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THE MOSSES OF THE YARRANGOBILLY CAVES 



DISTRICT, N.S.W. 



By Dr. V. F. Broth erus and Rev. W. Walter Watts. 



(Communicated by J. H. Maiden.) 



Foreword. 



By the Rev. VV. Walter Watts. 



Except whei'e otherwise indicated, the Mosses iierein recorded 

 were collected l)y me in January, 1906, during a weeks stay at 

 the Yarrangobilly Caves. That week must be reckoned among 

 the most interesting and delightful of my bryological experiences. 

 Many of the species were new to me, and formed a striking link 

 with Tasmanian and European forms. The number of species 

 listed is 110, belonging to 57 genera, and of these ten are new, 

 while several others constitute additions to the flora of New 

 South Wales and even of Australia. 



I travelled to the Caves, by way of Tumut, by mail coach 

 (about 50 miles). At the foot of Talbingo Mountain, our party 

 broke the journey, staying the night at Pethers' hotel. The hotel 

 is close to the Tumut River; and the rocks and banks of the 

 river yielded some interesting species, which are listed in a sup- 

 plemental page. They include a new species, Rhynchostegiella 

 suhconvohitifolia. On the way up the mountain — a climb of 

 several hours — I collected a few additional species. Including 

 these, 118 species, in all, belonging to 61 genera, were collected. 



We stayed for lunch at the Yarrangobilly Village, some 4,200 

 feet above the sea. Here, on the clifls and banks of the river, I 

 found a number of species which are included in the general list. 



The Caves are nearly 1,000 feet lower down than the Village, 

 the Caves House (herein called the Hostel) being about 3,500 feet 

 above sea-level, and the gorge through which the river runs being 

 a good deal lower still. 



To make clear the localities given in the following list : — Two 

 roads lead down to the Caves, one from Yarrangobilly Village, on 



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