1912] Nichols,— Notes on Connecticut Mosses,—III 47 
capsule at maturity, whereas in Hymenostylium the lid remains at- 
tached to the capsule by the dried-up columella. The leaf characters 
of the species in question are also different. In G. rupestre the margin 
is plane or nearly so, and the cells in the apical region are small and 
poorly defined; in H. curvirostre one or both margins are recurved 
below, while the cells in the apical region are larger and distinct. 
The present species ranges more or less extensively through Canada 
and reaches southward, principally along the mountains, into the 
northern United States. It has previously been reported from at 
least two of the New England States, Vermont and Massachusetts, 
and is common to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The spores ripen in late 
summer. 
TORTULA MUCRONIFOLIA Schwaegr. On shaded calcareous shale 
ledges along the Farmington River, altitude 100 feet, Windsor (col- 
lected and determined by Miss Lorenz, 1911). This is the only 
smooth-leaved Tortula that is likely to be found in New England. 
The species is monoicous so that capsules are usually present, the 
spores maturing in summer. It should be easy to recognize in the 
field by the smooth hair-points on the leaves and by the peculiar peri- 
stome, which conforms to the familiar Barbula type but has a basal 
membrane nearly half the height of the entire structure. T. mucroni- 
folia has been recorded from Vermont and Massachusetts; it is widely 
scattered through Canada and the northern United States, extending 
southward in the West to Colorado, Nevada, and California, and is 
common to both Europe and Asia. 
TorTULA RURALIS (L.) Ehrh. On dry sandy soil over limestone, 
altitude about 750 feet, Salisbury and Canaan (G. E. N., 1911). 
During dry weather there is at least a superficial resemblance between 
this plant and the short, sterile form of Polytrichum piliferum which is 
common in similar habitats. This is due mainly to the long, hyaline 
arista which is such a conspicuous feature of the leaves in both mosses. 
In T. ruralis and in the closely related T. montana this arista is thickly 
beset with spiny teeth; in the other Connecticut species — T. muralis 
T. papillosa, T. mucronifolia — it is smooth. T. ruralis and T. 
montana can be distinguished from one another by the following leaf 
characters: T. ruralis — leaves squarrose when moist, margin strongly | 
recurved almost to the apex, upper cells 12-16 u in diameter; T. 
montana — leaves erect-spreading when moist, margin recurved below 
but plane in the apical region, upper cells 9-10 u in diameter. T. 
