as in the Early Mnium, but the plants seem to spread largely by stolons which form loose mats over the soil in moist shaded places. The antheridia are mixed with the archegonia. The spores mature in spring. M. PUNCTATUM L., the Early Mnium, grows on moist stones in the bed of brooks. It matures its capsules in April, long before any other species. It is at once recognized by its obovate entire- margined leaves and beaked operculum. M. PUNCTATUM ELATUM Schimp., the Large-leaved Mnium, is said to be merely a variety of the Early Mnium growing in the mud in swampy places. It is often much larger than the figure. PLATE XXXI. a, M. punctatum XL b, Capsule and operculum X 10. c, Leaf X 4- d, Var. datum XL e, Leaf of var. elatum X 4- f> Leaf of M. spinulosum X 20. g and h, Apex and margin of same X 40. o, Leaf of M. hornum X 10. p, Apex of the same X 40. 108 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS sometimes having leaves half an inch long. The leaf cells are so large as easily to be seen with a lens and in some cases with the naked eye of a trained observer. The two species without borders to the leaves are rather infrequent and so different as to remove all danger of confusion. M. CINCUDIOIDES (Blytt.) Hueben. is a very large moss four to six inches high, said to have been found a foot long, and looking almost exactly like an overgrown Large-leaved Mnium. The leaves are larger and oblong and when mounted show no trace of a border. This is a rare species of cool bogs. M. STELLARE Reich, is a small moss usually less than an inch high, though sometimes becoming more than two inches in length. It grows in rather dense cushions at the base of trees in swampy woods. Although frequent it rarely fruits. The leaves are elliptic-oblong with no trace of margin and teeth too fine to be seen with a lens ; the costa ends farther below the apex than in any other species included here. Pleurocarpous Mosses* The remainder of the mosses have creeping stems, seta aris- ing from short lateral branchlets and peristome double. FAMILY 8* LESKEACEAE. The Leskea Family. LL the members of this family except Thuidium have erect capsules. The leaf cells are so strongly covered with little projections as to make them less trans- parent than in most other pleurocarpous mosses. The Twisted Mosses, it will be remembered, had leaves that were subopaque for the same reason. ANOMODON. The bases of trees in cool moist woods frequently wear an apron of dark green, extending from the roots to three or four feet above the ground and often entirely encircling the trunk. This " apron " is usually composed of one or more species of Anomodon, often mixed with an Hepatic (Porella). The mats of Anomodon are quite thick and are composed of a net- work of nearly leafless stems growing close to the bark and MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 109 LI, FIGURE 47. Anomodon rostratus (From Bry. Eur.). Plant natural size. sending out the crowded branches that compose the "pile " of the mat. The Anomodons are nearly all rather coarse mosses with the sporophyte arising from the branches. The capsules are conic-cylindrical, straight, and erect. Some species of Leskea grow in similar situations and have a very similar sporophyte, but the Leskeas are much smaller, do not produce such dense mats, and the sporophyte arises from the stem. There are three species of Anomodon growing on trees as described above. The Common Anomodon, the Blunt-leaved Anomodon, and the Slender Anomodon. no MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIGURE 48. a, Anomodon ai>i- culatus X 2. b, Capsules X 10. c, I^eaf X 10. d, Branch of A. attenuatus, moist, X 2. at the base of wet cliffs and on collected. The leaves are different from those of any of the other species and are easily recog- nized when mounted, by the shape and the hair- like apex. The spores are ripe in late autumn. A. APICULATUS B. & $., the Common Anomodon, and A. minor (P. Beauv.) Fuern., the Blunt-leaved Anomodon, resemb'e each other so closely that it is not easy to distinguish them without a compound microscope. Both have simple blunt branches and grow al- most exclusively on trees. • A. ATTENUATUS (Schreb.) Hueben., the Slender Anomo- don, grows freely on rocks as well as trees; its branches are slender and tapering, and freely branched. It almost never fruits. A. ROSTRATUS (Hedw.) Schimp. grows in dense mats like a very coarse velvet. It is found in wet places particularly at the foot of trees in swamps, growing on the ground rather than the tree. It is also common wet rocks where a little soil has THELIA. THEUA HIRTELLA (Hedw.) Sulliv., the Common Thelia, is very common in the southern and coastwise portion of FIGURE 49. Thelia hirtella X 4; leaves X 20. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS III our range. It grows almost exclusively on the bark of stumps and the bases of trees. It forms thin closely adherent mats, easily recognized by their whitish-green color, erect symmetric capsules with whitish peristome, julaceous branches, and concave sub- orbicular leaves. The capsules mature in autumn. THELIA ASPREU.A (Schimp.) Sulliv. has a range and habitat very similar to that of T. hirtella, but is even lighter in color; when fresh, light glaucous-green. T. Lescurii Sulliv. is very similar to the above named species, but grows in rather dry soil. It is confined to the more southern coast regions (northern limit Connecticut). It rarely produces capsules, while the other species fruit freely. THUIDIUM. The Fern Mosses. The Fern Mosses have been noted by every lover of out-of- door life because of their delicate and beautiful fern-like form. The branches are given off very regularly like the pinnse of a fern, and the branches themselves often give off branchlets as regularly as the pinna of a fern is divided into pinnules. T. SCITUM (Beauv.) Aust, the Smaller Fern Moss, is the one most likely to be met with, especially in the northern por- tion of our range. The capsules, besides being much smaller than in the Common Fern Moss are only slightly cernuous and are nearly symmetric. The capsules mature in autumn. T. ABIETINUM (L.) B. & S., Wiry Fern Moss, is another simply pinnate species that is common. This moss is most fre- quently found in dry sterile places on the ground among the grass, and on ledges. It varies considerably in appearance ac- cording to habitat and its immediate condition as to moisture. Usually it is very evenly and regularly pinnate. Though fre- quent, it is very rarely found ifruiting in our latitude. Mr. R. S. Williams, however, found it fruiting freely in Alaska. Mr. Williams also reports several other similar cases, one of the most conspicuous being Hypnum rugosum L. T. DELICATULUM (L.) Mitt., the Common Fern Moss, grows in damp shady places over stones and earth, rotten logs and the like. It is very regularly twice or even thrice pinnate. It grows abundantly in suitable situations throughout our range, but pro- duces capsules rather sparingly. These mature in early autumn 112 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS and are very large, much curved, and are borne on long stout setae. The perichaetial leaves bear long cilia along their upper margins. This is one of the characters by which this species can be dis- tinguished readily from another closely related species, T. recog- nition. T. RECOGNITUM (Hedw.) Lindb. will not be distinguished from the Common Fern Moss ex- cept by close scrutiny. The peri- chaetial leaves are not ciliate and the stem leaves when moist are spreading-recurved instead of erect-spreading, as in the Com- mon Fern Moss. The shape of the stem leaves is also dif- ferent ; the figures explain these differences better than any de- scription. Both species grow on the ground, stones, or rotten wood, but this matures its spores in July, the other in early winter. FIGURE 50. a, Thuidium deli- catulum X i. b, T. scitum X i. c, Capsule of the same X 5- T. abietinum X i. FIGURE 51. Portion of stem and leaves of Thuidium recognitum, at the left. Same of T. delicatulum, at the right. Growing on the bark of trees are several smaller species that are usually only once pinnate. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 1 13 HYLOCOMIUM PROLIFERUM (L.) Lindb. (H. splendens of many authors), the Mountain Fern Moss, although belonging to a dif- ferent genus from the other fern mosses, is best treated in con- nection with them because of its similarity in form. As will be seen by the figures it is much larger and has a very peculiar and characteristic habit. Every year each of the main shoots of the previous year develops a single fern-like shoot from the middle of the upper side instead of branching out from the side of the shoot as in the case of most mosses. This gives the plant FIGURE 52. Hylocomium proliferum X I. its peculiar habit and its botanical name of " proliferum." It is one of the too rare cases in which the botanical name is descrip- tive of the plant to which it is applied. This moss grows abundantly in cool moist mountain woods on stones and old logs. When found growing elsewhere it is so stunted as to give no idea of its beauty in its favorite habitat. The capsules, which mature in autumn, though not rare, are spar- ingly produced in proportion to the number of plants. When a patch does fruit, however, it often fruits heavily. 114 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FAMILY J9* HYPNACEAE. The Hypnum Family, HE preceding species belongs to the great Hypnum Family, which contains a vast number of our common mosses. The majority of the members of this family are slender and prostrate, or creeping with ascending branches. Yne sporophyte varies a good deal, but the capsules are more or less unsymmetric and cernuous in most species. The members of this family usually grow in dense thin jnats on soil, stones, rotten wood, and_bark ot trees. There are hundreds of species belonging to this family and the number with-~ in our own range is very large. Many of the soecies and even genera are so closely related and are distinguished by gr» fejv_am1_ so minute differences that no one but a trained and expert student of mosses can name them correctly. For this reason only a few of the most strongly marked species can be treated here. This is to be regretted, for many of the commonest mosses will thus be omitted and the student will be discouraged by finding so many things that he cannot identify. It is safe advice to the be- ginner to leave the Hypnums until he has studied the more easily recognized mosses. Roughly, the more common genera are distinguished thus : Plagiothecium and Entodon are flattened in a plane parallel to the substratum, but the capsules of Entodon are erect and sym- metric, while those of Plagiothecium are curved and cernuous. Brachythecium has very short ovoidal capsules that are cernuous and somewhat curved (except B. acuminatum and B. oxycla- don) ; the leaves have a strong midrib. Eurhynchium, Cirriphyl- lum, and Rhynchostegium, have the strong midrib and short capsules of Brachythecium, but the opercula are grotesquely long- beaked, much as in Dicranum. Raphidostegium has long-beaked capsules like the three genera mentioned above, but the leaves lack the midrib. Pylaisia grows exclusively on the bark of trees, and is dark green ; the short branches are strongly curved at the end when dry, and the capsules are erect and symmetric. Hypnum has so many varying forms that one can best get an idea of it from studying the individual species described below. Nearly all the genera of the family were formerly included in the genus Hypnum and the appearance of the species through- out the family has such a similarity that Hypnum can appropri- ately be used for the common name of many species scientifically MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS US included in other genera. Also it will frequently be more help- ful to group species from different genera with a similar ap- pearance rather than to put all species of a genus together. KEY TO THE HYPNUM FAMILY. 