T O R T U L A imberbis.
Deciduous Screw-moss.
CRYPTOGAMIA Musci.
G en. Char. Fringe sim p le , o f n um e ro u s c a p il la r y
te e th , sp ir a lly a n d r e p e a te d ly tw is te d to g e th e r .
Spec. C har. S tem b r a n c h e d . L e av e s aw lsh a p e d ,
s p r e a d in g ; o v a te a t th e i r base. S ta lk s a b o u t th e
u p p e r p a r t o f th e b r a n c h e s . C a p su le c y lin d r ic a l,
som ew h a t e llip tic a l.
S y n . T o r tu l a i m b e r b i s . Sm. FI. B rit. 1 2 6 1 .
B ry um im b e rb e . Linn. M an t. 3 0 9 . Huds. 4 8 1 .
With. 8 2 9 . Hull. 2 5 4 .
B , te n u e , im b e rb e e t p a llid um , fo liis c r e b r io r ib u s .
Dill. Muse. 3 8 2 . t. 4 8 . ƒ . 4 5 .
B p e r a n g u s tis fo liis e t c a u lic u lis , fo liis c r e b r io r ib u s
e t c ir c a e x tr em ita te s m a g is c o n g e s tis , c a p itu lis
e re c tis ad sum m ita tem m a g is e g r e d ie n tib u s . Ra ti
Syn. 9 9 .
F o r this also we are obliged to Mr. Dickson, and we have
carefully compared h is plant with that of Dillenius. It is found
on dry banks, walls, and amongst grass, ripening fruit at the
end of winter.
The stems are branched and level-topped. Leaves of a pale
yellowish green, spreading, tapering and rather long, acute
channelled, single-ribbed ; broad and somewhat ovate at the
base; the edges entire, slightly revolute: the lower ones are
smallest; uppermost crowded or stellated : all of them turn inward
in drying. Fruitstalks about the upper parts of the
branches, erect, purplish, an inch high. Capsule upright
cylindrical, in some degree elliptical or ovate, smooth, brown!
Lid brown, but half the length of the capsule, a little oblique",
of a thick aw lshaped figure, by which we cannot but think this
species sufficiently distinct from fullax, t. 2179, notwithstanding
a passage in Mr. Turner’s Muse. Hib. 49, and Hedwig’s
misquotations. The fringe is light brown, very soon decicfu-
ous, whence it was supposed by some to be wanting.
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