POLYTRICHUM commune.
Common Hair-moss.
CR YPTOGAMIA Musci.
Gen. Char. Outer fringe of 32 or 64 short incurved
teeth: inner a flat undivided membrane. Veil generally
double: the outer hairy.
S p e c . C h a r . Stem simple. Leaves linear-lanceolate,
finely serrated, acute. Capsule erect, quadrangular,
standing on a roundish pedestal.
Syn. Polytrichum commune. Linn. Sp. PI. 1573.
Hedw. Sp. Muse. 88. Menz. Tr. o f Linn. Soc.
v. 4. 74. Huds. 469. With. 795.. Hull. 247.
Relh. 415. Sibth. 305. Abbot. 232. Dicks. II.
Sicc.fasc. 1 7 . 19 ?
P. quadrangulare vulgare, Juccse foliis serratis. Dill.
Muse. 420. t. 54. f 1 .
P. vulgare et majus, capsula quadrangulari. Rail
Syn. 90.
T h i s , th e m o s t m ag n ific en t o f all o u r Mosses p ro p e rly so
c alled , is also o n e o f th e m o s t com m o n . I t grows ab u n d an tly
in shady woods an d m o ist h e a th s, in a b lack boggy soil, p ro d
u c in g its fru it-s ta lk s in M a rc h , and rip en in g th e capsules
a b o u t M a y an d J u n e . T h e roots are p e ren n ia l, lo n g an d h a iry .
S tem s fo rm in g t u f t s ; e re c t, sim p le , from 2 o r 3 inche s to 8
o r 10 in h e ig h t, th ic k ly clothed w ith sh e a th in g , lin e a r-la n ceolate
, a c u te , finely se rrated, spre ading leaves, o f a full
s h in in g g re en : th e old ones p e rm a n e n t, tu rn in g b row n . M a le
flowers te rm in a l, sta r-lik e , encompassed w ith m em b ran o u s an d
w h itish -ed g e d le a v e s; th e stem co n tin u e d th ro u g h th e c en tre
a fte r flowering. C ap su le o n a separate p la n t, solita ry, sq u a re ,
g re en till quite, rip e , s ta n d in g o n a fleshy apophysis or
p ed e sta l, w h ic h c rowns th e lo n g erec t te rm in a l red fru it-s ta lk .
L id w ith a sh o rt b e ak , and a b e au tifu l red m a rg in . F rin g e o f
64 m in u te in cu rv ed te e th , to whose p o in ts th e b road flat in te
rn a l m em b ran e is slig h tly a tta ch ed . Veil double j th e o u te r
a congeries o f lo n g sh in in g b row n hairs.
T h e stems are in some c o u n trie s used to m ak e a n e a t k in d
o f b ro om s.