1. Leaves strongly turned to one side (secund) 2. Leaves not secund 8. 2. Leaves with a midrib 3- Leaves without midrib . 4- 3. Plants very robust, never fruiting; leaves wrinkled cross- wise Hylocomium rugosum. Plants slender to moderately stout; leaves often wrinkled lengthwise, never crosswise Hooked Mosses. 4. Capsules wrinkled lengthwise when dry Hypnum curvifolium. Capsules not appreciably wrinkled when dry 5- 5. Capsules long-beaked; alar leaf cells much enlarged and hyaline Raphidostegium. Capsules not long beaked; alar cells not much enlarged 6. 6. Plants plume-like; capsules strongly curved.. Hypnum crista-castrensis. Plants pinnately branching but less plume-like; capsules erect or only slightly curved 7- 7. Plants slender; dry capsule with mouth oblique H. reptile. Plants more robust, almost always on rotten wood; mouth of dry capsule not oblique H. imponens. Plants growing on stones in cool brooks H. ochraceum. 8. Growing in water Water-loving Hypnums. Growing in various situations, often in wet places but not in water 9. 9. Leaves with midrib; capsules very short and stout, not more than three times as long as broad Brachythecium and the Beaked Mosses. Leaves with midrib; capsules more than 3:1 10. Leaves without distinct midrib 1 1. 10. Plants large, with a treelike habit; leaves appressed when dry; capsules cylindric and straight Climacium. Plants stout, suberect; leaves spreading when dry; capsules curved Hylocomium triquetrum. Plants slender, creeping. ..Amblystegium and Hypnum chrysophyllum. 1 1 . Capsules erect and cylindric 15. Capsules more or less curved 12. 12. Capsules wrinkled when dry Plagiothecium striatellum. Capsules smooth when dry 13. 13. Leaves appearing flattended into two ranks Plagiothecium. Leaves not flattened into two ranks 14. 14. Plants bright golden green, usually growing on soil Hypnum Schreberi. Plants green, usually growing on decaying wood. . . H. Haldanianum. 15. Plants usually growing on bark of trees Amblystegium adnatum and Pylaisia. Plants usually growing on soil or decayed wood or over stones Entodon and Hypnum Haldanianum. HYPNUM. In one section- of this composite genus the leaves are all turned to one side (secund), and the branching is more or less regularly pinnate, giving the plants a plume-like appearance in many cases. The leaves are without midrib. This section is often called Hypuiuii proper. Two of the most common and MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIGURE S3- a, Hypnum crista-castrensis XL b, H. imponens X i. c, Portion of branch of H. crista-castrensis X 10. e, Capsules X 10. d, Capsules of H. imponens X 10. easily recognized "mosses of this group are the Plume Moss and the Pinnate Hypnum. H. CRISTA-CASTRENSIS L., the Plume Moss, is common on decayed wood and stumps in cool moist woods in New England and New York, and probably throughout our range. A few starved specimens have been collected on Long Island. To be appreciated this moss should be seen in the cool moist recesses of the primeval mountain forests, where it covers the fallen and decaying trunks of huge trees with ample robes of richest tex- ture. The shoots are ascending and as regularly pinnate as any feather, even to the triangular apex of the shoot. Its color is a MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 117 light yellow-green. Its capsules are strongly curved and cer- nuous ; they mature in autumn. H. IMPONENS Hedw., the Pinnate Hypnum, is a much more common moss in the lowlands and grows almost exclusively on rotten wood in moist shady places. It somewhat resembles the Plume Moss, but is prostrate, forming dense* closely cohering mats. It is also darker green; the capsules are nearly erect and symmetric, and the pinnate branching stops short of the apex of the shoots, as is shown in the figure. A careful examination will show that there is a difference in the curvature of the leaves ; in the Pinnate Hypnum the leaves curve towards the substratum at right angles to the plane of the stem, while in the Plume Moss they curve towards the branch next below on the stem. The capsules of the Pinnate Hypnum are produced much the more freely; they mature in winter, but persist in good condition for a long time. HYPNUM CURVIFOUUM Hedw. is a much rarer moss that somewhat resembles H. imponens when sterile. It is more con- fined to the mountains, is larger, lighter colored, and has curved cernuous capsules that are very strongly furrowed when dry. The leaves when dry are so regularly arranged as to give a characteristic appearance like a carefully dressed braid of hair. H. PATIENTIAE Lindb. has furrowed capsules almost like those of the preceding and its general appearance is so similar that it FIGURE 54. Hypnum curvifolium X 2; tips of branches X 45 and capsules X 4- n PLATE XXXII. Hypnum reptile (From Bry. Eur.). i and 2. Plants natural size. Erect capsules like 18 are rare. 19 does not show the mouth oblique enough to be typical. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS lip is often hard to separate the two. In this species, however, the branching is irregular and the leaves do not have the peculiar braided look of the preceding. HYPNUM REPTILE MX. is another regularly early pinnate moss of this group, but it is less than half the size of the three described above. Its general appearance is also fairly well represented in Fig, 51 b, but the capsules are longer and more curved. With a lens the leaves of the Tkuidium will be seen to be acute and straight,, while those of the Hypnum are curved and long acuminate. The Thuidium grows in thin mats so that its pinnate character is easily seen at a glance; the Hypnum grows in such densely interwoven mats that it is often necessary to disen- tangle it before its pinnate character becomes apparent. Hyp- num reptile matures its capsules much earlier than any of the three other species mentioned above. They are usually fully ripe in August, and when dry and empty the mouth becomes oblique, almost as much so as in Dicranella heteromalla. Even if the capsules dry with the lid on, the mouth takes the oblique position strongly enough to be noticed. This obliquity of the mouth is not clearly shown in the figure. AMBLYSTEGIUM ADNATUM (Hedw.) J. & S. is another species resembling H. reptile and often associated with it, es- pecially on the bases of trees, but the leaves are not curved and the capsules are nearly straight and sub-erect. H. HALDANIANUM Grev., the Common Hypnum, is almost sure to be found in any moist shady place where decaying wood is present, covering the unsightly masses of rotten wood with its upholstery of bright green. Occasionally it grows on soil rich in humus. It is one of our commonest mosses and nearly always fruits freeh Common Hypnum in) appeal lea )readmg on all sTdes, not^S£ruri$l. When mounted and examined with a high-power lettS th"e~~abruptly enlarged cells at the basal angles are very conspicuous and render the determination cer- tain. The capsules are cylindrical and somewhat curve4y—imich like those of the Pinnate Hypnum, only larger. APfiey mature "irT ^^ ^* PLATE XXXIII. Hypnum Haldanianum X 2; branch X S', capsule X 10. 6, 7, 8, and n. Leaves. 7b. Base of leaf showing enlarged cells at basal angles. 18. Paraphyllia (too small to be seen with the lens.) (L,eaf drawings from Bry. Eur.). PLATE XXXIII. Explanation on preceding page. MOSSES WJTH A HAND-LENS 121 FIGURE 55. Hypnum Schrel or winter, but remain in__jfairrj good condition until the next summer. BRACHYTHECIUM OXYCLADON (Brid.)J. & S., the Long-capsuled Brachythecium, some- times grows on decaying wood and then is scarcely to be distinguished from the Common Hypnum with certainty unless the leaves be examined with a high-power lens, when they will be seen to have a strong midrib, and no enlarged cells at basal angles. The capsules are usually much darker than those of the Common Hypnum. "^T^ ngnal ^abitaf ryf tVif^ Long-capsuled Brachythecium H. SCHREBERI Willd., Schreber's Hypnum, is the bright yellow-green moss that forms dense deep cushions by almost every moist shaded roadside in inland country regions. It is abundant in moist pastures and open woods, and sometimes makes its most luxuriant growth in a sphagnum bog. It is so common, FIG. 56. Leaves ot so, conspiCUOUSj and withal so large, that every Hypnum Schreben. , , . . . (From Bry Eur ) one must nave noticed it at some time or other. 122 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The stems are often four to six inches long and nearly erect, and crowded so closely together as to form dense soft cushions into which the foot sinks deeply. Examined closely, the stems appear a bright red through the semi-transparent leaves. FIGURE 57. Hyhcommm rugosum. Plants natural size; leaves X 5* and leaf cells. Schreber's Hypnum has broad obtuse leaves incurved at apex and very concave, and is put by some botanisis in a subgenus of Hypnum, by others in Hylocomium. The capsules mature in autumn ; they are not as frequent as one would expect from the abundance of the plants. HYLOCOMIUM RUGOSUM (Ehrh.) DeNot, Wavy Hypnum. When well developed this is one of the most striking of our mosses; the stems reach a length of four inches or more, and with the leaves are as thick as a lead pencil. The branching may be sparse and irregular or frequent and pinnate. The rather dense mats are usually bright glossy yellowish-green. The leaves are % inch or more in length, strongly falcate-secundr MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 12 $ strongly wrinkled or undulate crosswise, with a single costa running 2-3 the length of the leaf. Small depauperate specimens may not be recognized at first sight, but the peculiarities of the leaves are well marked. It never fruits in this part of the world. Its favorite habitat is on bluffs. HYLOCOMIUM TRIQUETRUM (L.) B. & S., the Shaggy Moss, is common on shaded banks that are neither extremely wet nor very dry. Its branches usually come out irregularly as illus- trated in the figure and its leaves stand straight out from the stem, giving it its characteristic ragged appearance. S o m e- times in moist moun- tain woods it branches regularly and grows to a height, or rather length, of five or six inches, so that one is with difficulty p e r- suaded that it is the familiar moss of every- day acqu a i n t a n c e. The stems are very stout and stiff but elastic, or " springy.'*" Because of this elas- ticity this moss is sometimes used for packing china and other brittle objects. ^^, , . Although the Shag- y*~ gy Moss is common,. FIGURE 58. Hylocomium triquetrum X x; Jts capsules are rather stem leaf x 4- infrequent. They ma- ture in winter or early spring; when dry they are often regularly furrowed with deep wide furrows. The leaves have two slender parallel nerves reaching about 24 the length of the leaf. HYPNUM CHRYSOPHYIXUM Brid., the Spreading-leaved Hypnum, is a moss common on soil, stones, bases of trees, etc., in shaded swampy places, and on wet cliffs. It is highly variable, but always has the leaves spreading at nearly right angles whether PIRATE; XXXIV. i. Plant of Hypnum chryso- phyllum natural size. 15. Capsule of the same. 6, 7, and 63. Leaves of the same. 9, 73, and 7b. Leaf, leaf apex and base of Plagiothecium striatellum. - A 1. Leaves complicate-bilobed, upper lobes entire or nearly so (except Jubula). See figures and description of Porella 2. Leaves sometimes lobed or cleft but not complicate-bilobed 5. 