B. POLYPHYLLUM. Capsules egg-oblong, toothed: shoots very much branched: leaves crowded, spear-shaped: curled when dry. . (E. Bot. 1217--Musc. Brit. xix. E.)—Dill. 48. 41. (Veil striated, at length torn at the edge. Lid awl-shaped. E.) Resembles the B. cirratum so much that they are not to be distinguished without maceration. That, however, is a more slender plant, has fewer fruit-stalks, and the capsules are paler. Dill. (The authors of Musc. Brit. observe: "this species may be easily known from other Trichostoma by the greater length and narrowness of its leaves, and by their remarkably crisped appearance when in a dry state. The capsules are generally crowded, and the teeth of the peristome connected at the base in filiform pairs.” (POLYPHYLLOUS THREAD-MOSS. B. polyphyllum. Dicks. With. Hull. Dicranum polyphyllum. Sm. Trichostomum polyphyllum. Schwaeg. Turn. Hook. Trichostomum cirratum. Sm. "Habitus Dicrani polyphylli, at major." Fl. Brit. Rocks and mountains. B. cirratum ß. Huds. Autumn. Ray mentions a var. with much smaller leaves, which is B. cirratum y. Huds. B. CANESCENS. Capsules egg-oblong: leaves crowded, spear-shaped, bent back, white-haired at the ends. Hedw. Stirp. iii. 3—(E. Bot. 2534—Musc. Brit. xix.-Vaill. 26. 14-Dill. 47. 27. D, E, F. Stem upright when young, afterwards declining, and sending out a few branches of various lengths. Leaves spear-shaped, keeled, pressed to when dry. Fruit-stalk straight, three-fourths of an inch in height. Cap sule oblong-egg-shaped. Lid a slender cone. Mouth fringed with sixteen long, hair-like teeth, divided down to the base. Veil slender, long, ragged at the bottom. Fruit-stalks lateral. Hedw. (COMMON HOARY THREAD-MOss. E.) Bryum Hypnoides B. Fl. Suec. Trichostomum canescens. Hedw. Stirp. iii. p. 5. (Turn. Sm. Hook. Grev. T. Ericoides of authors, E. Bot. 1991, and identified in Fl. Brit. with B. Hypnoides. Linn. Huds. With.) "has somewhat of a pinnated appearance, arising from its numerous very short branches; but in the form of its leaves, capsule, and peristome, it perfectly accords with T. canescens.” Musc. Brit. E.) Differs from B. Hypnoides in its upright stem, its leaves being very slightly serrated only at the ends, and in its longer fruit-stalk. Hedw. When moist and growing, yellowish green, when dry woolly, from the number of hairs which terminate the leaves. Dill. Common in dry, high, barren, sandy places. Var. 2. Shoots simple, or but little branched. Dill. 47. 27. A, B, C. Feb.-March. P. About an inch and a half high. Fruit-stalk lateral. Capsules upright, egg-cylindrical. Leaves spear-shaped, slender, keeled, hair-pointed; hairs grey and bent inwards when dry. Specimen from Mr. Griffith, accompanied by others of a stunted growth, on bleak rocks, not half an inch high, and very much crowded with leaves. Var. 3. Leaves spear-awl-shaped, mid-ribbed; shoots branched. Dill. 47. 29. This was considered by Hudson as a variety of B. Hypnoides; but though the shortness of the fruit-stalks favours that opinion, the leaves being equally distributed, not fasciculated, and the want of trailing shoots, induce me to place it here. B. Hypnoides y Huds. On some stones forming a circular wall on the summit of Snowdon. Aug. B. ESTIVUM. Capsules urn-shaped: fruit-stalks axillary: leaves spearawl-shaped, without a mid-rib, doubled together. Dill. 47. 