foliis non æquè crebris cincti supe rnè et. p e r ma rgine s, inferné au tem gen icu la ti su n t, foliis
la tiusculis villosis, quibus humi fig itu r, le c ti.” He re Dillenius considers th e stip u le as a kin d of
le a f ; b u t I can by no means agree w ith him in supposing th a t, by help o f th a t p a r t, th e p lan t is
affi.Kcd to th e gro u n d , th o u g h it is probable th a t roots a rc produced immediately from its base,
by which th e p lan t may be a tta ch ed to th e soil, o r to o th e r individuals o f its own species.
E h rh a r t, in his jB, itrcige, first applied to th is species th e appro p ria te name o f tomentella, and
described i t with his usua l perspicuity. Weis, on th e contra ry, Weber, Hudson, W ith e rin g , and
even L am a rck , in his Encyclopédie, have confounded i t with th e tru e J . ciliaris.
T h e o lde r B otanists called th is p lan t Muscus Absiiithii fo lio ¡ b u t a more s trik in g comparison
would have be en w ith th e leaves o f th e Ceratophyllum. T o u rn e fo rt adds, “ insipidus," while
Dillenius rem a rk s, “ insipidus non e st hic Muscus, sed subacris non tam en amarus." T o me,
however, i t appears to be tasteless, o r a t m o st to have only a flavor, wliich i t m ig h t imbibe
from th e e arth.
T h e fructification repre sented on th e pla te was draw n from th e specimens in th e L innæan
He rbarium.
R E F E R E N C E S T O T H E T L A T E .
J . tomentella, natural size.
A fem a le p la n t o f ihe same, natural size.
Portion o f the stem and branches, seen from beneath, magnified............................ 6
A le a f and stipule .................................................................................................................... 3
Calyx and capsule .................................................................................................................... 3
Calyx, longitudinally dissected, with the young capsule, fo o ts ta lk , and its bulb 3
Pericheetial leaves........................................................................................................................ 2
Seeds and spiral filaments ..................................................................................................... j