2. Plants blackish- or brownish-green, minute, leafy stems fa inch or less wide, lobule like an inflated sac (Fig. 94.) . . . .Frullania. Plants often dark olive-green, but not often blackish; TV inch in -width, lobule not saclike 3- 3. Under leaves lacking; perianth strongly flattened crosswise (Fig 99) Radula. Underleases conspicuous 4- 4. Lobule with its longer edge attached to lower margin of lobe (See Fig. 98); plants small; branches arising below a leaf Lejeunea. Lobule with its shorter margin attached to the lower edge of lobe Fig. 96), plants large; bi- tri-pinnate; branches axillary Porella. 5. Leaves mostly entire Kantia. Leaves strongly toothed, notched, or cleft at apex 6. 6. Leafy stems less than fa inch in width; leaves deeply cleft.Lepidosia. Leafy stems T*5 to \ inch in width, with downward growing stolons (Fig. 107) ; leaves toothed Bazzania. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 167 B 1. Leaves complicate-bilobed, lobes nearly equal or the lower larger giving the appearance of four rows of leaves of which the two upper are incubous and the two lower suc- cubous • : -Scapama. Leaves not complicate-bilobed, in some cases toothed or divided. ... 2. 2. Leaves entire or slightly emarginate 3- Some or usually all of the leaves strongly toothed or lobed 8. 3. Leafy stems about J inch wide, leaves oblong, plainly over- lapping; on ground and over mosses 4- Plants about J inch wide, many leaves not overlapping, floating- aquatic Chiloscyphus poly ant hos var. rivularis. Leafy stems ^ inch wide or less; leaves more nearly circular 6. 4. Plants ascending, growing on stones and very wet soil near brooks, dark green; leaves round-obovate Plagiochila. Plants closely applied to substratum of rotten wood, humus, or soil, sometimes creeping over other hepatics and mosses; light-green; sometimes turning dark when dried; leaves oblong to oblong-ovate 5- 5. Perianth pear-shaped to tubular, abruptly narrowed to the minute opening Jungermanma lanceolata. Perianth three-angled, plainly lobed at the top Chiloscyphus. 6. Leaves plainly margined, apices curved upwards toward each other when dry . 7- Leaves not margined, apices reflexed when dry Jamesoniella. Leaves not margined, apices curved upwards (incurved), when dry Odontoschisma. 7. Leaves obliquely attached to the stem, bordered by a single row of very large square cells which are easily seen with high power lens . . .Nardia crenulata. Leaves attached to the stem almost parallel with its long axis, bordered by several rows of denser cells with thicker walls Odontoschisma. 8. Upper leaves with a strongly many toothed margin Plagiochila. Leaves 3-5 cleft Lophozia barbata. Leaves two-toothed or cleft 9- 9. Plants minute, leafy stems less than 2V inch wide; underleaves absent or so small as to be invisible with a lens; leaves round-ovate to obovate, cleft for at least ^ their length .. Cephalozia. (Some small species of Lophozia may be sought here, but their leaves are less deeply cleft and the plants are a much darker green). Leafy stems at least ^ inch wide; leaves two-toothed, but scarcely cleft i o. 10. Leaves ascending, varying from bidentate to retuse or even entire near apex of stem; leafy stems & inch or more wide Lophocolea heterophylla. Leaves all two-toothed or cleft n . 11. Leaves little longer than broad, concave, ascending 12. Leaves much longer than broad, oblong to subrectangular, lying flat on the ground; leafy stems at least -n, inch wide 13. 12. Leaves subquadrate, inserted crosswise of the stem and sub- clasping Sphenolobus Michau.vii. Leaves roundish-ovate, inserted obliquely, not clasping. .^.Harpanthus. 13. Underleaves so large as to be made out with a lens; perianth ascending from end of stem or branch .Lophocolea. Under leaves small and not discernible with a lens; perianth buried in the substratum, attached to the side of the stem . Geocalyx. i68 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS * LEAVES COMPLICATE-R1LOBED. FRULLANIA. F. EBORACENSIS Gottsche. Any one who has been in the woods at all must have noticed the pretty designs in dark brown- ish-green on the bark of beeches and birches like those in the figure. So common and so striking is this little plant that almost no further description is needed for its identification. Although it is so tiny, its underleaves and lobules can be made out easily with a hand-lens if a specimen -be mounted in water on a micro- scopic slide. FIGURE 94. Frullania. I. Plant of From. Bryologist, 5: 4, 1902. Frullania Eboracensis, on the bark of birch. II. Underside of same showing underleaves and the queer saclike inflated lobules which remind one of the bladders of Utricularia. III. and IV. Under and upper side of F. Asagrayana Mont. V. Involucre and perianth of F. Eboracensis. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS I69 F. ASAGRAYANA Mont, is another common species somewhat resembling the preceding, but larger and usually growing on rocks, occasionally on trees. The lobule is much more elongated and there is a line of discolored cells in the middle of the leaf that reminds one of a costa. The lobule in Frullania is usually modified into a saclike body of various shapes which serves for the temporary retention of water. This saclike form of the lobule is scarcely apparent with a lens, but under the compound microscope becomes a beautiful and interesting object. There are several other species found within our range, but the compound microscope is needed for their determination. JUBULA HUTCHINSIAE is a plant likely to be confused with Frullania. It grows on wet rocks, especially in mountains. It is easily differentiated by its strongly lacerate-dentate leaves. PORELLA. The Porellas differ from the Frullanias in their larger size, lighter color, larger and entire underleaves, and lobules not sac- like, but lingulate to oblong. The lobules are plainly attached by the narrow end to the lobe and extend forward parallel with the stem. FIG. 95- Porella platyphylla. FIG 96. From Bryologist, 5: 35, 1902. FIGURE 95. B. Upper side of stem showing perianth and emerging capsule. Also showing clearly incubous arrangement of leaves. C. Underside of stem, the leaves shown too far apart. D. Longitudinal section of peri- anth. E. Capsule. F. Leaf. G. Part of plant showing male branches. FIGURE 96. Porella p inn at a. From the Bryologist, 5: 34, 1902. A. Underside of stem showing narrow underleaves and narrow lobules at- tached by their shorter edge to lobe. B. Single leaf showing lobe and lobule. I7O MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS The plants are green to brownish-green, rather regularly pinnate and of a comparatively large size as shown by the cuts. P. PLATYPHYUvA (L.) Lindb., the Common Porella, is found abundantly everywhere and is almost certain to be one of the first half-dozen hepatics to be collected by the beginner. The plants are most commonly collected on the bark of trees, but may be found on logs, rocks, or soil. They are from one to three inches long, 1-3 pinnate with obtuse branches which are closely appressed to the substratum. The perianth is ovoid, narrowed above, denticulate around the mouth. The spores mature in May or June. P. PINNATA L., the Pinnate Porella, is also common, but much less frequent than the preceding. It is easily distinguished from the Common Porella by the much narrower and more elongated lobule. It grows on rocks and logs subject to inunda- elongated lobule. It grows on rocks and logs subject to inundation. LEJEUNEA* The Lejeuneas are tiny plants, our two species being about ^V of an inch wide. They are likely to be mistaken for the Frullanias, but their lobules are not saclike and show plainly that each is the lower part of the leaf turned under, as each is at- tached to the lobe by its longer edge. The underleaves are unusually large and conspicuous. The Lejeuneas are so much smaller than the Porellas that there is little danger of confusion, but aside from this the difference in lobules noted in the key is very clear and easily made out. The color of the plants is usually lighter than in Frullania or Porella. L. CAVIFOLIA (Ehrh.) Lindb. is found throughout our range on trees and rocks. The lobules are inflated so that in dry specimens mounted in water a bubble of air nearly always remains inside. The keel formed at the junction of lobe and lobule is strongly curved and the outline of the FIGURE 97. Lejeunea cav- leaf is indented at the outer end of ifolia A portion of a plant th iobule. The underleaves are about from the underside X 6. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 171 the size of the lobule and rather, smaller than in the next. The spores mature in midsummer; perianths may be found in autumn and winter. The perianth is about half exserted, ob- long to oval-oblong from a narrower base, rounded at the apex and con- tracted into a short slender beak resembling that shown in Jungerman- nia lanccolata, sharply five keeled in the upper part. The bifid underleaves which distinguish this species micro- scopically seem entire with a lens. L. CLYPEATA (Schwein.) Sulliv. is a of stem rather larger plant found on rocks and with two pairs of leaves ,. .-, . , . seen from above- the same trees, from Connecticut southwards. £m SWa: PPa°rrtiof le°ave? The lob"'e forms an almost straight and a male branch; perianth keel and the lower (postical) margin with capsule and involucral r , , , . ,, . , rpi leaves; cross-section of per- of the leaf is much less incurved. The ianth; elaters and spores. underleaves are much larger than the lobules. The perianth has a rather shorter and broader beak. Lejcunca clypeata (After Sullivant). "Mant ; portion RADULA. R. COMPLANATA (L.) Dum. is fully as common as the Com- mon Porella, growing on stones, walls, and roots of trees in dark green mats. The leaves are complicate-bilobed as in all the pre- ceding members of the family, but there are no underleaves and the root hairs are all attached to the lobules instead of to the stem or underleaves as is usually the case. The lobule is attached by the longer margin as in Lejeunea, but the plants are much larger. The spores mature in early spring, but perianths can be found on the plants at almost any season and they are so char- acteristic as to render recognition easy. They are flattened at the mouth (not well shown in the figures) as if someone had taken them between the thumb and finger and squeezed the upper portion flat. The mature capsules are only slightly exserted from the mouth of the perianth. Besides the spores, the plants often produce gemmae from the leaves as shown in the figures. 