144 '^^^^ Irish Naturalist. . July, 



MOSSKS AND LIVERWORTS FROM CO. FERMANAGH, 

 AND SLIEVE LEAGUE, CO. DONEGAL. 



(Collected for the Flora and Fauna Committee of the Royal 



Irish Acadein}'.) 



BY DAVID M'ARDLE. 



Ill June, 1907, I spent a few days in Co. Fermanagh. My 

 principal object in goin^ there was to endeavour to extend 

 the range of Spruce's Amblystegiuni, a minute and very 

 distinct moss which I found in Correl Glen in October, 1905 ; 

 another object was to rediscover in good condition a Brj'um 

 very like B. pnrpiiraucns ; in all the specimens I found 

 on my previous visit the frtiit was too old, and it was im- 

 possible to tell the difference between it and B. indhiafwi. 

 However, in ni}' anxietj' to find these two plants I miscal- 

 culated about the growth of the Bracken, which was in full 

 possession of Correl Glen and other places, and it was 

 impossible to find anything amongst such dense growth. 

 Turning from the glen to the other side of the main road I 

 got into what was once a splendid Pine plantation but now 

 almost completeh' burned out. I was attracted to the place 

 by the extensive bright patches of a moss, closer inspection 

 proved it to be a Funaria ; it looked different from the common 

 F Jiygjvvutrica, so I took specimens; and it has proved to be 

 F. calcarca, a plant which has rather restricted distribution in 

 Ireland. The Census Catalogue records it from Counties 

 Cork, Antrim and Deny. It is also known under the name 

 of Fiinaria Miihlcnbcrgii, being first detected b}' Dr. Muhlen- 

 berg in Pennsylvania. This curious genus extends to the 

 tropics, and after a forest fire Funaria is almost the first 

 sign of returning vegetation on the burned soil. The speci- 

 mens I collected were mostly among stones, rocks and burned 

 peat. I spent a day about Knockmore. where the limestone 

 forms massive walls of rock ; the huge gre}* cliffs can be seen 

 from a considerable distance. I pushed on from here to 

 Rossinure More, an extensive range of cliffs, where I gathered 

 verj' fine specimens oi Brciitelia ajruata., some of them nearly 

 six inches in length, the stems covered with reddish brown 

 radicles, and similar luxuriant specimens of Neckera cri'spa 

 were plentiful. On shaded rocks among Rossinitre More 



