LICHEN hirtus.
Common Rough Lichen.
CRYPTOGAMIA Alga.
Gen. Char. Male, scattered warts.
Female, smooth shields or tubercles, in which the
seeds are imbedded.
Spec. Char. Filamentous, with a central thread, much
branched, erect, greenish grey; branches spreading,
round, fibrous, warty. Tubercles mostly on the
stem, lateral, flesh-coloured, rugged.
Syn. Lichen hirtus. Linn. Sp. PL 162S. Light/. 895.
With. v. 4 . 4 6 . Hull. 3 0 6 . Sibth. 3 35. Abbot. 270.
Ehrh. Crypt. 138.
L. floridus j2. Huds. 560 . Achar. Prod. 2 2 4 .
Relh. 4 7 4 .
Usnea vulgatissima tenuior et brevior, sine orbiculis.
Dill. Muse, 6 7 . t. 13. ƒ 12.
U. hirta. Hoffm. PI. Lich. t, 3 0 . f . 1. Achar. Meth.
3 0 9 .
Muscus ramosus. Ran Syn, 65.
T h i s is extremely common upon park pales and old trees;
but -the fructification has hardly ever been noticed. Mr.
Borrer has fortunately discovered it near Lewes in Sussex, and
Mr. Brodie on birch trees near Avemore in Strathspey, Scotland.
Mr. Menzies had previously favoured us with American
specimens in that state, which agree with the British
ones.
Botanists have ever been divided in opinion whether to consider
this as different fron L. floridus or not. See our figure
and description of the latter, v. 13, t. 872, where the proper
tubercles are for the first time delineated. We did not then
know that they had already been described by Hoffmann, Per-
soon and Schrader. The tubercles of L. hirtus exactly agree
with them, except in being situated for the most part on the
main stem or larger branches, which generally are continued
straight beyond them, not suddenly bent back like the small
fruit-bearing branches of L, floridus. Whether this circumstance,
and the want of the radiating disks, may establish it
as a species or not, botanists must form their own opinions.
The whole habit, colour and surface of the two plants scarcely
afford any distinctions.'