o r less b e n t ba ck, especially in th e yo u n g shoots, and, in a d ry s ta te , so m uch so
th a t they o ften me e t b eh in d ; th e m a rg in s too a re re v o lu te : o f the se th e lower or
an te rio r one is e n tire ; th e apex and u p p e r o r p o s te rio r m a rg in is c u t in to many
spiniform te e th , which a re o f uneq u a l sizes, b u t all very conspicuous to th e naked
eye. T h e color o f th e le a f is a pa le yellow-green, in c lin in g to b rown, tin g e d w ith
red a t th e p o in t o f inse rtio n : a fte r h aving b e en k e p t some tim e in th e he rb a rium
th e whole p la n t becomes a pale brown. T h e texture o f th e leaves is very compact,
b rittle wh en dry : th e re ticu la ted appearance (f. 7 ) is he re very obscure, th e cellules
b e in g small, ovate, and d istan tly placed, req u irin g a very hig h power o f th e m ic ro scope
to d is tinguish th em accurately.
T h e perichætial leaves do n o t, in th e le a st, differ from th e rest.
M a le F r u c t if ic a t io n u n k n o w n .
F em a l e F r u c t if ic a t io n la te ra l upon th e surculi, and freq u en tly a ris in g from th e axillæ of
th e bi-anches. 1 have never seen i t absolutely te rm in a l.
Calyx (f, f. 5. 6) a lin e o r ra th e r more in len g th , roundish a t th e base, and swelling
o u t a little ; a t th e u p p e r en d compressed: th e mouth is tru n c a te , a n d d enta to-
spinulose; th e opening, as in th e la s t species, extends a little way down on one
side o f th e calyx.
Barren p istilla (f. 8) e ig h t o r te n in n um b e r, s itu a ted a t th e b o ttom o f th e calyx,
lin e a r, o f a greyish color, w ith lo n g itu d in a l reddish s tre a k s : th e m o u th is a little
expanded. I have n o t seen tlie fructification, a t p re s en t, in a m ore advanced state.
Far. fi. (f. f 9. 10) which has a m o st e leg an t appearance, scarcely exceeds a n in ch in len g th .
The leaves a re th ro u g h o u t ve ry remotely placed, a n d a t th e up p e r extrem ity a re c u t sometim
e s in to two, b u t more generally in to th re e , la rg e and a cu te te e th .
I t is a little rema rkable th a t / . spinulosa, which is n o t only a n in h a b ita n t o f th e alpine
regions o f G re a t B rita in b u t o f N o rth America, an d , as i t appe a rs, also, o f Surinam * , should
be unnotic ed by every a u th o r on th e C o n tin en t o f Europe . Widely, however, as th e p la n t itse lf
is diffused, no p a r t o f th e fmc tific a tio n had be en k n own in any c o u n try , till Miss Hutchins
found specimens in Ire lan d pro d u c in g calyces, in profusion. T h e g r e a te r p a r t o f the se were
old, and en tire ly em p ty : others h ad b a r r e n pistilla, b u t none had th e fru c tific a tion fa rth e r
advanced. Calyces in th e same s ta te I have also fou n d in Scotland.
According to th e Dillenian h e rb a rium , th e two p lan ts above quoted from th e Hisloria
Muscorum be long u ndoubtedly to th e same species, n o t affording even sufficient m a rk s to be
considered as va rie tie s o f each othe r. T h e “ Lichenastrum ramosius, fo liis tr ifid is " m ig h t,
indeed, from th e desc ription o f Dillenius, be supposed to be th e same as m y Far. fi; b u t.
* Dr. Roth found his specin s o f the bark of Quassia amara.
o f fibres I liave rema rked u pon th e peduncles o f two o r th re e la rg e exotic specie.s
o f th e genus.
Capsule ovate, da rk purpUsh-broiTO, approa ching to black, op en in g w ith to u r equal
lanceolate valves, each o f which is ma rked with lo n g itu d in a l furrows (f. 1 1 ),
Seeds spherical, reddish-brown i spiral flam e n ts o f th e same color, and formed o f a
double helix if . 12 ).
