114 REVUE BRYOLOGIQUE 



Gottsch. 52. Pallavicinia B. Gr. 53. Blasia Mich, emend 



54. PelliaRadd. 



B. CLEISTOCARP.E. 

 X. Sphaerocarpeae . 



55. Durieua B. M. 56. Spha^rocarpus Mich, 



' >. Thallocarpeae. 



57. Thallocarpus Lindb. 



III. Antliocerotacese. 



r 



at. Anthoceroteae. 



58. Authoceros Mich. 59. Notothylas Sull. 



S.-O. LiNDBERG 



An Observation of the Fecundation of Mosses. 



As I have never seen any description of the fecundation 

 of mosses, I have thought a short account of an observation 

 of the kind worth of being published. 



The observation was made at Ilernoesand on Disceliuni 

 nudwm, which moss in the region that surrounds this town 

 is one of the most characteristical and prettiest among the 

 earth-mosses. Just before the breaking-out of the leaves, or 

 about the first of June, this moss is there finest or casting its 

 lids ; it is then at times to be found in great abundance in 

 clayey ditches, A little more than a month after casting the 

 lids, the small fiowering plants are develloped, ressem- 

 bling small brown buds, richly surrounded with green pro- 

 toiiema. In the summer 1874, on the ll«hof July, I had 

 prepared some such small plants for the microscope. The 

 greatest part of the plants "were mascuHne, the antherides of 

 which were just niature in a way that the whole preparate 

 was crowded with swarming antherozoides. At searching 

 I also found some archegones, among which one, when it 

 firstly came within sight, was yet closed, but had a vi- 

 sible canal. While I observed this archegone, the top-cells 

 loosened from each other, and the archegone was thus opened. 

 As attracted by a magnetic power, all the antherozoides 

 withm sight were at once drawn to the mouth of the arche- 

 gone By degrees they intruded through the canal into the 

 womb and to the central-cell. The womb was soon filled with 

 swarmmg antherozoides, which began dancing with the cen- 

 tral-cell, that was brought into as wiftlv rocking motion. Wi- 

 ttiin short the swarmmg ceased, the antherozoides disappea- 

 red, and the central-cell, before smooth on the surface, had 