36. This Moss adheres together when dry, as it doubtless does when wet, like a Conferva; and when dry, preserves its beautiful blue green colour. It consists of thread like shoots crowded with very slender leaves, but dipped in water so that the shoots may separate, they appear but little branched, and the leaves seem less numerous. Dill. In some specimens now before me the fine bluish green colour like that of a Cantharid is very striking. Capsules urn-shaped. Fruit-stalks about half an inch long. Plant one inch and a half high. Leaves not crowded, spearshaped, but very slender without a mid-rib, doubled together. (BLUE-GREEN THREAD-MOSS. B. æstivum. Linn. According to Smith Gymnostomum curvirostrum. Hedw. E. Bot. 2214, and Musc. Brit. vi., and also by the latter authors synonymized with G. stelligerum. Schrad. Sm. G. luteolum. Sm., and Bryum stelligerum. Dicks. E.) B. œstivum of Hudson is B. capillaceum, excluding the synonym of Dill. 47. 39. which is B. brevifolium. Marshy places. Richardson, in Dill. 375. B. DICKSO'NI. Capsules egg-oblong, fringed: shoots branched: leaves strap-shaped, keeled, rather curled when dry. Dicks. Dicks. 7. 7. Leaves upright end forming a ring slender, Veil slender. mid-rib the Shoots branched, branches expanding, nearly of one height. scattered, strap-shaped, keeled, dark green, those at the star; curled when dry. Capsules yellowish. Mouth red, teeth short, upright, red. Lid with a long slanting beak. Dicks. Leaves very slender, strap-spear-shaped, with a whole length. Fruit-stalk hardly half an inch high. (DICKSON'S THREAD-MOSS. In Musc. Brit. we find this plant (E. Bot. 1420,) included under Weissia cirrata, B. cirratum. With. E.) On rotten wood and decayed trunks of trees. On a moist rock by the petrifying spring in Garn dingle, near Denbigh; and Wet rocks of Crib y Ddescil. Mr. Griffith. B. TRIFA'RIUM. Capsules egg-oblong: mouth bearded: shoots seldom branched leaves spear-awl-shaped, expanding. Dicks. Hedw. Stirp. ii. 28—(E. Bot. 1707-Musc. Brit. xx. E.) Scarcely half an inch high, unbranched, upright. Lower leaves smaller, colourless, upper ones larger, broad at the base, and keeled, awl-shaped at the end, pointing three ways. Capsule egg-cylindrical. Lid conical, bent. (THREE-BOWED THREAD-MOSS. B. trifarium. Dicks. With. Hull. Abbot. Didymodon trifarium. Sw. Hook. Trichostomum trifarium. Sm. in Musc. Brit. E. Bot. 2295, T. linoides is also considered to represent this species. E.) Barren hills, and moist banks. E.) P. B. CRIS'PUM. Capsules egg-shaped: fruit-stalks thicker at the top: leaves strap-shaped, broadest at the base, crowded, curled when dry. Hedw. Stirp. ii. 35-(E. Bot. 996-Musc. Brit. xxi. E.)—Dill. 55. 11— Pet. Mus. f. 25—Vaill. 27. 9. In dense tufts, so close, that the under parts decay. About one inch high, branched. Barren flowers in the bosom of the leaves. Sheath scarlet. Fruit-stalks terminal, short, straightish, thickening at the top so as to coincide with the pear-shaped capsule. Capsule from the above circumstance appearing pear-shaped, but it is really globular egg-shaped. Lid with a straight short beak. Ring none. Fringe double, sixteen teeth in each. Veil pyramidal, hairy. Hedw. Capsule when old with eight longitudinal streaks, in each of which lies concealed a pair of teeth belonging to the outer fringe after it has been bent back. When the seed has escaped, it contracts in the middle part. Inner fringe eight white hairs, the points of which unite in the centre. Outer fringe eight teeth, each of which at length splits into two. Grif. (A beautiful species; sometimes very minute. E.) CURLED THREAD-MOSS. B. striatum &. Linn. E.) Orthotrichum crispum. Hedw. Sm. Hook. Grev. E.) Trunks