Thread-moss 



Webera nutans, Hedw. See Plate XVII. Also see cuts 

 on page 217. 



Habit and habitat. This pretty moss is common, growing in 

 soft cushions on moist ground, in peat 

 bogs and swamps and in fissures of rocks. 



Spore-case. 



Lids. 



Annulus. 

 W. nutans. 



Inner membrane. 



Name. The specific name nutans, the Latin for "nodding," 

 describes the spore-case. 



Plant (gametophyte). Yellow-green; stem slender and flexible, 

 ^ to 2 inches high. 



Leaves. The lower ovate-lanceolate, margin entire; the upper 

 linear-lanceolate, serrate at the apex; vein thick, reddish, glossy, 

 vanishing below the apex. 



Lids. 



Tip of spore -case with 

 two rows of teeth. 



Empty spore-cases 

 without lids. 



W. albicans. (See page 220.) 



Spore-cases with lids. 



Habit of flowering. Male and female flowers on the same 

 plant (monoicous). 



Spore-case. Oblong-ovate with a broad opening, yellow- 

 brown, short-necked, inclined or pendent. 



Pedicel. Glossy red, often two inches high. 



Lid (operculuin) . Highly convex, with a tiny nipple. 



Teeth (peristome). Dark orange, pale and thread-like at the 

 apex, the segments of the inner membrane pale-yellow, split, 

 slender segments (cilia) 2 to 3 strongly jointed, as long as the 

 teeth. 



219 