1/2 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS c FIGURE 99. Radula complanata. A. Plant natural size. B. Branch with fruit showing clearly the seta and capsule, with the calyptra at base of seta showing through the transparent tubular perianth, and at base of the perianth, the involucre. This misrepresents the leaves, making them ap- pear succubous. C. Leaf showing lobule with roothairs and larger lobe with gemmae along the edge. This illustrates the simplest form of a " com- plicate-bilobed " leaf. There are no underleaves. D. Calyptra. E. Spores, highly magnified. SCAPANIA. The Scapanias are large hepatics with the leaves complicate- bilobed, but the upper lobe the larger, so that there appears to be four rows of leaves instead of two. The lower lobes are suc- cubous while the upper sometimes appear incubous. The mar- gins of the leaves are usually dentate or ciliate-dentate. There are no underleaves. S. NEMOROSA (L.) Dum., the Common Scapania, grows on rocks and moist banks. The lower lobes are dis- MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 173 FIGURE TOO. nemorosa. Branch Leaf X 10. tinctly longer than broad and are strongly ciliate-dentate. The leaves are stiff and only a little larger above. The perianth mouth is ciliate-dentate. The spores mature in spring. S. UNDUI/ATA (L.) Dum., the Aquatic Scapania Scapania, is less common than the pre- 2t ceding and grows on stones in streams or in very wet places. It is green, or frequently red or dark brownish-red. The leaves are flaccid and distant below, increasing in size and density above. The upper lobe increases pro- portionately in size above and in some cases the lobes become subequal; the margins are never so strongly den- tate as in the preceding, and the lower are frequently nearly entire. The lower lobes are as broad as long or even broader. The spores mature somewhat earlier than in the preceding. The figure of the entire plant is too small ; plants are often found twice as large. FIGURE 101. Scapania un- dulata. (After Hooker). ** LEAVES DIVIDED INTO HAIRLIKE DIVISIONS. TRICHOCOLEA. T. TOMENTEUvA (Ehrh.) Dum., the Woolly Hepatic, derives its name from the fact that the leaves are divided into very numerous hairlike divisions. It is a large plant somewhat resembling the Fern Mosses in its pinnate branching. It is a beautiful gray-green color, twice or more pinnate, and when held up to the light the fine hairlike structure of the leaves is easily apparent. There is no perianth and the involucral Trichocolea leaves coalesce into a hairy tube at- fri fi.- ^o1,rr,t,-o Tli^ cr»nr^c to the calyptra. 1 he spores FIGURE 102. tomentella a little enlarged and leaf much enlarged. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS mature in early spring. Frequent in swamps on the ground and over mosses. Although the plants are very distinct from every- thing else it is very difficult to get a drawing that represents them satisfactorily. PTILIDIUM. P. CILIARE (L.) Nees also has its leaves divided into hairlike divisions, but a considerable portion of the base of the leaf is undivided. The plants are small, about ^V of an inch wide, dark green, with leaves spreading when moist, closely imbri- cated when dry. The perianth is obovate with a fringed mouth. The spores ripen in early spring but the CaPSuleS FZGUREI03- Ptilidium ciliare. a. Leaf X 37. b. Plant with perianth and young capsule found in autumn. The capsule in the illus- tration was collected in August. Ptilidium is very common on rotten wood and frequently occurs on humus and stones. It fruits very freely and the slender white setae surmounted by the black capsules are conspicuous objects to one who goes botaniz- ing in early spring. BLEPHAROSTOMA. B. TRICHOPHYLLUM (L.) Dum. is a third species with leaves divided into hair-like divisions. It is the tiniest of them all and looks more like a beautiful green alga than an hepatic. With the hand-lens the illustration will do more to help recognize it than volumes of description. It is very common on moist earth, stones and decaying wood and usually grows so far apart that the stems appear separate instead of forming mats. The spores mature in early spring, but the perianths are well formed in August. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 175 E FIGURE 104. Blepharostoma trichophyllum (After Plant natural size. B. The same X 8. C. Leaf X 50. leaf. E. Perianth X 17. Schiffner). A. D. Involucral •** LEAVES NOT COMPLICATE-BILOBED OR FINELY DIVIDED,* INCUBOUS.J FIGURE 105. Lepidosia reptans (After Hooker). Plant; portion of stem with leaves and underleaves; an: theridium in its leaf, and free; perianth with involu- cre; capsule, elater, and spores. LEPIDOZIA. L. REPTANS (L.) Dum., the Common Lepidozia, is about the size of Ptilid- ium, but is much less frequent and is in no danger of being confused with it, for the 3 to 4 cleft leaves curved downwards and looking like a half- closed hand are easily made out with a lens. The Common Lepidozia sometimes grows in tufts or mats, but at first it makes a delicate tracery over the earth or rotten wood on which it grows, unless it be obscured by other plants. The underleaves are cleft much like the others, but are so small as to *Except Lepidozia species. tExcept Cephalozia. 176 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS be difficult of observation. The perichsetial leaves are also cleft like the others, but are much larger and proportionately longer. The perianth is dentate. At first sight this species might be mistaken for a Cephalozia, but a close examination of the leaves will at once show the difference. Dr. Alexander Evans says : " A peculiar habit of the plant is the way in which its prostrate stems creep over tufts of mosses and other hepatics, the tufts thus encroached upon are in time completely covered by the Lepidozia, and, as their supply of light is cut off, they become feeble and finally perish. It is among these crowded patches, and particu- larly those which grow on rotten logs, that we must look for fruiting specimens, the plants on shaded rocks being almost in- variably feebly developed and sterile." L. SYLVATICA Evans (£. setae ea of Gray's Manual) is com- mon but might be mistaken for Blepharostoma, but it grows in dense tufts and the divisions of the leaves are shorter and are two or three cells wide instead of one as in Blepharostoma. CEPHALOZIA. According to Dr. Evans we have eleven species of Cephalozia in New England. The Cephalozias, however, are so tiny that it is difficult to recognize the species with a lens, al- though the genus can readily be made out by reason of the small size and peculiar rounded two-lobed leaves which in some species remind one of tiny lobster claws. One or more of these beautiful tiny plants can be collected on FIGURE 106. Branch of eveiT triP if one takes the trouble tO Ceplialozia bicuspidata X 2 look for them. They grow on bare at the left. At the right C. soil, decayed wood, over other mosses mulMora considerably mag- Rnd h ti almost everywhere that nified. other hepatics will grow. BAZZANIA. B. TRILOBATA (L.) S. F. Gray, the Three-toothed Bazzania, is one of the largest of the scale mosses. It is common on the MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 177 ground in cool moist ravines, swamps, and woods, but reaches its perfect development in the deep mountain woods of New England and similar regions elsewhere. Here it forms deep soft dark- green carpets over earth, stones and debris. The erect ascending stems are 2-5 inches long and £ inch or more wide with the leaves. The under sides of the stems bear numerous slender flagella with tiny leaves ; these the uninitiated are apt to consider as roots. As its name indicates, the oblong-ovate truncate leaves are three-toothed at the apex, but these teeth are not large enough properly to be called lobes. The leaves are plainly incubous as shown in the figures, and somewhat deflexed, i. e., bent toward the ground. The underleaves are easily seen. The spores mature in August and September. The Three-lobed Bazzania is quite variable in size and in unfavorable localities is so small that the beginner may call it the next unless he has seen both and remembers that B. triangularis is subalpine. B. TRIANGULARIS (Schleich.) Lindb. (B. deftexa Underw.) is a subalpine species growing on rocks. The leafy stems are about TV inch wide; the downward growing flagella are present and most of the leaves are 2 to 3 toothed, although some may be entire. The plants vary a great deal in color from dark to light green. I have seen specimens as dark as the Frullanias. FIGURE 107. Bazzania trilobata. From Bryologist, 4: 68, 1901. A. Plant slightly magnified showing flagella springing from under- side. B. (i) Portion of female plant with capsule. (2.) Capsule open. C. Involucre, perianth and base of seta enlarged. The involucre consists of the small leaves at the bottom of the figure. D. Male plant seen from below, showing antheridial branch, minute underleaves and in- cubous arrangement of leaves. E. & F. illustrate spiral elaters, spores, and cell structure of leaf, which cannot be seen clearly with a hand-lens. 178 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS KANTIA. K. TRICHOMANIS (L.) S. F. Gray, the Common Kantia, is a very common hepatic forming a light green network or mat on moist peaty banks and rotten logs in the woods. It is medium sized, the leafy stems being T'^ inch or more wide, often attenuate and ascending with minute leaves at base and ending in a cluster of gemmae. It may be recognized by the following characters : leaves in- cubous, not complicate-bilobed, entire, roundish-ovate, lying flat in two op- posite rows in one plane, underleaves present but small, bifid at apex; in- volucre subcylindric, hairy, buried in the substratum and attached to the stem by one side of its mouth; cap- sule cylindric, the valves spirally FIGURE 108. Kantia tri- twisted. The spores mature in May chomanis. an(J June. All the other species of a similar appearance have leaves lobed or toothed, or succubous. tf LEAVES SUCCUBOUS TOOTHED OR LOBED. PLAGIOCHILA. P. ASPLENOiDES (L.) Dum., the Spleenwort Hepatic, is so called because its stem is so dark as to remind one of some of the darker spleenworts like the Ebony Spleenwort, for instance. The plants .are among the. largest of the scale mosses, the stems being 1-4 inches long and •§- to f\ of an inch wide with the leaves ascending, not closely attached to substratum, rather loose and straggling. Specimens have been found ten inches long. The leaves are succubous, somewhat irregular in shape, but obovate in general outline, not lobed or cleft, but some or all of the leaves strongly ciliate-dentate. They are very oblique on the stem, subclasping and somewhat decurrent. There are no under- leaves, and as the upper portion of the stem is free from rhizoids, this fact is easily made out. The spores mature in May and June, MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 179 but perianths can be found in autumn. The "perianth is oblong, narrowed at base, flattened." Common on moist soil and stones in woods, particularly near brooks, strongly resembling some of the. creeping stems of some species of Mnium. There is a form of this species rather common in drier places that has the leaves nearly entire and has passed as a different species under the name w of P. porelloides. This is now con- FIGURE 109. Plagwchila asplenoides. End of branch sidered but a form of P. asplenoides, t1ognhto^ ofbraS which varies greatly and will be col- *• 4- lected for something else several times before the student gets to know it thoroughly. GEOCAL^X. G. GRAVEOLENS (Schrad.) Nees. is our only species. It gets its specific name from the fact that it has an underground in- volucre much like that of Kantia, which it somewhat resembles in habit and gross appearance, but its leaves are subrectangular and very deeply two-toothed at the ends as shown in the figure. The underleaves are present, but so small as to be made out with difficulty with a lens. The spores are ripe in May, but the perianths are present in sum- mer. LOPHOCOLEA. The Lophocoleas are very similar in habit and size to Geocalyx, but FIGURE 1 10. Geocalyx their underleaves are larger and the ST'&:pfi!r.fTE2Perianths ^ borne on the end of with under leaves; part of a stem or primary branch. The leafy stem with an underleaf; sec- J tion of involucre showing stems in the - species treated are about TV of an inch wide in both genera. capsule, spores. (After Sullivant.) i8o MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS L. HETEROPHYLLA (Schrad.) Dum., the Variable Lophocolea, is a very common plant, bright green in shaded places, yellow- ish-green when exposed to the sunlight. Like Kantia and Geo- calyx it is found on rotten logs and on soil, but its ovate to oblong-ovate leaves are not all alike; many of the leaves, especially on young and tender stems, are as deeply two-toothed as in Geocalyx, but with a more rounded notch. On other parts of the same stem some of the leaves are only slightly notched or are entire. This variation of the leaf shapes is so constant as to afford a good means of recognizing the species. The leaves are usually some- what ascending. The under leaves Lophocolea are deeply cleft, but are too small to study readily with the lens. The perianth is deeply three-lobed and each lobe again lobed and toothed. The capsules are a little longer than broad and mature in May. It is more frequent in the lowlands than at higher altitudes. L. MINOR Nees. is more fre- quent, southwards. It is almost sure to be mistaken for Geocalyx when sterile. The underleaves are larger, f as long as the leaves are wide, and the edges of the leaves frequently bear minute gemmae which make the margin look darker and less distinct. The perianths are situated on the ends of the stems and branches. Another species. L. Aus- tinii Lindb. occurs with this, but FIGURE in. heterophylla: plant natural size; portion of stem with and underleaves, one show- ing an antheridium, etc. (After Sullivant.) FIGURE 112. Lophocolea minor. Portion of stem X 2; another portion x 4J.a cannot be distinguished with a lens. Bases of trees in woods and moist portion viewed from the underside X 16, and a leaf bearing gemmae. ^^^SB limestone rocks are said to be good places to collect these two species. The perianths are present in November and the spores probably mature in spring. