WEi SSI A SPLACHNOIDES. SPLACILNOID WEISSIA.
WEISSIA Splachnoides; fbliis liogulatis reticulatis apice rotuhdatis peryo ante apicem evanescente,
capsula (aria cbm Apo’physi bbcoriicaypynforrai', pperculo conieq spbacuminato.
WEISSIA splrichhtiideS; . Thuriberg\M$S. Schw(jegr.,$p. Muse. Suppl. p. (?S. t. 17- .• Brid.Sp.Muse.
Suppl. p. i 17 f Wain( Pi, Lapp. p. SjlB.-. Brid. Meth. .ƒ>„ 45. Hook, et TayL Muse. B rit,
p. 42. t. 14. Hook. FI. $coir P . II. p. 130- Punch Deutsch. Moose, t. 9,.J\ : i
G RlMMlA splachnoides. Smith in Engl. Bot:.. quoad figuras capsulis maturis a Swart'zio recepti's,
excl. caetpris figuris, descriptione* e t syn. Dicksoni et FI. Brit.
SPLACHNUM lingulatum. Dicks. Crypt.fasc. 4. p. 4>. t. 1 0 ./. 6. Sm. FI. Brit. p. 1177. Engl. Bot.
t. 2095. Brid. 8p. Muse. v. \ . p . \ 43. Meth. pi 105.
Class a n d O r d e r . CRYPTOGAMIA MUSCI.
[N a t u r a l Or d e r . MUSCI CALYPTRATI ]
G e n . Ch a r . Seta terminalis. Peristomium simplex, e deritibus sexdecim, integris, asquidistanlibus. Calyptra
dimidiata.
G e n ; Ch a r . Fruitstalk terminal 1 Peristotrie simplfe, o f sixteen entire equidistant teeth. Calyptra dimidiate.
CauijES densissime csespitosi, bi-quadritmciales et ultra; !
inferrie plerumqUe decuriiberites, siuiplices, raai-
culoso-torhentbsi,' nigresce'htes'; superiie erect),
ramOsi, in tense virides.
Fo lia numerosa, laxe imbricata, eiecto-pateritia, ob-
longo-lingulata, obtrisissiiria, iritegel'rima, sub-
undulata, reticulata areolis' oblongis,: npfvo co'n-
colorl ante apicem evanescente instruCta; infe-
riora, quasi pufredihe,- nigro1-fusca; • supiema intense
viridia.
PerICH^ETIALIA fere omhino1 Utv in cauliriiS.
S eta terminalis, erecta; flexuosri, laeVis, atro-sangulnea.
Ca p su l a erecta, fuscay (una cuni apophysi 'obconitia
concolori) fere exacte pyriformis, infra medium
paululUrri 'corisfrietd:1
Ca l y ptr a primum semper mitriformis seu integra, de-
mum lateraliter fissa, et tunc dimidiata.
O perculum breve conicum, subacuminatum, flavo-fus-
cum, columellas non raro adnatum.
P eristomium : Dentes sedecim asquidistantes, lanceo-
lato-subulati, longiusculi, incurvi, flavescentes, in-
tegri, linea media longitudina linotati, atque trans-
versim striati.
Sem in a numerosa, flavo-virescentia, sphterica, sub sum-
mo lente quasi punctis impressa.
Columella majuscula, subcylindrica, versus medium
contmeta, apice truncata, centro attenuata et
operculi interiore saspe adnata.
Fig. 1.1. Plants in a young and more advanced state, natural size. Fig. 2. Single plant, magnified. Fig. 3. Leaf.
Fig. 4. Portion of a leaf. Fig. 5. Young capsule with its entire calyptra. Fig. 6. Fully formed capsule with
its dimidiate calyptra. Fig. 7. Young calyptra, removed from the capsule. Fig. 8. Ripe capsule, with its.
peristome. Fig. 9. Operculum. Fig. 10. Six of the teeth of the peristome. Fig. 11. Two of the teeth.
Fig. 12. Section of an old capsule, to show the form of the columella and the apophysis. Fig. 13. Operculum
separated from the capsule, but attached by the columella.— A ll but figs. 1. and 2. more or less magnified.
There are few plants that have excited the interest of the British museologist more than the one here figured,
whether considered in regard to the supposed rarity of the individual, or to the difficulty of determining the genus
to which it should properly belong in the system. Abundant specimens, recently gathered, have given me the
opportunity of entering more fully into a history and description of this moss than has fallen to the lot of most authors
; and of giving what are, I trust, tolerably satisfactory figures, together with the analysis of the parts of fructification.
Our acute Cryptogamist, Mr. Dickson, seems to have been the first to have discovered, in Scotland, and to have
described this plant in the fourth Fasciculus of his “ Plantee Cryptogamica” under the name of Splachnum lingulatum.
The Swedish botanists next appear to have found it and to have examined its characters: and it has appeared
in different publications as the Weissia splachnoides of Swartz’s MSS. (Sm. in Engl. Bot.), of Thunberg’s
MSS. (Sehtoezgr.), and of Wahlenberg’s (see FI. Lapp.). Smith in the Flora Britannica has confounded our Moss
with the Splachnum tenue (the Splachnum longicollum of Dickson), and has adopted Swartz’s name, only changing
the Weissia into Grimmia. In English Botany the figures with the ripe capsules (received from Dr. Swartz)
will be found to belong to our plant; but the others, and especially the magnified leaf, will be recognised, at once,
as belonging to the Splachnum feme. A t t. 2095 of the same work, our true plant appears under the name of
Splachnum lingulatum. Lastly, it has been published by Schwregrichen in his Suppl. to Hedwig’s Sp. Muscorum
as Wiissia splachnoides, a name it seems now generally to have retained.
In our Muscologia Britannica, having at that time but imperfect specimens of the Wiissia splachnoides, we
have given an incorrect figure of its peristome; the teeth are too short, too red, and the line down the middle is
18G
Stems densely caespitose, from two to tour incn.es ana
more in length; below generally.decumbent,and
simple, with numerous, dovyny radicles, blackish;
above erect, ’branched, deep gre,en. .
Leaves numerous, loosely imbricated, erecto-patent,
oblopgp-lingulate, very obtuse, entire,, some what
undulated, reticulated, with . oblong areplie,, furnished
with a) nerve, of'th e same c,oJ,qur whjch;
disappears below the apex; the lower ones, ,as
if from decay, are of a, blackish brown , colour ;
the uppermost ones deep green.,
P eRiChW ia l lea ves almost exactly like those o f the
stem, ' .
F r u it sta lk terminal,,erect* flexjiose,.smooth,;deep red.
C'APSdLE*erect, browni arid'(together with the obconical
apophysjs whic^i. is o f. the-same colour) almost
entirely pyriform, contracted a little below the
middle.
Ca ly p t r a at first always mitriform or entire, at length
cleft on one side, and then dimidiate..
L id shortly conical, subacuminate, yellow-brown, not
unfrequently adnate with the columella.
P eristome : Teeth sixteen, equidistant, lanceolato-
subulate, rather long, incurved, yellow, entire,
marked with a central longitudinal line and transversely
striated. •
S eeds numerous, yellow-green, spherical, appearing under
the microscope as if dotted.
Columella rather large, subcylindrical, contracted towards
the middle, truncated at the apex, and there
furnished with an elongation by means o f which
not unfreauentlv attached to the operculum.