GRIMMIA alpicola.
Beardless Alpine Grimmia.
CRYPTOGAMIA Musci. -
G e n . C h a r , fringe -simply, o f 16 tee th, broadest at
their base, flowers terminal. Veil cylindrical.
Spec. Char. L e a v e s o v a t o - l a n c e o l a t e , b l u n t , p o i n t l e s s .
C a p s u l e c u p - s h a p e d , o n a v e r y s h o r t s t a l k . F r i n g e
m o s t l y i m p e r f o r a t e . L i d o b l i q u e .
S yn. Grimmia alpicola. Swartz. Muse. Suec. 27 & 81.
t . l . f l . Sm. f l . B rit. 1199. Hedw. Sp. M u sc .1 1 .
t. 15. f . I-—5 . Turn. Muse. Hib. 2 2 .
N a t iv e o f rocks and stones in alpine rivulets. The late
Dr. Scott found it on the mountains of Ireland. We are
obliged to Mr. Turner and to Dr. Swartz for authentic Irish
and Swedish specimens.
This is most akin to G. apocarpa, t. 113<t, but very distinct.
The stems are about an inch high, a little branched, tufted.
Leaves imbricated, ovato-lanceolate, concave, keeled, single-
ribbed, entire, in drying somewhat revolute; their points
bluntish, without any hair or bristle, never incurved, their
colour the dark black green of most aquatic mosses. Capsules
nearly sessile among the uppermost leaves, solitary, erect, of
a short ovate or cup-like shape, especially those from Sweden,
whose mouths, whether from great pressure in drying or otherwise,
are rather wider than the Irish ones. They are all very
smooth, of a rusty hue, with a reddish or dark edge. Teeth
of the fringe deep red, spreading when ripe, some of them,
according to Dr. Swartz’s observation, having now and then
a perforation or two, in some measure like the very curious
G.cribrosa, Hedw. Crypt. v . 3 . t . 3 l , A, whose teeth are all
over pierced, and whose upper leaves are hair-pointed. The
lid, wanting in our specimens, is described as red, with an
oblique beak.
OfajjJiW/uj/dti/urd61/ foiJv 'eed i/Jz-rH ii'ii.