The Scottish Naturalist. 37 



detected twenty-one years ago near Bowling, on the Clyde, and 

 again in August of this year. In 1871 I gave a brief sketch of 

 the plant, and named it Zygodon teichophilus. 



Densely crespitose or pnlvinate. Stems about half an inch long, 

 simple, or dichotomously branched, radiculose. Leaves closely 

 set, slightly contorted when dry, spreading when moistened, oblong- 

 lanceolate or oblong, acute ; nerye very prominent on the back, 

 slightly hollow in front, reddish throughout, except in young leaves,, 

 excurrent into a strong longish mucro ; pagina on each side of this 

 mucro unequal in very many cases, i.e., shorter on one side than 

 the other, margin plane ; leaves papillose on back, and on nerve 

 near apex ; areolation very dense and opaque, hexagonal and 

 chlorophyllose above, larger and quadrangular close to base, but 

 still chlorophyllose, and translucent only in the older leaves. 



Tt might be as well to mention that a botanical friend has 

 informed me that Professor Lindberg has lately published a 

 description of a moss whose characteristics are similar to those of 

 the moss under discussion, and that he has named it Z. aristatus. 

 It is almost unnecessary to say that I have not seen a specimen of 

 Z. aristatus, nor indeed his description. 



While writing this I have received a letter from M. A. Le Jolis 

 of Cherbourg, France, (to whom I sent a specimen of this moss) in 

 which he states his belief that Z. aristatus is identical with Z* 

 teichophilus. 



A CUKIOUS LICHEN PKOM BEN LAWEKS. 

 By JAMES STIRTOX, M.D., F.L.S. 



OX several occasions during the last ten years I have seen, at 

 various altitudes on Ben Law r ers and neighbouring moun- 

 tains, a very curious lichen in a barren condition on peaty ground. 

 The thallus appears as a dark brown minutely rugose, encephaloid, 

 thickish crust having sprinkled over it white, or pale whitish, 

 phyllocladia, resembling much those of some Stereocaulon, such as 

 *SV. paschale. The brown crust contains numerous gonimia of a 

 dirty caerulescent tint, and altogether this crust has much the ap- 

 pearance and constitution of some crustaceous Collema, or rather 

 Pyrenopsis, such as that of P. fuscatula (Xyl.) in a much extended 



