Mosses and Lichens 



The generic name Pbascum is derived from the Greek 

 an ancient name for a moss. It was originally applied by Theo- 

 phrastus to a lichen, Usnea barbata, and first used as a generic 

 name for these mosses by Linnaeus in 1753. He enumerated 

 three species, all founded on figures made by Dillenius and pub- 

 lished in 1741. Schreber limited the name more closely to its 

 modern sense. In a quaint little pamphlet printed in 1770, he 

 praises the invention of lenses which make it possible to see the 

 tiny mosses as if they were of greater stature, and says that the 

 ancients spoke well and wisely when they said "Nature is never 

 more perfect than in small things." 



Veil. 



Plant with immersed 

 spore-case and new 

 shoots. 



Plant with nodding 

 spore-case. 



Male flower. 

 Phascum cuspidatum. 



Phascum cuspidatum, Schreb. 



Habit and habitat. In loose yellow-green tufts in old fields. 



Name. The specific name cuspidatum, pointed, refers to the 

 apex of the leaves. 



Plants (gametoplyte). Stems simple or branched, iV to rer of 

 an inch high, often bushy with numerous fertile stems, dividing 

 from the base or branching above, occasionally whip-like. 



Leaves. Small and few below, much larger and crowded 

 above, broadly lance-like, twisted when dry: apex awl-like; 

 margins recurved, entire \vein thick and extending beyond the 



136 