Almost every a u th o r has followed L innæus in m ak in g th e “ Lichenastrum Asplenii facie,
pinnis confertioribus ” (H is t. Muse. p. 483. 6) , a va rie ty o f th e p re s e n t p lan t. Dillenius, who
was induced to describe i t as a d is tin c t species only o u t o f deference to pre c eding botanists,
rem a rk s “■simillima e st hæc præc edenti (J. asplen.), nec ab e à distinguitm-, nisi quod folia
densiiis n a s c an tu r e t magis im b ric a tim invicem im p o n an tu r, nc rvum magis pro teg en tia , pin-
n a rum e x trem ita tib u s e t m a rg in e in te rio re evidentiùs c renatis e t quasi spinosis.”—These
little differences in th e leaves a re to be found n o t only upo n p lan ts grow in g in th e same
p a tch , b u t a re even to be m e t w ith o n th e same individual, so th a t 1 have n o t th o u g h t it
p rope r to r e ta in the se even as varieties. T h e Michelian synonym Jungermannia major, fo liis
brevioribus e t obtusioribus non dentatis, and th a t o f Vaillant, Hepaticoides Pohjtrichi fa c ie , I
have excluded from th e references h e re made, because, b o th from th e descriptions and figures
o f th e ir respective au th o rs, I am led to consider th e p la n t th ey a llude to as / . polyanthos,
r a th e r th a n J . asplenioides.
T h is species, th o u g h sufficiently well ma rked to ren d e r it needless for me he re to p o in t o ut
its d istin g u ish in g cha ra c te rs, is, nevertheless, in gen e ra l liabit, in th e s tro n g denticula tion
o f th e leaves, and more particu la rly in th e c ircumstance o f th e o p ening o f th e calyx n o t being
confined to its extrem ity , b u t continued a little Avay down on one side, nearly allied to J . spinulosa;
and i t is n o t improbable b u t they may h e re a fte r co n s titu te a d is tin c t gen u s, ap a rt
from every Bi'itish species a t le a s t, founded upo n ch aracters tak en from th e form o f th e c a lj^ .
To these, in some respects, Sw a rtz 's We st In d ian Jungermanniæ adiantoides and patula, be a r
a considerable affinity; b u t in bo.th o f th em th e calyx is described as formed “ e folio lis can-
niv eniibus," as is th e case in J . junipe rina o f Sw a rtz and o f th is work, in J emarginata of
E h rh a rt, and in J . scalaris; b u t n o t m J . asplenioides.
Th e situ a tio n o f tlie male flowers in th e different species o f th e gen u s is well wo rth y of
a tten tio n . T h e p re sent is one o f th e few species belonging to a division th a t I am a cquainted
w ith , w ith simple leaves, in which th e perigonia l leaves tak e a differ-ent form from tlie i-est,
and, hy th e ir bifarious a n d closely-imbricated disposition, a re rendered conspicuous a t first
sig h t. T hese, however, a c cording to th e observations o f Hedwig, fall off wlien tliey are no
lo n g e r w anted to p ro te c t th e a n th e rs : " c a lv u s e st in caule locus, u b i fios fu e ra t; nam te g -
min a a n th e ra rum subinde c adim t, vel co n sum u n tu r.” T h e an th e rs o f J . asplenioides ha i'e also
be en seen hy M. L ’ Abbé Hauy, in Fi'ancc, as m'c le a rn from th e Encyclopédie Méthodique. T h e
words o f this gen tlem an a re “ C ette plan te p orte su r la p a rtie jiostcrieiu'e de l’e x trém ité des
rameau.x, qui ont, pris u n c e rta in accroissement, d e jretits boutons ou des points noirs trésscnsibles,
porté s p a r des espèces de pédicules fo rt coui'ts e t applalis Ces points sont