ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, .MICROSCOPY, ETC. 365 



South African Mosses.*— H. A. Wager publishes an account of 

 eleven South African mosses, mostly from Natal, described as new to 

 science, with figures of structural detail. 



Ephemerum intermedium.!— R. Douin describes and figures the 

 structural features of the minute moss Ephemerum intermedium Mitt, 

 which are essential for discriminating it from the allied species, E. stel- 

 latum, E. serratum, and E. minutissimum, and he comes to the conclusion 

 that E. intermedium should be regarded as a secondary species attached 

 to E. serratum. 



Philonotis seriata. J — Gr. Dismier records the occurrence of Philo- 

 notis seriata in Asia, and cites three N.W. Indian examples found in 

 herbaria under the names Bartramia fcdcata and B. subidosa. Philonotis 

 seriata is characterized by having the leaves wide at base, oblong, acute 

 at apex, margin geininately dentate throughout ; cells quadrate or shortly 

 rectangular, with papilla central ; nerve strong, f errugineous. P. falcata 

 has leaves oblong lanceolate, with margin serrate throughout, cells with 

 the papilla at their upper angle, nerve narrow, yellowish and more or 

 less excurrent. It is an interesting fact that in Asia the species with 

 geminate teeth are very few, while those with simple acute teeth are in 

 the majority. However, in Europe the contrary holds good. Further, 

 the great variability of structure of the species of Philonotis argues in 

 favour of the greatest prudence in the creation of new species. 



Philonotis falcata and P. Turneriana. § — CI. Dismier has closely 

 studied the polymorphic Philonotis falcata and P. Turneriana which 

 have a distribution extending from the Himalayas to Corea and the 

 Philippine Islands ; and comes to the conclusion that many new species 

 have been unadvisedly created out of them. He would therefore reduce 

 the following into synonyms of P. falcata Brid., P. macrocarpa CM., 

 P. carinata Mitt., P. ruficuspis Besch., P. japonica Besch., P. Giraldii 

 CM, P. angularis CM., P. Tsanii CM., P. tomentosula CM., P. 

 Bodinieri Card, et Ther., P. laxiretis Card., P. orthostichacea CM., 

 P. mutica CM. Also to P. Turneriana Mitt, he would reduce P. laxi- 

 folia Broth., P. simlaensis Schimp., P.pilicalyx CM. And further he 

 would regard P. Turneriana as but a sub-species of P. falcata, differing 

 only in the possession of a nerve longly attenuated into a piliform 

 acumen. P. falcata and its sub-species have leaves oval-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, spirally arranged, carinate, concave, with margins flat and 

 simply dentate all round, with cells quadrate or shortly rectangular and 

 papillose above, and with the nerve moderately thick and percurrent or 

 excurrent in P. falcata, but longly piliform in P. Turneriana. 



* Trans. Boy. Soc. South Africa, iv. (1914) pp. 1-6(2 pis.), 

 t Bull. Soc. Bot. Prance, lix. (1912) pp. 731-6 (figs.). 

 J Bull. Soc. Bot. France, lix. (1912) pp. 175-7. 

 § Bull. Soc. Bot. France, lix. (1912) pp. 4S2-9, 555-9. 



