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T O R T U L A RIGIDA.
Rigid-leaved Screiv-Moss.
C la s s a n d O r d e r CRYPTOGAMIA MUSCI, Linn N a t . O r d . MUSCI, Juss.
GEN ERIC CHARACTER.
Seta terminalis. Peristomium simplex e dentibus 32 spiraliter tortis ad basin
magis minusve in membranam tubiformem unitis, vel liberis. Calyptra dimidiata.
Fruitstalk terminal. Peristome simple, of 32 spirally twisted teeth, either
free, or united more or less at the base into a tube. Calyptra dimidiate.
s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r ,
T or tula r ig i d a ; caule brevissimo, foliis paucis, linearibus, incurvis, suhmucro-
nulatis, canaliculatis, nervosis, rigidis, marginibus involutis, theca oblonga,
operculo rostrato, subdimidio breviore.
T. stem very short ; leaves few, linear, incurved, submucronulate, canaliculate,
nerved, rigid, the margins involute; capsule oblong, the lid
rostrate, nearly h a lf as long as the capsule.
T o r t u l a r ig id a , Turn. Muse. H ib .p .4 3 .i>—Hook, et Tayl. Muse. Brit.
p. 30. t. 12. ed . 2 d a , p. 53.—Hobs. Brit. Mosses, v. 1— Hook, et Grev. in
Edinb. Journ. of Science, v. 1. p. 28g.—Arn. Disp. Muse. p. 37.
T r i c h o s to m u m a lo id e s , Koch, in Moug. et Nestl. St. Exsicc. No. 717.
B r y u m r ig id um , Huds. Fl. Angl. p . 4 7 7 .—Dill. Muse. p . 38 8 . t. 49. f, 55.
H a b . Upon stiff clay banks in various parts of England. The stations
given in Muscologia Britannica, are near Yarmouth, and at Henfield.
I t is not unfrequent in Devonshire, especially about Babbacome and
Torquay.
Somewhat tufted. Stems very short, or scarcely any. Leaves rigid, dark
lurid green, few, spreading, linear, mostly tipped with a short point,
incurved, involute at the margin, furnished with a strong broad nerve.
Fruitstalk about three-fourths o f an inch in height, slender, yellowish 01-
red. Capsule oblong, red, the lid rostrate, rather less than h a lf the
length of the capsule. Peristome with the teeth twisted, but not so decidedly
as in the other species.
I l
This moss,— the real Tortula rigida,—the Bryum rigidum
of H udson, and the plant we apprehend figured by D il