H
H Y P N U M lutescens.
Yellowish Feather-moss.
CRYPTOGAMIA Musci.
Gen. Char. Caps, ovate-oblong, from a lateral scaly
sheath. Outer fringe o f 16 teeth, dilated at the
b a s e : inner a variously-toothed membrane. Veil
smooth.
Spec. Char. Stem procumbent, much branched. Leaves
imbricated, lanceolate, pointed, three-nerved. Fruit-
stalks roughish. Lid conical, a little beaked.
Syn. Hypnum lutescens. Huds. ed. 1 .4 2 1 . Sm.Fl.
Brit. 1311. Hedw. Sp. Muse. 274. Crypt, v. 4. 40.
1. 16. With. 848. Hull. 269. Relh. 432. Sibth.
298. Abbot. 245. Dicks. H. Sicc.fasc. 9. 21.
H. sericeum y . Huds. 506.
H. sericeum, surculis longioribus et rectioribus, cap-
sulis incurvis. Dill. Muse. 325. t. 42. f . 60.
Leskea longifolia. Ehrh. Crypt. 281.
F o u n d in dry heathy hilly spots, more especially on a calcareous
soil, where its shining yellow hue renders it conspicuous.
Mr. Turner sent it from Bradwell near Yarmouth, and
Mr. Joseph Woods from the southern part of England. It
fructifies from January to April.
Stems perennial, four to six inches long, prostrate, much
branched and spreading, the branches round, leafy, various
in length. Leaves imbricated every way, lanceolate, entire,
long-pointed, with 3 nerves, and sometimes 2 more nerves
(or perhaps plaits) near the edge. Fruitstalks plentiful, waved,
of a fine red, minutely granulated near the top. Capsule inclined
and somewhat curved, brown, polished. Lid conical,
with a short bluntish beak. .
Mr. Sowerby has repeatedly and constantly found the inner
fringe with a simple row of teeth, and I have verified his observation,
which confirms the accuracy of Ehrhart in making
it a Leskea. Yet the excellent Hedwig must have seen the
intermediate teeth which he delineates. His whole figure is
not a happy representation of our plant. Does it vary? ot
can his be another species ? /