S P L A C H N UM VAscuLosUM, var. a c u t ifo lia .
Rugose-fruited Splachntm ; acute-leaved var.
For the usual appearance o f Splachnum vascuhsum, accompanied by its synonyms
and a description, see t. I 79. of this Work.
The present remarkable variety is distinguished by the much shorter stems,
the dingy, almost black colour, and above all by the acute termination
of the leaves. I t occurs on Ben Lawers, and other neighbouring mountains,
in bare wet spots, and does not form the fine tufted masses which
render the common state of the species so conspicuous.
To the subject of this illustratiou I have alluded at t. 179.
It is the Splachnum rugosum of “ English Botany,” t. 2094.,
and of W e b e r and M o h r . In “ English Botany,” the figure
is taken from specimens communicated by Mr G. D o n ,
and supposed to be similar to those found by Mr D ic k s o n ,
the original discoverer. As the authors of the Muscologia Bri-
tannica, however, examined D ic k s o n ’s specimens, and found
them to he Splachnum sphoericum, it is most probable that
Mr D o n is the first authority for the plant now described.
It must be confessed that there is no character except the
acuteness of the leaves to keep it distinct from S. vasculosum,
and, though a good deal of importance is usually attached to
this character, 1 am now induced to resign my former opinion,
and to consider this deviation in the present instance as only
marking a singular variety. The rugosity of the apophysis is
equally striking in both states, as well as the vascularity of
the leaves.
It is proper to notice here, that I have adopted the generic
character of Splachnum laid down by Mr W a l k e r A r n o t t
and myself in our article on the Splachnoidece, in the fifth volume
of the Wernerian Transactions. By our definition of
Splachnum, we exclude the Splachnum Frcdichianum of
H e d w ig and the Muscologia Britannica, and place it with
some other mosses in a genus we have named Dissodon. In