/ a t [ 1367 ]
G R I M M IA controversa.
L ittle Green Grimmia.
CRYPTOGAMIA Musci.
G en. Char. Fringe simple, of 16 teeth, broadest at
their base. Flowers terminal. Veil cylindrical.
Spec. Char. Leaves awl-shaped, curved when dry,
dilated at their base. Capsule elliptical. Lid awl-’
shaped, curved.
Sy n . Grimmia controversa. Sibth. 277. Sm. FI
Brit. 1187.
Weisia controversa. Hedw. Sb. Muse. 67. Crypt, v 3.
12. t. 5. B.
Bryum virens. Dicks. Crypt, fasc. 1. 4. H. Sicc.
fasc. 8. 20. Relh. 425. Abbot. 243.
B:. viridulum. Huds. 478. With. 817. Hull. 258.
Curt. Land. fasc. 2. t. 70. ƒ m
B. capillaceum breve, pallidè et lætè virens, capsulis
ovatis. B ill. Muse. 380. t. 48. f . 43.
B. trichoides exile, erectis capitulis in pediculis brevis-
simis. D 'll. in Rail Syn. 97 ; except the synonym
o f Richardson.
T h e above specific name was given to this little moss by
Hedwig in allusion to the many disputes which had arisen
among botanists concerning it. It was generally taken for
Bryum viridulum, till Mr. Dickson found, by the Linn.
Herbarium, that Linnaeus had misquoted Dillenius for that
species. 1 he present plant was, in fact, unknown to Linnaeus,
though common throughout Europe on sandy shady banks,
where it bears fruit in the spring.
Root perennial. Stems erect, short, leafy, mostly simple,
forming wide velvet-like patches, conspicuous by their light
bright green colour. The leaves are awl-shaped, slender,
broader towards the base, of a fine yellowish green, occasionally
darker and more dull. Mr. J. Sowerby has found
their points to be serrated. When dry they curl inwards.
Stalk slender, yellow, and pellucid. Capsule erect, exactly
elliptical, brown, smooth, red at the mouth, and sometimes
at the base. Lid slender, curved, rather shorter than the capsule.
Veil pale.