103. LEPTODON, Molir. (Pl. 4.)
Stems short, depressed, pinnately or irregularly divided into
short branches. Leaves obtuse, opaque, smooth or slightly
papillose on the back, loosely imbricate. Flowers monoecious.
Vaginule distinct, covered with long hairs. Calyptra hairy.
Capsule subincluded, oval-oblong, soft. Lid rostrate. Peristome
simple, of 16 teeth.
1. L. tr ich om itr ion , Mohr. Plants rigid, in broad yellowish
green tufts ; primary stems creeping, filiform, naked, the
secondary short, with numerous short branches : leaves close,
open-erect, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate to a blunt point, concave,
reflexed on the borders; cells ohlong, fusiform, smaller and
qu.adrate along the borders near the base; perichætial leaves
of loose texture, the upper long, sheathing, narrowly aouminate,
passing above the base of the capsule : capsule cylindrical-ovate,
gradually narrowed to a short pedicel, thin ; teeth linear-lanceolate,
whitish, remotely articulate, sometimes perforated along
the dividing line; inner membrane entire or more or less
lacerated, adhering to tlie inner face of the teeth. — Obs. Bot.
27 ; Sulliv. Muse. Allegh. n. 88, and Icon. Muse. 112, t. 71.
Pterigynandrum trichomitrion, Hedw. Sp. Muse. 82, t. 16.
la s ia trichomitrium, Beauv. Prodr. 72. Porsstroemia tricho-
mitria, Lindb. Ofv. Svensk. Vet. Akad. xix. 605.
Var. im m e r su s, Sulliv. Plants smaller: leaves broader;
the perichætial shorter-acuminate : capsule subimmersed ; teeth
more densely articulate. — Icon. Muse. 112. L . immersum,
Sulliv. & Lesq. Muso. Bor.-Amer. Exsicc. n. 234 ; Sulliv. Mosses
of U. States, 57.
Var. irriguus, Renauld Ms. Leaves spreading when moist ;
costa simple, ascending to above the middle : pedicel geniculate,
exceeding the perichætial leaves ; vaginule with few short hairs.
H a b . Trees, rarely on rocks; Northern and Middle States. The
varieties in the Southern States, the last on wet rocks in Florida [Fitzgerald).
2. L. Ohioensis, Sulliv. More slender than the last;
secondary stems julaceous, less divided : leaves shorter, broader,
horizontally spreading when moistened ; areolation nearly
round ; costa thick, vanishing above tlie middle : capsule and
operculum shorter. — Muso. Allegh. n. 89, Mosses of TJ. States,
57, t. 4, and Icon. Muse. 114, t. 72. Neckera Ohioensis, Muell.
Syn. ii. 93. Forsstræmia Ohioensis, Lindb. Ofv. Finsk. Vet.
Soc. xii. 75.
H a b . Central Ohio, on trees in swampy woods ; not rare.
3. L. n itid u s, Lindb. Ms. Plants yellowish green, glossy ;
primary stems prostrate, with mere fragments of leaves, the
secondary scarcely flattened, erect, or curved above, irregularly
divided into short slender densely foliate round branches:
leaves erect, imbricate, slightly auricnlate at base and decnrrent,
broadly ohlong-ovate, short-acuminate, serrulate at the apex
only ; costa short, vanishing below the middle ; cells of the
areolation narrowly rhomhoidal, oblong-linear, chlorophyllose;
those of the angles few, quadrate, inflated, small and brown ;
perichætial leaves linguiform, abruptly short-acuminate, ecostate,
very entire : capsule immersed, oval-globose, with a dark purple
margin, glossy, rugulose when dry ; lid large, broadly conical,
apiculate ; teeth of the simple peristome linear-lanceolate, acuminate,
pale brown, very brittle, densely trabeculate. — Sulliv.
Icon. Muse. Suppl. 80, t. 60. Neckera Macounii, Sulliv. Canad.
Nat. ser. 2, ii. 79 and 397, name only. Forsstræmia nitida,
Lindb. 1. c. 73.
H a b . On trees, near Belleville, Canada (Macoun).
104. ALSIA, Sulliv.
Habit and appearance of Leptodon : primary stems creeping,
defoliate, rooting, the secondary erect, dendroid, pinnately or
bipinnately divided ; branches more or less curved downward
or circinate when dry. Stem-leaves ovate-ohlong, lanceolate,
with multiform paraphyllia; areolation punctiform, oval-quadrate
on the basilar borders. Flowers dioecious, the male
numerous, on stems and branches. Calyptra cuculliform,
smooth. Capsule generally short-pedioellate, cylindrical or
oblong, erect or subcernuous, emerging from a long imbricate
perichætium. Lid conical, curvirostrate. Peristome double;
outer teeth linear-lanceolate, long; segments linear, filiform,
nearly as long as the teeth, enlarged and carinate at the junction
with the basilar membrane, articulate and perforated, with or
without cilia. Genus allied to Leptodon.