34 REVUE BRYOLOGIQUE 



G. anomala is known only in the barren gemmiferous 

 stage, and consequently its affinities remain somewhat 

 doubtful. Schimper placed it among the " Grimmiae 

 incertae sedis ", and remarked " Differt a Gr, [iart7iiam 

 foliis brevioribus, basi baud sinuoso-reticulatis '\ Limpricht 

 says, *' The great resemblance to Dryptodon Hartmaniy 

 especially the remarkable agreement of the gemmae in 

 origin and shape renders it probable that G. anomala is 



related to Drypt. Hartnumi ", 



It may be' remarked, however, that G. anoitiala differs 

 in many important points from G, Hartmani : — in the 

 ' possession of a central-strand in the stem (see flgs. 1 &2), 

 as pointed out by Limpricht ; in the broader, shorter, less 

 pellucid leaves with more or less mamillate or papillose 

 cells, and especially in the always rounded apex of the 

 gemmiferons leaves. M^H. N.Dixon considers that G. sub- 

 sqiiarrosa comes quite as close to G. anomala as G, Hart- 

 ma7ii does, and remarks as follows (in litL). c< The 

 gemmae and the short hair-points of course provoke com- 

 parison with G. Hartmani, tho'I am by no means sure 

 that G. anomala is more closely allied to that species 

 than it is to some others. Both in the Mer de Glace plant 

 and the Norwegian one the point that struck me at the 

 first glance was the much wider and shorter leaves, much 

 more abruptly pointed than in G. Harlmani' and most of 

 our species^ which gives a quite unusual appearance with 

 the lens, both wet and dry. In G. Hartmani the leaves 

 ^ taper very gradually and are much longer; in G. sub- 

 sqiiarrosa Wils they are less distinct, but are none the 

 less decidedly narrower throughout. The abrupt ending 

 of most of the leaves in G, anomala is without doubt due 

 to the development ot the gemmae; but the gemmae 

 being normally present one can hardly call it an abnormal 

 or pathological condition ; still one cannot help feeling 

 that the few leaves that taper off gradually are the proper 

 shape. There is a marked difference in the areolation 

 between G, anomala and G. Hartmani ; in the latter the 

 very small cells are usually opaque,as a rule very markedly 

 so, the cells walls showing very light against them with 

 transmitted light : in G. anomala the cells are much more 

 pellucid, so that the contrast is generally the other way. 

 In fact the areolation is much more like that of G. sub- 

 squarrosa than that of G- Hartmani ; this is also tlie case 

 with the general build^ the dimensions of the leaves, etc. 

 In fact, the subsquarrose position of the leaves, their 

 narrower and more tapering outline, and the absence of 

 the apical gemmae seem to me the only noticable points 

 in which G- subsquarrosa differs from G. anomala. 3> 