of trees; (more rarely on walls. E.) Flowers in spring. Capsules ripen in May or June. B. VAGINALE. Capsules egg-shaped, toothed: shoots rather serpentine: leaves hair-like but sheathing the base. Dicks. Hedw. Stirp. ii. 33—(E. Bot. 1151-Musc. Brit. xvii. E.) Near half an inch high, rather waved, upright. Leaves serpentine, mostly pointing one way. Beak slender, straight. (Fringe red of sixteen cloven flat teeth. E. Bot. E.) Capsules urn-shaped. (SHEATHING THREAD-MOSS. Dicranum crispum. Hedw. Turn. Sm. Hook. E.) Bogs in Scotland. Dickson. (Said to have been found also by John Templeton, Esq., of Orange Grove, near Belfast, on moist banks of the Maryburn River, Ireland. E. Bot. E.) P. B. WEISS'IA. Capsules egg-oblong, with a ring, fringed: leaves pointing one way, strap-awl-shaped, stiff. Dicks. Hedw. Stirp. 1. 8—(E. Bot. 1899-Musc. Brit. xx. E.) Stem upright. Leaves awl-shaped, but broad and sheathing at the base, rigid, not curling up when dry. Involucrum sheathing. Fruit-stalk terminal, always longer than the stem, nearly upright. Veil slender, upright. Lid a blunt cone. Fringe single, of sixteen teeth. (CURVED-LEAVED THREAD-MOSS. E.) Weissia heteromalla. Hedw. (Grimmia heteromalla. Sm. Didymodon heteromallum. Musc. Brit. Hook. Grev. E.) Woods and sandy places. May-June. B. HYPERBO REUM. Capsules egg-shaped, fruit-stalks short: leaves stiff, hair-like, crowded. Gun. (E. Bot. 2552. E.)-Fl. Dan. 538. 1. Full half an inch high. Capsules but little raised above the foliage. Beak conical, slanting. (NORTHERN THREAD-MOSS. Dicranum hyperboreum. E. Bot. E.) Rocks on Ben Nevis. Dickson. B. Capsules on fruit-stalks, upright. (4) Stems upright. c. Capsules oblong. B. RECURVIROS'TRUM. Capsules oblong, slender: beak bent: leaves spear-shaped, tiled, expanding. Hedw. Stirp. i. 7—(E. Bot. 1438—Musc. Brit. xiv. E.)—Dill. 48. 45. 、 Stem upright, not branched, about half an inch high. Fruit-stalk upright, generally terminating the old stem. Veil long, conical, crooked. Lad convex, beak straight whilst under the veil, afterwards crooked, but in a direction opposite to the bend of the veil. Hedw. Stem sometimes branched. (See fig. Dill.) Leaves very slender, keeled, upper ones the longest. Fruit-stalks red, half an inch high, or more. Capsules and lid red. Dill. (CURVED-BEAKED THREAD-MOSS. E.) Weissia recurvirostra. Hedw. (Weissia curvirostra. Musc. Brit. Hook. Grev. Grimmia recurvirostra. Sm. E.) B. curvirostrum. Dicks., and With. Ed. ii. Woods in dryish places. Sandy stony places, interwoven with the grass. (In Patterdale, Cumberland. Mr. Winch. E.) P. Aug. B. BARBA TUM. Capsules oblong, slender: lid taper-pointed, slanting: fruit-stalks lateral: leaves spear-shaped, acute, the upper ones expanding. Curt. 274 (E. Bot. 2391. E.)—Dill. 48. 48. Grows in tufts, half an inch high, somewhat branched. Leaves spearshaped, pointed. Fruit-stalks half an inch or more from the base or the middle of the branch, but never terminal. Capsules slender. Veil long. Lid long, slender, conical. Fringe orange-coloured or scarlet, twisted like a screw. Curt. (The 45th pl. of Dillenius is referred to by mistake in the observations of Mr. Curtis.) Branches of equal thickness, sent off from the lower part of the plant. Dill. (The authors of Musc. Brit. have reduced this, with several others, to B. unguiculatum: but Curtis observes, "we are convinced, from repeated observations, that it is a species perfectly distinct. It approaches very near to B. imberbe and unguiculatum. From the former it differs in having the antheræ or capsules terminated by long, twisted ciliæ, and in having the peduncles always proceeding from the base of the surculus; this last character also strikingly distinguishes it from B. unguiculatum." (BEARDED LATERAL THREAD-MOSS. B. barbatum. Curt. With. Hull. Relh. Tortula barbata. Sm. E.) On walls. P. Dec.