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS l8l HARPANTHUS SCUTATUS (Web. & Mhor.) Spruce is a third not infrequent species likely to be confused with the preceding, but the plants are so much smaller (scarcely ^V of an inch in width), that one who has seen all four will have no difficulty. The leaves are short-ovate, more ascending. The spores mature in May and June. The favorite habitat is old logs in damp places. SPHENOLOBUS MICHAUXII (Web.) Steph. is about the size of the preceding, but is a plant of mountainous regions with a much darker color ; the leaves are inserted nearly crosswise of the stem and are almost sheathing at base ; when dry they are more or less folded together. The perianth is cylindrical. On rotten wood. This plant was formerly put in the genus Jungermannia and there are several plants of that genus as treated in Gray's Manual that may be sought here. They are, however, for the most part plants of smaller size and less frequent occurrence. Many of them are confined to mountainous regions and many can not be well determined with a lens. LOPHOZIA ( Jkmgermannia in part) » This genus which has usually been treated as a subgenus of Jungermannia consists of numerous species of creeping forms with succubous leaves which are not much longer than broad and are markedly toothed or cleft at the apex. Many are alpine or subalpine. L,. BARBATA (Schreb.) Dum. is common in the mountains of New England and New York on damp shaded rocks, some- times on rotten logs or banks. It is rare or entirely lacking in the southern portion of our range. The leafy stems are an inch or more long and about TV inch wide. It usually grows in flat tufts closely applied to the substratum, but occasionally the stems are ascending or erect. The shade of green of the plants depends upon the amount of light they receive ; in full sunlight they have a yellowish-brown tinge. The leaves are more or less quadrate in outline and are divided at the apex into three or four teeth or lobes ; there are no other teeth or marginal markings. The plants are dioicous and the antheridial plants are slightly different from the spore-producing or female plants as is shown in the figures. L. INCISA (Schrad.) Dum. In this plant the leaves are 2-6 lobed, but two of the lobes are larger and the leaf has a 182 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS * « FIGURE 113. Lophozia barbata (After Evans), i. Plants natural size. 3. Female plant from above. 4. Underside of a portion of sterile stem. The figure at the right is an antheridial stem from above. tendency to assume the folded form as in Scapania so that many consider the leaves two-lobed with the lobes toothed. The plants are smaller than in barbata and usually grow on de- caying wood. Our other species of this genus (except some very rare or alpine forms) have two-lobed or two-toothed leaves and are more likely to be confused with Sphenolobus. SUCCUBOUS, ENTIRE, SCARCELY LONGER THAN BROAD. ODONTOSCHISMA. Leafy stems TV inch or less wide, creeping and interwoven, green, to red-brown with a trace of green ; branches usually rising from the underside of stem; leaves entire, rarely emarginate or bilobed, often bordered. Underleaves invisible with a lens. The perianth is on a short lateral branch which distinguishes all the species from Jamsoniella. O. PROSTRATUM (Swartz) Travis (0. Sphagni of American authors). The plants of this delicate and pretty hepatic grow mostly in swamps over and among mosses and other bog plants, rarely on rotten wood. The stems are creeping with ascending tips; leaves distant to closely imbricate, not growing minute at base and apex of branches, attached very obliquely, not flat- tened out but ascending and forming a channel between the two MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 183 rows, outer ends (apices) folding inwards towards each other when dry, nearly circular to oblong, plainly margined and margin clearly to be seen with high power lens. Gemmae lacking. This species is found in Massachusetts and southwards. O. DENUDATUM (Mart.) Dum. grows principally on rotten wood or peaty banks throughout eastern North America. The leaves are not margined and diminish in size towards both ends of the stem or branch ; they are more concave than in the pre- ceding, but take the same position when dry. Gemmiparous branches with much diminished leaves are frequent. 42 FIGURE 114- (After Evans). Upper, under, and side view of stem of Odontoscliisma prostratum and perichaetial bracts all X 18. 1 84 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS JAMSONIELLA. JAMSONIELEA AUTUMNAUS (DC.) Steph. (Jungermannia Schraderi Mart.) is a common species often confused with Odontoscliisma prostratum. It appears to be a plant of more elevated and cooler regions than Odontoschisma, as I find it abundantly in the hills of southern Vermont, but not a trace of it near New York City. It most frequently grows on decaying wood, but may be found on soil, trunks of trees, etc. It is sometimes plain green, but usually dark green to brownish in the older portions. The leaves are nearly circular to short- oblong, not margined, with the ends re- flexed when dry as shown in the figures. Flagella and gemmae wanting. The per- ianth is terminal on a leading branch, which distinguishes it from all forms of FIGURE 115- One . moist and two dry Odontoschisma when fertile. The posi- branches of Jamsoniella tion of the leaves when dry easily dis- autumnalis X 5- tingnishes sterile specimens. NARDIA. There are several species of this genus within our range, but they are hardly to be made out with a lens except perhaps N. CRENULATA (Smith) Lindb. It is a smaller plant than the other round-leaved hepatics and grows on soil throughout our range. Mounted and examined with a high power lens it will at once be recognized by the margin, made up of a single row of V6ry ^arge S(luare ceHs as shown in the figures. The margin is more dis- tinct than in Odontoschisma and after FIGURE 116. Side and mounting shows much more clearly, top view of a stem of Nardia In that genus the margin is made up crenulata by about 20, and of two or three rows of much less strongly differentiated cells. portion of leaf X 100. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS tttt LEAVES SUCCUBOUS, ENTIRE, MARKEDLY LONGER THAN BROAD. JUNGERMANNIA. J. LANCEOLATA L. (LlOch- laena lanceolata of many au- thors) is a common species on rotten logs and banks. The leaves are recurved at apex when dry as in Jamsoniella, but the plants are fully twice as wide and the leaves are much longer than broad. Sterile it may be confused ; and two with other forms, but with the pretty puckered perianths present, looking like a full bag tied with a string, there can be no danger of confusing it with anything. The perianths are present and well developed in August; the spores mature in spring. 117. Jungermannia lanceolata; portion of sterile stem X perianths X 4. FIGURE 1 1 8. Portion of a stem of Chilo- scyphns polyanthos rivularis natural size. CHILOSCYPHUS. C. POLYANTHOS (L.) Corda is our only common spe- cies. It is very large, the stems sometimes reaching a foot in length and, with the leaves, being about T8T of an inch wide. This species grows on rocks and soil in wet places and occasionally in slowly flowing water. The color is a deep green, sometimes becoming blackish ; when of this color it some- what resembles Plagiochila asplenoides, but the leaves are very entire and at the end of the shoots the underleaves can usually be made out clearly, as the plant tissues are quite transparent. The underleaves are rather small and are deeply bifid with very nar- row slender segments. Spores in April and May. Var., rivularis a floating form with leaves scarcely overlapping, often more distant than those shown in the figure. i86 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY OF BRYOLOGICAL TERMS.* HIS is not intended to be an exhaustive glossary of botanical terms, but mainly a glossary of those terms which are either confined to bryological works or are used in a somewhat different meaning when applied to mosses. Thus the common terms descriptive of leaves are omitted, except acumen and a few others that are used in a peculiar or unusual way by some authors. Very few terms are here defined that are sufficiently well explained in the common phanerogamic botanies like Gray, Wood, or Britton and Brown. Braithwaite's " British Moss Flora," Lesquereux and James' " Manual," and Dixon and Jameson's " Handbook of British Mosses " have been largely consulted, and an attempt has been made to determine the meaning of each term according to the usage of all the authors accessible. For most of the cuts we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. H. N. Dixon, Mr. Jameson, and their publishers, who have very kindly allowed us the use of the cuts in their " Handbook of British Mosses," a work which should be in the hands of every moss student whether English or American. Figs. 43 and 46 are from Mrs. Britton's " Ob- server " article, by consent. Terms whose meaning can be made sufficiently clear by definition are not illustrated as a rule. Acicular, needle-shaped. Applied to the beak of the operculum. Acrocarpous, having the sporophyte terminal on a stem or ordinary branch. Acrocarpous mosses can usually be easily distinguished by the erect habit, as shown in the figure. (Fig. I.) The old sporo- phyte often seems lateral in acrocarpous mosses, because the stem grows on the next year from a point just below the base of the sporophyte. FIG. i. *The figures of the Glossary are numbered independently of the rest of the book. