GRYPTOGAMIA Musci.
Gen. Char. Caps, oblong. F r in g e of 32 capillary,
straightish teeth, approximated or united in pairs.
Spec. Char. Leaves awlshaped, keeled. Capsule
elliptical, nearly erect, gibbous on the lower
side at the base. Lid conical. Stem branched.
Syn. Trichostomum papillosum. Sm. F I . B r i t . 1238.
Bryum papillosum. D ic k s . Crypt, fa s c . 4 .1 2 . 1. 1 1 .
ƒ . 5 - ,
M r . DICKSON alone, as far as we have any information, has
gathered the present moss, on ttirfy bogs in the Highlands of
Scotland. We have no specimen, and are therefore obliged to
use a sketch of Mr. Sowerby’s, made from the plant when first
found. Mr. Turner indeed has critically examined the fringe,
and to him we are obliged for the information of the teeth being
placed in pairs. In a poor specimen seen when the FI. Britan-
nica was written, we ascertained their number to be 32, and verified,
as far as possible, Mr. Dickson’s description, arid Mr.
Sowerby’s drawing.
The stems are about half an inch high, branched, leafy, tufted,
and level-topped. Leaves dark green, imbricated-in every direction,
moderately spreading, awlshaped, channelled, keeled,
entire. Fruitstalks terminal, solitary, erect, red} an inch high,
with a cylindrical sheath at the base. Capsule a little inclining,
elliptical, red-brown, smooth, with a prominence or short spur
at the bottom on one side. Lid conical, the colour of the capsule,
scarcely one fourth so long.