-Feb. B. IMBER BE. Capsules oblong: beak slanting: leaves slender, spearshaped, keeled, bent outwards. (E. Bot. 2329. E.)—Dill. 48. 46. Fruit-stalks upright, solitary, terminating and lateral, half an inch long. Capsules cylindrical, one line long, deep saffron-coloured, blackish at the base. Web. Fringe long. Hal. Not an inch high, upright, unbranched at first, but every year sending out branches after the flowering season. Leaves broad at the base, and keeled. Barren flower terminal. Hedw. Grows in dense tufts. Stems slender, half to one inch high, dividing into branches. Leaves very slender, pale green, upper leaves bent back. Dill. (DECIDUOUS THREAD-MOSS. B. imberbe. Linn. Huds. With. Tortula imberbis. Sm. E.) Sandy heaths, ditch-banks, and walls. A. March-April. B. UNGUICULATUM. Capsules oblong: lid taper-pointed, slanting: leaves strap-spear-shaped, keeled. Huds. Dicks. H. S.—(E. Bot. 2316-Musc. Brit. xii. E.)-Dill. 48. 47-Buxb. ii. 2. 9. Shoots forming patches about half an inch high; sometimes branched. Leaves open, near a line in length and a quarter in breadth. Fruit-stalks terminal. Veil smooth, reaching but half-way down the capsule. Pol. Leaves green, keeled, opake. Capsules oblong, thickest at the base, green, changing to brown. Dill. (BIRD'S-CLAW THREAD-MOSS. Tortula unguiculata. Sm. Hook. Barbula unguiculata. Hedw. Dill., in which also Drs. Hooker and Taylor comprehend Tortula mucronulata, (B. mucronulatum. Dicks. With. E. Bot. 1299. T. aristata. E. Bot. 2393. T. barbata. E. Bot. 2391. T.humilis. E. Bot. 1663. T. apiculata. E. Bot. 2494; and T. ericetorum. E. Bot. 2495. (B. ericetorum. With. Dill. 45. 13.) "We are led to include so great a number of synonyms under the above species from a careful examination of the descriptions and figures, as well as of authentic specimens. It is a plant which, growing in almost every variety of soil and situation, is subject to alter considerably in appearance. The form of the leaf, however, we find to be tolerably constant." Musc. Brit. E.) Walls and sandy places; (banks and hedges, frequent. E.) A. March-April. B. TORTUOSUM. Capsules cylindrical: lid beaked: shoots branched: leaves spear-strap-shaped, serrated, waved, curled when dry. (E. Bot. 1709-Musc. Brit. xii. E.)-Dill. 48. 40-Hall. Enum. 4. 2, at p. 118, Hist. 45. 2, at ii. p. 41-Fl. Dan. 880. 1-Scheuch. It. ii. 19. 5-Pet. Gaz. 65. 8. Grows in dense crip patches. Shoots upright, adhering together. Leaves a line or one and a half line long. Fruit-stalks from the forks of the branches, straight, three to seven lines long, closely clasped at the base by the involucrum. Capsules cylindrical, smooth. Ring none. Mouth fringed. Lid awl-shaped, straight. Veil smooth, extending but halfway down. Pol. One to one and a half inch high, somewhat branched. Leaves very numerous, slender, crooked, curled when dry, fine green, dull yellow when old. Veil slender, pale green, changing to brown. Capsules nut-coloured when ripe. Dill. (The widely serrated leaves are curiously hygrometrical, as may be observed under the microscope after maceration. Mr. Oade Roberts. TWISTED THREAD-MOSS. Tortula tortuosa. Hedw. Sm. Turn. Hook. |