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 187 FIG. 2. Acumen, the gradually tapering narrow point of an acuminate leaf. (Fig. 2, b.) Acuminate, a term usually applied to leaves that gradually taper to a narrow point. A few recent writers use the term as applying only to those leaves that are not uniformly narrow and limit the term acu- men to that part of the apex beyond the point where the narrowing begins to be less abrupt. According to those authors a leaf uniformly narrowed would not be acumi- nate, no matter how slender the apex. The author has followed this usage to some extent in previous writ- ings, but general usage does not seem to sanction this restriction of the term. Acumination. See acumen and acuminate. Acute, with a sharp point, shorter than acuminate. Aggregate, clustered ; usually applied to two or more sporo- phytes from one perichastium. Alar cells, the cells at basal angles of the leaf, commonly dif- ferent from cells of the main part of the leaf, being shorter and often nearly square, or inflated and hyaline, and often highly colored. (Fig. 3.) Amphigastria, the third row of leaves found on the under side of the stems of the Hepatic ae. Angular cells. See Alar cells. Antical, applied to that surface of the stems of hepatics which is uppermost when the stems are prostrate. Antheridium, the male reproductive organ con- taining the antherozoids. (Fig. 4.) Anther ozoid, the small flagellate male cell which escapes from the antheridium, and in wet weather swims to the archegonium and down its neck to the egg-cell in the bottom. Apical cells, the cells composing the apex of the leaf. They are often broader and shorter than the cells of the middle of the leaf. Apophysis. See hypophysis, the more correct term accord- ing to Braithwaite. FIG. 4. i88 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIG. 5. FIG. 6. Archegonium, the flask-shaped female reproductive organ. (Fig. 5.) See, also, antherosoid. Arcuate (capsule), bent in a curve like a bow. (Fig. 6.) Ar eolation, the net work formed by the outlines of the cells of a leaf. Astomous (capsule), without a mouth. Used of capsules which have no regularly dehiscent lid. Auricles, small lobes at the basal angles of the leaf, usually consisting of cells differing from those of the main part of the leaf in size or shape or both. (Fig. 3 and Fig. 2, a.) Properly used only when there is an outward curve in the outline of the leaf at the base, as in the figures, but often used loosely to denote the basal angles of widely decurrent leaves. Autoicous or autoe clous, having male and female organs on the same plant. According to Braithwaite, there are three forms. i. Cladautoicous, with the male organs on a special proper branch. 2. Gonioautoicous, with the male organs in a bud-like cluster, and axillary on a female branch. 3. Rhizautoicous, male branch very short and cohering to the female by the rhizoids. Axil, the angle at the base of a leaf between it and the stem. Basal or basilar cells, cells at the base or in- sertion of the leaf, often of different shape and color from those of the main part of the leaf. Beak, prolonged narrow tip of the operculum. The opercula in Figs. 6 and 8 are strongly beaked. Bicostate, having a double costa, which is usually much shorter than in leaves having a single costa. Bifarious, growing in two ranks. Bifid, cleft into two divisions like the amphigastria of Chiloscyphus or the teeth of Dicranum. Bi-sexual, synoicous. Bordered, having a margin different from the rest of the leaf. In Mnium and Bryum (which see), the border consists of a few rows of greatly elongated cells, often in two or more layers. FIG. 7. FIG. 8. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 189 In some species of Fissidens the border is of a different color, but with little difference in cell structure. Bracts, a term applied to the leaves surrounding the repro- ductive organs. Those surrounding the antheridia are called per- igonial bracts or leaves, and those surrounding the archegonia and base of seta are called perichsetlal. Brood bodies. See propagula. Bulbil, a minute bulb or bulb-shaped body, usually produced for asexual reproduction. Caespitosc, forming matted tufts or cushions ; e. g., Leucobryum. Calyptra, the thin veil or hood covering the mouth of the capsule. (Figs. 9 and 22.) In the Hepatics the capsule breaks through the FlG' 9" top of the calyptra, leaving it at the base of the seta instead of on top of the capsule. (See Marchantia.) Camp emulate, bell-shaped. Canaliculate, channeled. Applied to leaves with margins in- curved, so as to give them a channel-like form ; e. g., the upper part of the leaves of Dicranuin fuscescens. A more complete in- rolling until the margins meet would make the leaf tubulose. Canescent, rather hoary. Capitulum, a rounded head. Capsule, the enlarged distal end of the sporophyte; it con- tains the spores, and is some- times known as the sporan- gium. (Figs. 6, 8, 10 and 17.) Carinate, keeled like a boat ; e. g., segments of inner peris- tome in Fig. 27. Ccrnuous (capsule), droop- ing or nodding, somewhat in- clined as opposed to erect. (Fig. 10.) fc . Chlorophyll, the green coloring matter in plants. Cilia, hair-like threads of the endostome, alter- nating with the segments. (Fig. n c, and 27 d.) Circinate, curved into a circle, resembling Fig. 2, but still more incurved, so that the apex is nearly or quite bent around to the leaf base; e. g., leaves of Hypnu-in nncinatnin. FIG. n. I9O MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS Cirrate or cirrhatc, applied to leaves which curl up in drying. Cirrate leaves are more regularly curled than crispate leaves. Cirrhose, having a wavy hair point. Cladocarpous, having the sporophyte terminating a short special fertile branch ; somewhat like half-way between acrocarp- ous and pleurocarpous ; e. g., Fontinalis. Cleistocarpous, capsule opening irregularly, not by a lid or valves. Cochleariform, rounded and concave like a spoon or ladle. Collum, the neck or tapering base of the capsule. (See Fig. 21.) Columella, the central axis of the capsule ; around it and between it and the outer wall of the capsule are borne the spores. Sometimes the lid adheres to it and is raised upon it, as in Fig. 12. Coma, Comal tuft, a tuft of leaves at the tip of a stem or branch. Complanate (of leaves or branches), flattened out more or less in one plane. Complicate, folded together. Complicate-bilobed, two lobed with one lobe folded under and against the other as in Radula. No mosses have leaves with this structure. Confervoid, formed of fine threads. Constricted, used of capsules that become narrowed under the mouth when dry. (Fig. 8.) Contracted. See constricted. Cordate, heart-shaped. Costa, the nerve or midrib of a moss leaf. Costate, having a costa. Crispate or crisped, frizzled, curled and twisted in various ways. (Fig. 13.) Cucullate, hood-shaped, the apex curv- ed in like a slipper. (Apex of leaf in Fig. 14.) Cucullate calyptra, a calyptra that is hood-shaped and split on one side only. (Fig. 9.) Cultriform, curved like a short, wide scimitar ; e. g., the leaves of Homalia trichomanoides Jamesii. Cygneous(seta^), curved suddenly downward, like a swan's neck. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS IQI Cymbiform, boat-shaped (used by Dixon as a synonym of cucullate) ; e. g., leaves of Sphagnum cymbifolium. (The whole leaf in Fig. 14.) Deoperculate, applied to a capsule after its lid has fallen off. Dichotomous, branching by forking repeatedly into two branches. Dimidiate, split on one side. F Dioicous or dioecious, having the male and female organs on separate plants. Distichous (of leaves), in two opposite rows on the stem. Dorsal, belonging to or on the back; i. e., the face of a leaf remote from the stem. Ecostate, lacking a costa. Emarginate, having a small notch at the end of apex as in the figure of the leaves of Lophocolea heterophylla. Emergent or emersed, "half uncovered ; of the capsule, when the perichsetial leaves reach but do not overtop it. Endostome. See under peristome. Epiphragm, a membrane covering the mouth of the deoper- culate capsule ; in Polytrichum and its allies it consists of the dilated top of the columella. (Fig. 10, a.) Erecto-patent, midway between erect and patent. Excurrent costa, a costa running out beyond the lamina of a leaf. (Fig. 15.) Exostome. See under peristome. Exserted, elevated above the surrounding parts ; of the capsule, when the perichsetial leaves do not reach FIG. 15. so high as its base. Falcate, curved like a sickle. (Fig. 2.) Fascicle, a bunch or cluster of leaves or branches. Fasciculate, arranged in bunches. Fastigiate, of branches, all reaching an equal height. (Fig. i.) Flagella, fine string-like branches ; e. g., Dicranum Hagellare. Flexuose, bent backward and forward, or wavy. Flowers, often applied to the reproductive organs. Fruit, often applied to the sporophyte. Fuscous, dull brown. Gametophyte or gametophore, that part of the plant which bears the gametes or sexual cells. In mosses and hepatics, all the plant except the " fruit," or seta and capsule. 192 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS Gemmae, bud-like bodies, cap- able of reproducing the plant. Sometimes borne in special heads, sometimes on the surface of the leaves. (Fig. 16.) Gemmiferous or gcmmiparous, bearing gemmae. Gibbous (capsule), more tumid or swollen on one side than on the other. (Fig. 17.) Glaucous, originally applied to plants covered with a bluish white bloom, but also applied to mosses that have that color. Gregarious, growing near to- gether or clustered, but not in close tufts or mats. Gymnostomous, without a peris.ome. Habitat, the place in which a plant grows; often used in a general way to designate the kind of place usually oc- cupied by a plant. Hamate or hamulosc, curved like a hook; more sharply and abruptly curved than in falcate and circlnatc.. Hetcromallous (leaves or branches), turned in different directions. Homomallous, turned in the same direction. Hygroscopic, readily absorbing water and there- by altered in form or direction. Hygrometric is sometimes used with a similar meaning. Hypophysis, a swelling of the seta immediately under the capsule. (Fig. 10.) Imbricated, closely overlapping each other like the tiles of a roof. (Fig. 18.) Immersed, covered up; of the capsule when the perichsetial leaves project beyond it. Incubous, of the leaves of Hepatics, having the upper margin overlapping the lower margin of the leaf next above. (See Porella and Radula.) MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 193 Inflated, applied to the alar cells of leaves when enlarged much beyond the size of the neighboring cells. (Fig. 19.) Involucre, the circle of single or united bracts surrounding the perianth in the Hepatics. (See Marchantia.) Inflorescence, often applied to the clusters of reproductive organs. Julaceous, smooth, slender and cylindric; like a catkin or a worm. Lamellae, thin sheets or plates of tissue ; e. g., the plates arising from the costa of the hair-caps and their allies. (Fig. 20.) Lamellate, having lamellae. Lamina, the blade or expanded part of the FlG- I9> leaf as distinct from the costa. Lanceolate, long and narrow, but widest at base like the head of a lance. (Fig. 30.) Leptodermous, thin-coated; applied to capsules when soft and pliable. Lid. See operculum. Limb, the upper part of a leaf as dis- tinct from the leaf base. Linear, long and very narrow and of the same width at both ends, like a line. Lingulate, tongue-shaped ; e. g., the leaves of Rhacomitrium aciculare. Lobe, the upper and usually larger lobe of the complicate-bilobed leaves of Hepatics. Lobule, the under and usually smaller lobe of the com- plicate-bilobed leaves of Hepatics. (See Radula.) Mamillate or mammillar (lid of the capsule), convex with a short projection in the center. (Fig. 21.) Margined. See bordered. Mitriform (calyptra), cleft on two or more sides, and symmetrical. (See figure of Bruchia p. 36.) Monoicous or monoecious, having male and female organs on the same plant. Muticous, not pointed. Neck (of the capsule), the lowest part just above the point where it joins the seta. See, FIG. 21. also, collum. FIG 20. 