/ 6 ^' [ 1216 ]
DICRANUM rufescens.
Red Fork-moss.
CR YPTOGAMIA Musci.
Gen. Char. Caps, oblong. Fringe of 16 flat, cloven
teeth, a little inflexed.
Spec. Char. Stem simple. Leaves tapering, flexible,
leaning one way, reticulated, apparently serrated.
Capsule urn-shaped, erect.
Syn. Bryum rufescens. Dicks. Crypt, fasc. 3. 6. t. 8.
f . 1. With. 818. Hull. 258.
W h e n a stu d e n t a t E d in b u rg h in 1782, I first detected this
m oss, o n th e m o ist perpendicula r sandy bank o f a romantic
riv u le t a t th e H e rm itag e , a mile so u th o f th e tow n . The
bo tan ists o f th a t day did n o t ven tu re to de te rmine it. W e
were all ig n o ran t even o f Dicranum varium, except from
D illen iu s’s p late , or th is m ig h t have b e en referred to th a t species.
A t last M r. D ick so n published th e rufescens in his 3d
fasciculus, and M r. G . D o n n has since fo u n d it in wet fields
ne ar Forfa r.
L ik e th e foregoing th is is a n an n u al. T h e capsules are perfected
in early sp rin g , w h en th e moss is observable b y its red
h u e , in very extensive u n in te rru p ted p atches. In size it scarcely
equals th e last. T h e stem is, as far as we k n ow , always simple.
Leaves curved to one side, capillary to th e naked eye ;
b u t wh en h ig h ly magnified th e ir flat lanceolate form appears,
and w ith it th e curious n e tw o rk o f th e ir veins, w h ich forms a
marginal c h a in so as to m ak e an appearance o f serratures, a
c ircumstan c e w h ic h alone clearly distinguishes th is from the
varium. T h e fru it-s ta lk moreover is less s h in in g ; th e capsule
e re c t, and n o t q u ite o f th e same figure as in th a t species.