Brown. — On Neiv Zealand Musci. 137 



Art. XVIII. — Notes on the New Zealand Musci. 

 By Egbert Brown. 



{Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 3nd August, 1899.'] 



Plates XIV., XV. 



Genus Bartramia (Hedwig). 



The genus Bartramia is composed of beautiful mosses, with 

 their habitats principally on wet banks and rocks, on stones 

 in streams, and on rocks under the spray of waterfalls. They 

 are an alpine and subalpine genus, and are popularly known 

 as " apple mosses," from the subrotund form of their capsules, 

 which are large and very conspicuous. 



The generic description of the genus is : Gaiisules globose, 

 furrowed when dry, erect, cernuous, or pendulous. Peristome 

 double, siugle, or none. Teeth : Outer 16, lanceolate, equi- 

 distant ; inner membranous, bifid, sometimes with alternate 

 cilia. Calyptra dimidiate. Leaves papillose. 



In the " Handbook of the Flora of New Zealand " some 

 of the species placed in this genus have pyriform capsules, 

 although the generic description is "globose " ; possibly they 

 have been placed in this genus owing to their specific characters 

 being those of Bartramia. That arrangement I have followed 

 .in this paper. 



The species described in this paper as B. hallerianioides is 

 the B. halleriana of the Handbook, which is a European 

 species. The great general resemblance of the New Zealand 

 moss to the European one has led to the mistaken description 

 of these two as identical. A critical examination of the two 

 plants has disclosed the following differences between them : 

 The capsule of the New Zealand plant is nearly one-half smaller, 

 obliquely subrotund, mouth oblique, insertion of the fruitstalk 

 with the capsule very oblique. In the other plant the capsule 

 is symmetrical, mouth not obhque, and the insertion of the 

 fruitstalk is central at the base of the capsule. In the former 

 the leaves are more spreading, and the back of the nerve is 

 spinulose, serrated ; while in the latter the back of the nerve 

 is smooth. 



Another mistake has also occurred in the identification of 

 one of the New Zealand species of Bartraynia as B. pomi- 

 formis (a European moss) in vol. xxix., p. 443, of the "Transac- 

 tions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute." Mr. 

 Beckett has there recorded this identification, which was 

 copied from a manuscript hst of mosses sent by Mr. W. Bell 

 .to Dr. Brotherus, to be named by that gentleman. This 