194 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS Nerve. See costa. Oblong, broad, of the same width at both ends and longer than broad. Ochrea, a thin sheath around the base of the seta, terminat- ing the vaginula. Oosphere, the egg-cell or ovum found in the base of the arche- gonium. (Fig. 5.) After fertilization, by union with the anthero- zoid, it develops into the sporophyte. Operculum, the lid which closes the capsule and, falling, per- mits the spores to. escape. (Figs. 8, 12, and 21.) Ovate, shaped like lengthwise section of an egg, always broadest a little above the base. Pachydermous, thick-skinned; applied to the walls of capsules or to cells when firm and resisting. Papillae, minute rounded or acute protu- berances. Papillose, rough with papillae. (Seta), FIG. 23. rough with small rounded or acute protuber- ances. (Fig 23.) Paraphyllia, minute leaf-like or much-branched organs among the leaves. (Fig. 24. E. g., Thuid- ium. Paroicous, having its male and female organs in the same cluster, but not mixed, the antheridia be- ing in the axils of the perichsetial bracts below the FIG. 24. archegonia. (Fig. 26.) Patent, spreading at an angle of v 26°-45° (Braithwaite) ; spreading at an angle of 45° or more (Dixon). Patulous, more widely spreading »s. than patent. Pedicel. See seta. FIG 26. Pendulous, somewhat hanging or drooping; more so than in cernuous. (Fig. 21.) Percurrent costa, reaching to the apex of the leaf, but not beyond. Perianth, the inner, usually saclike structure surrounding the base of the seta in Hepatics. (See Marchantia.) Perichaetial. See bracts. FIG. 25. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 195 Perigonial. See bracts. Peristome, the fringe surrounding the mouth of the capsule upon removing the lid. This fringe may consist of a single row of processes, known as teeth, as in Fig. 7, or of a double row as in Fig. 27. In the latter case the entire fringe is still the peris tome, but the term is also applied in a particular sense to the outer row; the outer row is often spoken of as the exostome (b), and the inner as the endostome (c)- The inner row consists of as many projections as the outer, but al- ternating with them; these are known as processes or segments (c). Between the segments there are often one or more slender hair-like processes known as cilia. (Fig. 27, d; Fig. n, c.) FIG. 27. Moss peristomes, viewed with a compound microscope, are among the most beautiful of natural objects. They are not composed of cells (except in the Polytri- chaceae and a few other small fam- ilies), but of thickened cell-walls. Pinnate, having numerous equi- distant spreading branches on each side like a feather. (Fig. 28.) Pleurocarpous, having the sporo- phyte lateral on a short lateral special branch. (Fig. 29.) Pleurocarpous mosses can usually be recognized by the creeping habit. Plicate, folded in pleats or furrows ; e. g., leaves of Camptothecium. (Fig. 30.) Plicae, folds of a plicate leaf. Plumose, feathery. Pluriscriate, many ranked ; i. e., as applied to leaves arranged in several rows along the stem. Polygamous, with antheridia and archegonia disposed in 196 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS FIG. 29 various ways on the same plant. Postical, used as the opposite of antical for that surface of the stems of hepatics to which the underleaves are attached, the under or posterior surface. Processes. See under peristome. Proliferous, bearing young shoots from the antheridial or archegonial cluster of leaves. Propagula. According to Dr. Best, Fig. 16 illustrates brood bodies or propagula rather than gemmae. These distinctions are not made in all works. Protonema, the green, branched, alga-like threads produced from the spore and often persistent during the lifetime of the plant produced from it. Protonema and radicles differ chiefly in the presence or absence of chloro- phyll, and either may develop the other. (Fig. 31.) Pseudop odium, a leafless branch resembling a seta and often bearing gemmae. (Fig. 16.) Of sphagnum, the stalk (false seta) bearing the capsule. 'I . || Pulvinate, like a cushion. Pyriform, pear-shaped. Radicles, rootlets springing from the sides and base of the stem. See also protonema. Ramulij minute branchlets. Rhizoid. See radicles. Rostellate (operculum), with a short beak. Rostrate (operculum), with a long beak. (Figs. 6 and 8.) Rosulate, in the form of a rosette. Rough. Same as papillose. Rugose, wrinkled, in the case of leaves it is usually applied to transverse wrinkles ; e. g., leaves of Hypnum rugosuin. Scabrous. Same as papillose. Secund, twisted or turned to one side. (Fif. 32) ; e. g., leaves of many Hypnums. FIG. 30. FIG. 31- MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 197 Sessile, without any stalk, like the leaves of all the mosses or the capsules of Webera. Segments. See under peristome. Seta, the stalk on which the capsule is borne. (Figs. 6 and 10.) Sigmoid, curved like the letter S. Spermatozoid. See antherozoid. Sporangium, often applied to the capsule, but by some authors restricted to the spore sac, or inner sac of the capsule containing the spores. Spores, small round bodies contained in the capsule, serving the purpose of seeds, but in no way homologous with them. (Fig. 27.) Sporophyte or sporophore, the spore-bearing part or genera- tion. In mosses it consists of the seta and capsule and constitutes the so-called fruit. Sporogonium, the sporophyte or spore-bearing part of the moss. Squarrose, spreading at right angles from the stem. Stegocarpous, having the capsule operculate. Stipitate, having a short stem. Applied to antheridia and archegonia. Stoloniferous stem, a slender creeping stem with minute leaves. Stomata, pores in the surface of the thallus of the True Liverworts. Striate, marked with striae or slight furrows. Struma, a goiter-like swelling on one side at the base of the capsule. (Fig. 8.) Strumose, having a struma. Substratum, the material upon which the plant grows. Succubous, with the upper margin of one leaf lying under the leaf next above. (See Plagiochila.) Sulcate, deeply furrowed with longitudinal channels. As applied to leaves, both striate and sulcate really refer to the fold whose concave surface is on the inner or ventral surface of the leaf. Of the capsule, deeply furrowed. (Fig. 17.) Synoicous or synoecious, having the male and the female organs mixed together in the same cluster. (Fig. 25.) Terete, circular in cross-section. Thallus, a broad, flattened plant form taking the place of igS MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS both stem and leaves on many of the lower plants. (See Mar- chantia.) Tomentose, covered with a thick felt of radicles. Tooth. See under peristome. Tubulose. See canaliculate. Tumid, turgid, appearing as if swollen from pressure within. Turbinate, top-shaped ; e. g., capsule of Bryum turbinatum. Twisted (seta). The seta of many mosses twists strongly in drying. If the twist is such as would be made by seizing the capsule and twisting it to the right, it is said to be twisted to the right. It is possible that this twisting of the seta aids in scattering the spores. Umbonate, round with a projecting point in the center. Uncinatc, hooked, curved back at point. (Fig. 32.) Undulate, with an alternately concave and con- vex margin, wavy ; e. g., leaves of Dicranum undula- tum. FIG. 33- Urceolate, shaped like an urn or pitcher. Veil, the calyptra. Ventral surface, the surface of a leaf next the stem. Ventricose, bulging on one side. (Fig. 33.) Vesicular, inflated like a bladder. Wavy. See undulate. ERRATA. P. 39. Accent Oncophorus as on p. 200. P. 64. Insert as the fourth line of description of Gymnos- tomum rupestre " deshiscent operculum. Very much less frequent than G. cur-' P. 108. Read " Family 18 " instead of " Family 8." P. 157. Accent Lunularia as on p. 205. P. 159. Accent Reboulia as on p. 205. The accents are omitted from several of the generic names due to a change of type and an oversight in replacing the accents when the type was changed. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS IQ9 A NUMBERED LIST OF THE MOSSES DESCRIBED IN THE PRECEDING PAGES SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED.* (Where the name used in the Lesquereux and James Manual is different from that employed in this work the L. & J. name is usually indicated in italics immediately following the accepted name.) PAGE. SPHAGNACEAE 11 1 Sphagnum acutifolium Ehrh 14 2 S. cymbifolium (Ehrh.) Hedw 14 3 S. squarrosum Pers 14 ANDREAEACEAE 15 4 Andresea petrophila Ehrh 15 5 A. Rothii W. & M 15 (A. rupestris). GEORGIACEAE 17 *6 Georgia Brownii (Dicks.) C. M 18 (Tetradontium repandum). 7 G. pellucida (L.) Rabenh 17 (Tetraphis pellucida). POLYTRICHACEAE 18 8 Catharinea angustata Brid 27 (A trichum angustatum) . 9 C. crispa James 27 (A. crisp um). 10 C. undulata (L.) W. & M 26 (A. undulatum). 11 Pogonatum alpinum (L.) Roehl 25 *I2 P. brachyphyllum (Mx.) Beauv 25 13 P. brevicaule (Brid.) Beauv 23 *I4 P. capillare (Mx.) Brid 25 15 P. urnigerum (L.) Beauv 25 16 Polytrichum commune L 20 *I7 P. gracile Dicks 22 18 P. juniperinum Willd 22 19 P. Ohioense R. & C 20 20 P. pilif erum Schreb 22 *2i P. strictum Banks 23 * Species marked * are not illustrated. 200 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE. BUXBAUMIACEAE. 28 22 Buxbaumia aphylla L 28 *23 B. indusiata Brid 29 24 Webera sessilis (Schmid.) Lindb 29 (Diphyscium foliosum) . FISSIDENTACEAE 30 25 Fissidens adiantoides (L.) Hedw 32 *26 F. cristatus Wils 32 (F. dccipiens). 27 F. Julianus (Savi.) Schimp 34 (Conomitrhun Julianum). 28 F. osmundioides (Swtz.) Hedw 32 29 F. taxifolius (L.) Hedw 32 DICRANACEAE 34 30 Bruchia Sullivantii Aust 36 31 Ceratodon purpureus (L.) Brid 39 32 Dicranella cerviculata (Hedw.) Schimp 43 33 D. heteromalla (L.) Schimp 41 34 D. heteromalla Fitzgeraldii (R. & C.) Grout 43 35 D. rufescens (Dicks.) Schimp 44 36 D. varia (Hedw.) Schimp 44 *37 Dicranodontinm longirostre 48 38 Dicranum Drummondii C. M 46 39 D. flagellare Hedw 48 40 D. f ulvum Hook 48 41 D. fuscescens Turn 46 42 D. longif olium Ehrh 48 43 D. scoparium (L.) Hedw 45 44 D. undulatum Ehrh 46 45 Ditrichtim pallidum (Schreb.) Hampe 38 (Leptotrichum pallidum). 46 D. tortile (Schrad.) Hampe 37 (L. tortile). 47 D. vaginans (Sulliv.) Hampe 37 (L. vaginans). 48 Leucobryum glaucum (L.) Schimp 50 49 Oncophorus Wahlenbergii Brid 39 (Cynodontium virens var. Wahlenbergii). 50 Pleuridium subulatum (L.) Rabenh 35 ''Species marked * are not illustrated. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 201 PAGE. 51 Trematodon ambiguus (Hedw.) Hornsch 40 *52 T. longicollis MX 40 GRIMMIACEAE 51 53 Grimmia apocarpa (L.) Hedw 55 54 G. Olneyi Sulliv 57 55 G. Pennsylvania Schwaegr 57 56 Hedwigia albicans (Web.) Lindb 52 (PI. ciliata). 57 Ptychomitrium incurvtim (Schwaegr.) Sulliv 53 58 Rhacomitritim aciculare (L.) Brid 59 59 R. fasciculare (Schrad.) Brid 59 . 60 R. microcarpum (Schrad.) Brid 59 TORTULACEAE 63 6,1 Astomum Sullivantii Schimp 37 62 Barbula convoluta Hedw 70 63 B. unguiculata (Huds.) Hedw 67 *64 Desmatodon plinthobius Sulliv. & Lesq 74 *65 Didymodon rubellus (Hoffm.) B. & S 38 66 Gymnostomum curvirostre (Ehrh.) Hedw 64 *67 G. rupestre Schleich 64 68 Portia truncatula (L.) Lindb 91 (P. truncata). *69 Tortella caespitosa (Schwaegr.) Limpr 70 (Barbula caespitosa). 70 T. tortuosa (L.) Limpr 70 (B. tortuosa). 71 Tortula muralis (L.) Hedw 72 (Barbula muralis). 72 T. ruralis (L.) Ehrh 74 (B. ruralis). *73 T. ruraliformis (Besch.) Dixon 74 74 Weisia viridula (L.) Hedw 64 ENCALYPTACEAE 76 75 Encalypta ciliata (Hedw.) Hoffm 78 76 E. streptocarpa Hedw 76 ORTHOTRICHACEAE 78 77 Drummondia clavellata Hook 79 78 Orthotrichum anomalum Hedw 82 *79 O. obtusifolium Schrad 86 'Species marked * ate not illustrated. 202 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE. 80 O. Ohioense S. & L 82 81 O. sordidum S. & L 83 82 O. speciosum Nees 82 83 O. strangulatum Sulliv 86 *84 Ulota Americana (Beauv.) Lindb 80 (U. Hutchinsiae). 