532 Transactions. — Botany. 



describing and naming these new mosses, and classifying 

 them in their proper genera. While doing this I have come 

 across a certain moss, collected by me in the upper waters of 

 the Eiver Conway, near Palmer's Pass, Marlborough, which 

 is the subject of this paper. It was growing in patches 

 together with Dicranuni tasmanicum and several other mosses. 

 At first sight the capsules of this moss bore a striking re- 

 semblance to those of D. tasmanicum, but on closer inspec- 

 tion I found that it differed in almost every particular from 

 that moss. 



The new species is a small pale-green moss, growing in 

 dense patches, and is usually incrusted with a considerable 

 quantity of calcareous matter, owing to the constant percola- 

 tion of the water through it. The capsule is ovate, with a 

 small mouth ; but the interesting point about this moss is its 

 peristome, which has four triangular irregularly - perforated 

 teeth, the perforations being covered by an extremely thin 

 transparent membrane, which is readily seen on staining the 

 peristome. 



In the literature available here I have been unable to find 

 any genus in which this plant can be suitably placed ; it is 

 therefore proposed that a new one should be created to 

 properly locate it. I have named the new genus Tetraco- 

 cinodon, in reference to its peristome, and this particular 

 plant T. hcctori, after Sir James Hector. 



Tetbacocinodon, gen. nov. 



Capsule ovate. Operculum conico-rostrate, oblique. Peris- 

 tome single. _ Teetli four, triangular, perforated, w^ith or 

 without a thin transparent membrane over the perforation. 

 CaJyptra cucullate. 



Tetracocinodon hectori, sp. nov. 



Plants small, pale-green, growing in patches, from ^in. to 

 |in. liigh. Stems nearly simple. Branches short. Leaves 

 small, inserted all round the stem, erecto-patent, linear, 

 acute or obtuse, slightly concave. Margins entire. Nerve 

 continuous. Areola — upper small, subrotund ; lower oblong, 

 crisped when dry after the lime is washed out, otherwise 

 scarcely altered. Perichcetial leaves small, erect ; innermost 

 smallest, ovate-acute ; oicter one oblong, taj)ei'ing into a long, 

 subulate point about half the length of tlie leaf, nerved, con- 

 cave. Margins and back minutely papillose. Fruitstalk |in. 

 high, slightly flexuous, sometimes spirally twisted. Capsule 

 ovate. Mouth small. Operculum narrow, oblique, conico- 

 rostrate, longer than the capsule. Peristome single. Teeth 

 four, triangular, irregularly perforated from immediately below 



