and in most species somewhat complicate and bilobed (but never
divided to the very base, nor with capillary lobes), in a very few
species undivided or variable at the apex; margins uniformly
plane or subincurved—never convex or recurved—mostly quite
entire, but in a few species toothed. Eetioulation in the typical
species lax and pellucid, in a few species denser and subopaque;
cells often snbquadrate; cell-walls mostly thin, rarely conspicuously
thickened at the angles; cuticle smooth or scaberulous.
Sti]5ules much smaller than the leaves, and oftener undivided
at the apex, but in some species subdentate at the margin; entirely
absent from many species (except in the involucre, where they
exist in every Cephalozia). Inflorescence dioicous or autoioous—
very rarely paroicous. Andrcecia amentiform, occupying the
whole, or only a part, of a branch, rarely terminal on the stem.
Bracts in many pairs, leafy (even where there are no stem-leaves),
bifid, uniformly monandrous.
Gynoecia capitate, usually seated on an abbreviated branch
{i.e., cladocarpous), but sometimes terminal on larger branches or
on the main stem (acrocarpous). Bracts much larger than the
subjacent leaves (where any exist on the same axis) tristichous,
i.e., with stipules added, even where absent from the rest of the
plant, and in three, or more amplexicaul rows; all cloven
(usually bilobed, sometimes S-S-lobed), and very often toothed
or subspinose; cells elongate. Pistillidia about 20, shortish and
flask-shaped. Perianth free, usually very long and narrow and
elongate, reticulate like the bracts, fusiform, trigonous—rarely
with the angles varying from 3 to 5 or 6 in the same species, hut,
whenever reduced to 3, with the third angle always postical,
mouth truncate, but usually constricted (from the angles becoming
more pronounced and plicajform at the apex), variously toothed,
ciliate, laciniate, or entire. Calyptra free (superior), with the
sterile pistillidia surrounding its base. Capsule on a long pedicel
(which at the caloeolate base buries itself deeply in the fertile
branch), oblong or sub-cylindrical—usually about twice as long as
broad, but in the subgenus Cephaloziella often shorter, oblong-
globose-4-valved to the base ; capsule-walls of two layers of cells,
whereof the inner are strengthened by semiannular fibres. Elaters
elongate bispiral, about as wide as the diameter of the smooth or
scaberulous spores. Propagula apical, minute, red or whitish,
polyhedral or amorphous; rarely present, except in a very few
species.
Subgenus I. EJJCEFHALOZIA, Spruce.
Plants of a moderate size, rarely small or robust, viresoent
rarely tawny or dull brown, sometimes with a rosy tinge, growin«^
in broad tufts, or creeping amongst mosses in marshy places^
Stems for the most part tender and fragile, rarely somewhat rigid,
cortical cells sometimes large and pellucid, simple, very rarely
furcate, postical more or less branched, in a few species flagelliferous.
Leaves obliquely inserted, rarely subtransverse, always
broader than the stem, often moderately large (between OA and
1A5 mm. long), more or less oblong, concave or laxly complicate,
rarely subplane, bifid, very rarely 3-4-fid, sinus rarely deep, ii!
some subaoute, in others lunate ; apex of the segments various,
but rarely rotundate or cuspidate ; margin entire. Stipules (in a
few species normally present) small, entire or bifid. Cells of the
leaves moderately constant in size, varying in different species
in diameter between and „im., rarely almost large
(t 5 mm.), very rarely small (^V -tV mm.), equilateral-hexagonal,
or often quadrate-hexagonal or quadrate, in most species
subpelluoid, in very few, wall tliickened at the angles, cuticle
almost smooth ; cells of the bracts and perianth generally larger
reotangular-oblong. Inflorescence dioicous, or monoicous, very
rarely paroicous; ¥ in some species constantly cladogenous, in
some now dado- and now aorogenous, or almost acrogenous, but
yet sometimes terminal on the same stem. Bracts 3 pairs, rarely
fewer, innermost large bifid, rarely 3-4-fid, entire or very often
dentate, spinulose, or incised, free or with the bracteole suboon-
formable, of equal length or shorter, connate at the base. Perianth
more or less highly emersed, fusiform—sometimes almost linear-
trigonous-prismatic, in some species the keels in all stages acute.