85 U. crispa Brid 79 86 U. Ludwigii Brid 79 SCHISTOSTEGACEAE 86 87 Schistostega osmundacea (Dicks.) Mohr 86 SPLACHNACEAE 88 88 Splachnum ampullaceum L 88 FUNARIACEAE 89 *89 Funaria flavicans MX 90 90 F. hygrometrica (L.) Sibth 89 91 Physcomitrium turbinatum (Mx.) Brid 90 (P. pyrifonne). AULACOMNIACEAE 92 92 Aulacomnium heterostichum (Hedw.) B. & S 94 93 A. palustre Schwaegr 92 BARTRAMIACEAE 94 94 Bartramia CEderi (Cunn.) Swartz 95 95 B. pomiformis (L.) Hedw 94 96 Philonotis fontana (L.) Brid 95 BRYACEAE 96 97 Bryum argenteum L, 97 *98 B. bimum Schreb 100 99 B. caespiticium L 98 100 B. Duvalii Voit 100 101 B. roseum (Weis.) Schreb 97 102 Leptobryum pyriforme (L.) Wils 102 103 Mnium affine Bland 104 *I04 M. cinclidioides (Blytt.) Hueben 108 *I05 M. Drummondii B. & S 104 106 M. hornum L 106 107 M. punctatum L 106 *io8 M. rostratum Schrad 106 109 M. spinulosum B. & S 104 1 10 M. stellare Reich 108 ^ Species marked * are not illustrated. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 203 PAGE. *in M. sylvaticum Lindb 103 112 Pohlia elongata Hedw 102 113 P. nu tans (Schreb.) Lindb 100 PLEUROCARPI 1 08 LESKEACEAE 108 114 Anomodon apiculatus B. & S no 115 A. attenuatus (Schreb.) Hueben no *ii6 A. minor (P. Beauv.) Fnern no (A. obtusifolius). 117 A. rostratus (Hedw.) Schimp no *ii8 Thelia asprella (Schimp.) Sulliv in 119 T. hirtella (Hedw.) Sulliv no *I2O T. Lescurii Sulliv in 121 Thuidinm abietinum (L.) B. & S in 122 T. delicatulum (L.) Mitt in 123 T. recognitum (Hedw.) Lindb 112 124 T. scitum (Beauv.) A list in HYPNACEAE 114 *I25 Amblystegium adnatum (Hedw.) J. & S 119 *I26 A. irriguum (Hook. & Wils.) B. & S 130 127 A. serpens (L.) B. & S 127 128 Brachythecium acuminatum (Hedw.) Kindb 130 *I29 B. oxycladon (Brid.) J. & S 121 (Hypnum laetum). 130 B. plumosum (Sw.) B. & S 131 131 B. populeum (Hedw.) B. & S 133 132 B. rivulare B. & S 130 133 Cirriphyllum Boscii (Brid.) Grout 135 134 Climacium Americanum Brid 139 135 C. dendroides (L.) Web. & Mohr 139 136 C. Kindbergii (R. & C.) Grout 141 137 fintodon cladorrhizans (Hedw.) C. Muell 137 (Cylindrothecium). 138 E. seductrix (Hedw.) C. Muell 137 139 Eurhynchium hians (Hedw.) J. & S 133 140 E. strigosum robustum Roell 134 (Hypnum strigosum in part,). 141 Hylocomium proliferum (L.) Lindb 113 (Hypnum splcndcuis). fSpecies marked * are not illustrated. 204 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE. 142 H. rugosum (Ehrh.) DeNot 122 143 H. triquetrum (L.) B. & S 123 144 Hypnum chrysophyllum Brid 123 145 H. crista-castrensis L 116 146 H. curvifolium Hedw 117 147 H. dilatatum Wils 129 148 H. Haldaniantim Grev 119 149 H. imponens Hedw 117 150 H. patientiae Lindb 117 151 H. reptile MX 119 152 H. Schreberi Willd 121 153 H. uncinatum Hedw 126 154 Plagiothecium denticulatum (L.) B. & S 136 155 P. striatellum (Brid.) Lindb 125 156 P. sylvaticum (Huds.) B. & S 136 157 Pylaisia Schimperi R. & C 136 158 Raphidostegium rectirvans (Mx.) J. & S 127 159 Rhynchostegium rusciforme (Neck.) B. & S 128 160 R. serrulatum (Hedw.) J. & S 134 161 Leucodon brachypus Brid 143 162 L. julaceus (Hedw.) Sulliv 142 *i63 L. sciuroides (L.) Schwaegr 142 NECKERACEAE 143 164 Homalia trichomanoides Jamesii (Schimp.) Holz 144 165 Neckera pennata (L.) Hedw 143 FONTINALACEAE 144 166 Dichelyma capillaceum (Dill.) B. & S 147 167 Fontinalis dalecarlica B. & S 148 168 F. gigantea Sulliv 14? (F. antipyretica gigantea). 169 F. Novae- Angliae Sulliv 148 * Species marked * are not illustrated. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 205 HEPATICAE. (Names in parenthesis are from Gray's Manual.) PAGE. RICCIACEAE 153 1 Riccia fluitans L ^53 2 Ricciocarpus natans (L.) Corda. 153 MARCHANTIACEAE 155 3 Asterella tenella (L.) Beauv 157 (Fimbriaria tenella NeesJ. 4 Conocephalum conicum (L.) Dum 156 5 Grimaldia fragrans (Balb.) Corda 159 (G. barbifrons). y 6 Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum 157 „ 7 Marchantia polymorpha L 156 8 Preissia quadrata (Scop.) Nees .... 158 (P. commutata). 9 Reboulia hemisphaerica (L.) Raddi 159 (Asterella hemisphaerica). METZGERIACEAE 160 10 Blasia pusilla L 162 11 Metzgeria conjugata Lindb 161 12 Pallavicinia Lyelii (Hook.) S. F. Gray 161 13 Pellia epiphylla (L.) Corda 162 14 P. Neesiana (Gottsche) Limpr 163 *I5 P. endiviaefolia (Dicks.) Dum 163 *i6 Riccardia latifrons Lindb 164 (Aneura latifrons. LindbJ. 17 R. multifida (L.) S. F. Gray 165 (A. multifida DumJ. 18 R. pinguis (L.) S. F. Gray 164 (A. pinguis DumJ. JUNGERMANNIACEAE 165 19 Bazzania triangularis (Schleich.) Lindb 177 (B. deftexa). 20 B. trilobata (L.) S. F. Gray 176 21 Blepharostoma trichophyllum (L.) Dum 174 22 Cephalozia species 176 23 Chiloscyphus polyanthos (L.) Corda 185 *Species marked * are not illustrated. 206 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE. ^ 24 Frullania Asagrayana Mont 168 25 F. Eboracensis Gottsche 167 26 Geocalyx graveolens (Schrad.) Nees 179 27 Harpanthus scutatus (Web. & Mohr.) Spruce 180 28 Jamsoniella autumnalis (DC.) Steph 184 (Jungermannia Schraderi). *29 Jubula Hutchinsiae (Hook.) Dum 168 30 Jungermannia lanceolata L 185 (Liochlaena lanceolata). 31 Kantia Trichomanis (L.) S. F. Gray 178 32 Lejeunea cavifolia (Ehrh.) Lindb 170 33 L. clypeata (Schwein.) Sulliv 171 34 Lepidozia reptans (L.) Dnm 175 *35 L. sylvatica Evans 1 76 36 Lophocolea heterophylla (Schrad.) Dum 179 37 L. minor Nees 180 38 Lophozia barbata (Schreb.) Dum 181 (Jungermannia barbata). 39 L. incisa (Schrad.) Dum 181 (J. incisa). 40 Nardia crenulata (Smith) Lindb 184 41 Odontoschisma denudatum (Mart.) Dum 183 42 O. prostratum (Swartz) Trevis 182 (0. sphagni, of American authors only.) 43 Plagiochila asplenoides (L.) Dum 178 44 Porella pinnata L 168 45 P. platyphylla (L.) Lindb 168 46 Ptilidium ciliare (L.) Nees 174 47 Radula complanata (L.) Dum 171 48 Scapania nemorosa (L.) Dum 172 49 S. undulata (L.) Dum 173 50 Sphenolobus Michauxii (Web.) Steph 181 (Jungermannia Michauxii) . ' 51 Trichocolea tomentella (Ehrh.) Dum 173 ANTHOCEROTACEAE 154 52 Anthoceros laevis L 154 53 A. punctatus L 154 54 Notothylas orbicularis (Schwein.) Sulliv 154 'Species marked * are not illustrated. MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 207 INDEX. PAGE. Accents 4 Amblystegium. . . 119, 126, 130 Andreseaceae 15 Andreaea 15 Anomodon 108 Anthocerotaceae 154 Anthoceros 154 Apple Mosses 94 Asterella 157 Astomum 37 Atrichum. See Catharinea. Aulacomniaceae 92 Aulacomnium 92 Barbula 6, 67, 70 Bartramiaceae 94 Bartramia 37, 63, 94 Bazzania 176 Beaked Mosses. . . . 133, 135 Blasia 162 Blepharostoma 174 Bog Moss 92 Brachythecium .... 114, 121, 130, 139 Broom Moss 45 Bruchia 36, 37 Bryaceae 96 Bryum 96, 103 Long-necked. . . 102 Buxbaumiaceae 28 Buxbaumia 28 Catharinea 6, 25 Cephalozia 176 Ceratodon. . 8, 37, 39, 70, 92 Chiloscyphus . 185 Cirriphyllum 114, 135 Climacium 130 Conocephalum 156 Cord Moss 89 Cylindrothecium. See Entodon Cynodontium 39 Desmatodon 74 Dichelyma . 146 Dicranaceae 34 Dicranella 41 Dicranodontium 48 Dicrannm . . . 8, IT, 17. 39. 41. 45 PAGE. Didymodon 38 Diphyscium 29 Ditrichum 37 Drummondia 78, 81 Encalyptaceae 76 Encalypta 76 Entodon 114, 137 Errata 198 Eurhynchium. . . . 114, 133 Extinguisher Mosses. . 76 Fern Mosses in Fissidentaceae 30 Fissidens 30, 114 Fontinalaceae 146 Fontinalis 10, 146 Fountain Moss 147 Frullania 168 Funariaceae 89 Funaria 89 Geocalyx 179 Georgiaceae 17 Georgia 6, 17 Glossary 186 Grimaldia 159 Grimmiaceae. . . 51, 78, 136 Grimmia 75, //, 55 Gymnocybe 92 Gymnostomum 63 Hair-cap Mosses 19 Harpanthus 181 Harpidium 125 Hedwigia 52 Hepaticae I, 151 Homalia 144 Hooked Mosses 125 Hygrohypnum 130 Hylocomium. . . 113, 122, 123 Hypnaceae 114 Hypmim . '8, ii, 115, 123. 124, 130 Hypnum. Water-loving. 128 Tamsoniella 184 Tubula 168 Timgermanniaceae. . . . 165 Tungermannia 185 Kantia 178 Labels 4 208 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS PAGE. Lejeunea 170 Lepidozia 175 Leptobryum 102 I^optotrichum 37 Leskeaceae 108 Leskea 109 Leucobryum 50 Leucodon 141 Lichens I Life History 5 Liverworts i Liverworts, Horned. . . 154 Long-necked Moss. . . 102 Lophocolea 179 Lophozia 181 Luminous Moss 86 Lunularia 157 Marchantia 156 Metzgeriaceae. ..... 160 Metzgeria 161 Mnium. . . . 27, 92, 97, 103 Mosses II Nardia 184 Neckera 143 Notothylas 154 Odontoschisma 182 Oncophorus 39 Orthotrichaceae 78 Orthotrichum 10, 75, 57, 79, 81 Pallavicinia 161 Peat Mosses 5, n, 50 Pellia 162 Philonotis 95 Physcomitrium 90 Plagiochila. ....... 178 Plagiothecium .... 114, 124, 135, 137 Pleuridmm 35, 37, 63 Plume Moss 116 Pogonatum 23 Pohlia 97, 100, 103 Polytrichaceae 18 Polytrichum. ....... 6, 19 Porella 108, 169 Pottia 63, 90, 91 Preissia 158 Ptilidium 174 PAGE. Ptychomitrium 57, 53 Pylaisia 114, 136 Pylaisiella 137 Radula 171 Raphidostegium. . . 774, 127 Reboulia 159 Reindeer Moss i Rhacomitrium 55, 59 Rhynchostegium 774, 129, 134 Riccardia 163 Ricciaceae 153 Riccia 153 Ricciocarpus 153 Scale Mosses 165 Scale Mosses, Thalloid. . 160 Scapania 172 Schistostegaceae 86 Schistostega 86 Shaggy Moss 123 Slides 2 Sphagnaceae n Sphagnum 14 Sphenolobus 181 Splachnaceae 88 Splachnum 88 Spoon-leaved Moss. . . 135 Tetraphis^ 17 Tetrodontium 18 Thelia no Thuidium 108, in Tortella 70 Tortnlaceae. . . 37, =>#. 63, 97 Tortula 72, 76 Tree Mosses 139 Trematodon 40 Trichocolea 173 Twisted Mosses 72 Ulota. .„ 57, 55, 79, 81 Urn Moss 90 Water-loving Hypnums. 128 Water Mosses. .".... 146 Water Moss, Beaked. . . 129 Webera 5, 29, 97 Weisia 37, 64, 70 Weissia 79 White Moss 5° MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS. Price, $1.50 on all orders received before April ist. After that, $1.75. A limited signed edition of 25 copies with actual specimens of 200 species mounted on interleaved blank pages is in preparation. Price $15.00. Mosses with Hand-Lens and Microscope, a quarto work issued in paper parts of about 80 pages, is on the same plan as the other but is more advanced and complete. It is printed by McFarland on the finest coated paper made and is a work of art as well as of science. A supplement will be issued, making it a complete manual of all the mosses of the region. Prof. Charles R. Barnes of the University of Chicago says in the Botanical Gazette (June, 1904) published by the same institution : " The second part of Grout's Mosses with Hand-lens and Microscope well sustains the promise of its predessor. * * * * All in all, the work is admirable both in conception and in ex- ecution. It is difficult to understand how it can be sold at the very low price asked." Part I and II now ready, $1.00 per part. Upon the issue of part V all new orders will be $1.25 per part. For the convenience of moss students I have arranged to furnish a Queen coddington lens of about 10 diameters magnifying power for $1.50, and an excellent high power aplanatic triplet, one-quarier inch focus and about 40 diameters magnifying power, for $5.00. A discount of 10 per cent, will be allowed purchasers of either of my books, also to subscribers to the Bryologist. I can also furnish any extant work on mosses subject to the usual restrictions in the case of books that are rare or out of print. All moss students should subscribe to the Bryologist, a 16-20 page bimonthly devoted to the study of mosses, hepatics, and lichens. Fully illustrated. One dollar per year. A. J. GROUT, 360 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, N. Y. RETURN MARIAN KOSHLAND BIOSCIENCE AND TO — > NATURAL RESOURCES LIBRARY 2101 Valley Life Sciences Bldg. 642-2531 LOAN PERIOD ONE MONTH LOAN ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW. DUE JUN "i uzoo; SUBJECT TO RE( REC'D BIOS ALL um/13 'rn-4oc PM FORM NO. DD 8 24M 11-02 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Berkeley, California 94720-6500 \ LD 21A-15m-2,'69 (J6057slO)476— A-32 General Library University of California Berkeley UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY