faintly fibrillose in the upper part. Fascicles distant above, closer
below, the branches spreading, arcuato-decurved, unequal in length,
some being attenuated at point, others n o t ; the leaves short,
obtuse, toothed, their hyaline cells v e ry small in the upper half,
with ve ry small pores bordered by stout rings.
Sy n o n .— Russow, Beitr. Torfm. p. 44.
H a b .— Bogs at borders of moorlands. Frequent about Dorpat (Russow).
Kardis (Bruttan).
In some respects this approaches to the var. rubellum, with
which it quite agrees in the form and structure o f the stem le a f ;
the branch leaves differ in structure, though similar in form, and
the habit is altogether more lax.
Var. 0. elegans, B r a i th w .
Stems slender, dichotomous, 4-8 in. high, fastigiate, in ve ry
densely cushioned tufts, rosy purple above, dirty white below.
Stem leaves ve ry long, oblong, suddenly contracted at apex into an
obtuse 5-toothed point, fibrillose in the upper half, with a few
pores.
Branches in densely placed fascicles, and forming a small, dense,
hemispherical capitu lum ; divergent ones short, slender, often
white at points, arcuato-decurved; the leaves small, closely imbricated,
rather obtuse, 5-toothed.
Sy n o n .— B r a it h w . Sphag. Brit. Exsic. n. 35.
H a b .— E le v a te d p ea t-m o o rs.
Scotland: Ross-shire, at edge of ravines on Little Wyvis, Strath Garve, and
moors near Loch Achilty (Braithwaite, July, 1876) ; Hebrides, Isl. of Lewis,
intermixed with A. Austini, (forma nanuni).
T h is beautiful peat-moss must, I think, have been confounded
with some o f the other red forms, as it is plentiful in the localities
noted. T h e Hebridean plant does not exceed 2 inches in height,
and has the branches ascending, but structurally agrees with the
larger form.
Var. {..fuscum, Schimp.
In v e ry dense, fastigiate, cushioned tufts, cinnamon brown above,
fuscous below. Stems ve ry long and slender, the cells o f the peripheral
layers dark brown, densely and uniformly ramulose ; ramuli
short, pale at apex, the pendent ones often whitish. Stem leaves
without fibres, ovate, truncate and lacerate at point. Branch
leaves ovate, narrowed at middle, and ending in a rounded toothed
point.
S y n o n .— acutifofmm var. i. fuscum, S c h im p . Torf. p. 57, t. xiii. e; Synops.
p. 673, et ed. 2, p. 826. Russow, Beitr. p. 40. M il d e , Bry. Siles. p. 382. B r a it h w .
Sphag. Brit. Exsic. n. 39.
Sph. fuscum, K l in g g r a f f , in Sehr, der K. Phys. CEk. Gesel. zu Königs. 1872
p. 4.
H a b.— O n ex te n siv e m o o rs, fo rm in g v a st a n d d e n se sods.
E u r o p e .— Silesia, Prussia, Thuringia, Lapland; about Dorpat, abundant (Russow).
England: Witherslack Moss, Westmoreland (Barnes). Scotland: Morvan,
Kincardine, at 2500 feet (Sim).
Plainly coloured as this variety is, nothing can exceed the
beauty o f a great bed o f it, when freshly moistened b y a shower,
resembling, as it does, a surface o f snuff-coloured velvet, and it is
almost with regret that we cannot follow K lin g g ra ff in elevating it
to the rank o f a sp e c ie s ; histologically, however, it does not present
any distinctive characters.
Var. K. arctum, B r a i th w .
Plants in v e ry densely cushioned tufts, 2-3 in. high, pale yellow
green above, brownish white below. Stem leaves ovate, auricled,
obtuse; the margin involute at apex, which has five obtuse
tee th; cells o f the upper half fibrillose. Branches in ve ry
close fascicles, short, ascending, arcuate b e low ; the leaves obtuse,
5-toothed.
Sy n o n .— acutifolium var. ardum, B r a it h w . in Monthl. Micr. Journ. April
1874, P- 157- ’
Sph. molle var. ardum, B r a it h w . Sphag. Brit. Exsic. n. 21* a et i.
H a b .— On extensive peat-moors in the north. Ireland: Connemara, Galway
(Dr. Moore). England: Witherslack Moss, Westmoreland (Barnes). Scotland:
Shetland Islands, Unst, and Reawick (Sim).
Th is is the compact variety o f the species, and has a ve ry
peculiar aspect from its dwarf size and dense tufts, which form
close cushions. A faint tinge o f purple may generally be observed
on some o f the branches.
Var. X. luridum, Hueben.
Plants 4 -5 in. high, in dense tufts o f a dull green colour
above, fuscous below. Branches densely crowded, erecto-patent, o f
equal length, their leaves closely imbricated, acuminate, strongly
involute at points. Stem leaves large, elongated, linear-oblong.