NEW AND RARE MOSSES FROM THE WEST OF SCOTLAND 175 



shorter near base of stem, but lengthen very little towards 

 its summit. The stems, although slender, are tenacious, as 

 the older may be traced continuously down through the soil 

 to a depth of half an inch. 



Barbula limosella. Tufts very compact, often extended, 

 forming patches of a vivid green colour above, reddish below, 

 as well as radiculose ; stems very slender, simple for much 

 the greater part, occasionally bifurcate, one-third of an inch 

 long or less ; leaves curled and crisped when dry, widely 

 spreading when moist, with the upper fourth strongly re- 

 curved or squarrose, especially the short, extended part of 

 nerve ; base hyaline as in B. limosa ; upper cells large, 

 distinct, hexagonal, or merely rounded, .OO9-.OI4 mm. across, 

 without papillae ; indeed scarcely any papillae detected 

 throughout the leaf, which has a blunt apex, as in TricJi. 

 brachydontium, and pagina frequently ending abruptly and 

 unequally, but the nerve in this is certainly extended. At 

 the mouth of the basin, near Arisaig, on muddy soil mixed 

 with sand, a little within high-water mark of spring tides. 



In this broad, shallow basin, through which a sluggish 

 stream meanders, and which opens out like a trumpet on the 

 sea, where its breadth is two miles, are found five mosses 

 belonging to a closely allied group, viz., Barbula tortuosa ; a 

 large form of B. nitida, as well as its usual condition ; B. 

 limosa ("Annals," April 1905), and B. limosella ; lastly, B. 

 exiqnella, referred to below. The upper cells of B. limosa 

 are obscure from the presence of papillae, and minute, .005-8 

 mm. across. Accordingly the upper cells of B. limosella are 

 nearly four times as large as those of B. limosa. B. limosella 

 is the most slender of the four as well as the most compactly 

 tufted. 



Schistidium nodulosum. Laxly tufted, of a dark green 

 above, reddish below ; stems simple or dichotomously 

 branched, about half an inch in length ; leaves rather closely 

 arranged, imbricated when dry, spreading a little when wet, 

 ovate lanceolate slightly acuminate, contracted at base ; 

 nerve strong, thick, bulging much behind, reddish at base, 

 .06 mm. broad, slightly broader above, and near apex 

 still .045 mm. broad, strongly nodulose behind and at sides, 

 nodules .004-6 mm. high, rounded at apex, sparsely nodulose 



