/ o [ 1527 ]
B R Y U M compactum.
Compact Thread-moss.
CR YPTOGAMÎA Musci.
G eN. Ch a r . Fringe double : outer of 16 teeth, broad
at their base: inner a toothed membrane. Flowers
terminal. Capsule ovate-oblong,smooth. 7et7smooth.
S p e c . C h a r . Stem divided at the base. Leaves lanceolate,
keeled, serrated towards the point. Capsule
ovate, pendulous.
Syn. Bryum compactum. Dicks. Crypt, fasc. 4. 13.
t. 11. f . 11. Sm. FI. Brit. 1359. Turn. Muse.
Hib. 124.
A l l our knowledge of this Bryum was derived from Mr.
Dickson, till specimens were sent to Mr. Sowerby by the
Rev. Mr. Dalton, who has been uncommonly fortunate in
discovering rare mosses near his residence at Copgrove, Yorkshire.
He found it in a small running drain near Scriven, the
seat of Sir Thomas Slingsby, Bart., and in another drain between
Copgrove and Farnham. The capsules are perfected in
the spring.
The roots Are perennial. Stems half an inch or more in
height, erect, forming a dense tuft, some of them simple,
others divided at the bottom, often stripped of their leaves
in the lower part, when they appear red. Leaves of a pale
yellowish shining green, narrow, lanceolate, acute, keeled,
serrated from the middle to the point, furnished with a Strong
red rib ; the lowermost shorter and almost heart-shaped.
Fruit-stajk terminal, solitary, scarcely an inch long, a little
wavy, of a red or tawny hue. Capsule pendulous ; when ripe
ovate, short, brownish, with a spreading mouth so as to be
almost turbinate; in an earlier state the capsule is rather
pear-shaped. Lid convex, with a small point, red. Fringe
red.