[ 1976 ]
i f ,
G Y M N O S T 0 M U M intermedium.
Longer Blunt-fruited Beardless-moss.
CRYPTOGAMIA Musci.
G en. Char. Cahs. w i t h o u t a f r i n g e . Lid d e c i d u o u s .
Veil s e p a r a t i n g e n t i r e f r o m t h e b a s e r
S pec. C h a r . L e a v e s o v a t o - l a n c e o l a t e , p o i n t e d , f l a t
e n t i r e . C a p s u l e e l l i p t i c - o b l o n g , o b t u s e .
S yn. G y m n o s t o m u m i n t e r m e d i u m . Sm. FI. Brit. 1 1 ,39.
Turn.- Muse. Hib. 7 . t. 1. ƒ . a — c .
B r y u m t r u n c a t u l u m . Elirh. Crypt. 1 4 .
B . e x i g u u m , c r e b e r r i m i s c a p s u l i s r u f i s . Dill. Muse.
3 4 7 . t. 4 5 . ƒ 7 . A — E .
B . e x i g u u m , e r e c t i s p a r v i s s u b r o t u n d i s c r e b e r r i m i s
c a p i t u l i s r u f i s , f o l i o l i s s e r p i l l i a n g u s t i s p e l l u c i d i s .
Dill, in liait Syn. 9 4 .
VV HAT escaped the great Hedwig it may seem presumptuous
to decide upon as obvious, and yet we cannot hesitate to
consider this as a very distinct species from G. truncatulum,
as Mr. Turner and Mr. Dickson have long ago done. Dille-
nius indeed discriminated them as varieties, but Mr. Turner
thinks Hedwig confounded them entirely, and moreover that
all his figures of truncatulum, except f . 12, belong to the present
plant. To this we can scarcely assent, and we have
sometimes presumed to doubt Mr. Turner’s own figure of
intermedium. However that may be, we are indebted to him
for the specimens here delineated, which agree with our own.
This species is very common on heaths and banks, growing
more in tufts than the preceding, which it also exceeds in size,
and its colour is rather paler. The leaves are narrower, more
incurved and closed together by drying, and the fruit-stalk is
longer. The capsule is nearlv elliptical, or rather truly ovate,
without any dilatation of the mouth, and not by any means
top-shaped. Lid scarcely half so long as the capsule, obtusely
pointed, slightly curved.------This moss varies considerably
in size. Sometimes it is smaller than G. obtusum, t. 1407,
sometimes larger, but the capsule is never so short and abrupt,
the fruitstalk so strong and thick, nor the Jeaves so straight,
or strongly ribbed.