280 The Scottish Naturalist. 



per and others,) in the roundish-quadrate, denser, smaller, less sinuous areo- 

 lation in the middle and upper portions of the leaf, in the shorter medial 

 basal cells, and very much in the nerve. The nerve of G. Muhlenbeckii is 

 unique among the hair-pointed Grimmics, being stout, prominent, and 

 angled on the back near the apex of the leaf, owing to the presence of 

 wings similar to those in G. patens, but not so distinct. The nerve of 

 G. subsquarrosa, on the other hand, is rounded on the back in the usual way 

 and not quite so strong. From G. trichophylla, on the other hand, G. sub- 

 squarrosa differs in the roughly denticulate hair-points, and in the much 

 shorter basal cells. Indeed it seems to be a species which has appropriated 

 to itself the hair-points of G Muhlenbeckii, and the nerve and general areo- 

 lation of G. trichophylla, while it has aimed at having an areolation at the 

 base of the leaf peculiar to itself. 



During the past year several mosses have been gathered in the north-east 

 of Scotland, which had not been previously observed there. One of the 

 rarest and most interesting of these is HylocoT7iium Oakesii, Sull. Last 

 summer, very much to my astonishment and delight, I came upon it grow- 

 ing plentifully in this its second and most unexpected British station, where 

 it assumes a much more compact habit than on Ben Lawers. The area to 

 which it here seemed to be confined was small, but future search may show 

 it to be larger. This is the third moss of those hitherto regarded as con- 

 fined to Ben Lawers in their British distribution, which was added to the 

 north-east of Scotland during last year ; and there are now very few mosses 

 on Ben Lawers which have not a home on some mountain or other east of 

 Ben-y-Ghloe. 



Among other important additions to the list of mosses of the same district 

 may be mentioned : — Phascum bryoides, Sphcerangium triquetrum, Epheme- 

 ru??i cohcvrens, Fissidens pusillus, Tortula ambigua, Trichostomum convolu- 

 tum, Pottia Wilsoni, Bryum Tozeri, Bryum neodamense, Rhynchostegium 

 depressum, Eurhynchium androgynum, and many others. The number of 

 mosses now known to be natives of the north-east is very large, and yet 

 some of the commoner species seem to either shun the district, or to be 

 confined to one or two localities in it. Rhynchostegium confertiwi is one of 

 these. Can any of your readers send me a specimen from a locality to the 

 east or north of the Isla? 



Whilst so many mosses new to the district have been recently discovered, 

 new stations have been found for many of the rarer species, such as Trichos- 

 tomum glaucescens, Gymnostomum viridtdutn (which now seems to have been 

 found in Ireland), Catoscopium nig?'itum, Cinclidium stygium, Grimmia 

 Ungeri, Grimmia unicolor, Hypnum vertiicosum, Pottia crinita, etc., etc. — 

 J. Fergusson, New Pitsligo. 



A New British Fungus. — In September last I had the good fortune 

 to come upon a very small quantity of the beautiful Hyphelia rosea, growing 

 upon a half-decayed birch tree in the north-east of Scotland. It seems to 

 be rare, as others and myself have searched for it from Alyth northwards, 

 but without success. — J. Fergusson, New Pitsligo. 



Ag-aricus erinaceus Fr.— I lately found a specimen of this fungus, 

 which is, I believe, considered to be rare, on the dead branch of an oak 

 here. — Thos. MONCREIFFE, Moncreiffe, Bridge of Earn. 



