— 1 1- 



plant; the conic operculum a very little oblique; teeth short, red; more or 

 less split lengthwise and frequently perforated. 



•■Type station: California. Napa Co., Napa Springs. Coll. Mrs. 

 Martha Mann, May 2, 1SS6. 



" By the character of its crowded sods and of its stems this species 

 approaches somewhat Grii/iinia plagiopodia: but by its delicate beautiful 

 capsules on short pedicels it stands quite apart, a most elegant species. 



"A beautiful Gri/iiinia, distinguished at the first glance. Its stems 

 remind of a Zygoiion of the cut of Z. Fostcri rather than of a Griinmia. 

 And its fruits possess a Bryum-like appearance of the type of Do/io/ufiiiin. 

 only in diminutive form." 



Dr. Kindberg has suggested that Griinmia Hol:ini:;cyi Card. & Ther., is 

 Griinmia Maniiiae. This calls attention, first of all, to the latter species, 

 which seems not to have been collected since 1SS6. The above is a transla- 

 tion of the original description. The type station, Napa Springs, California, 

 is some 75 miles north of San Francisco, on the foot-hills of the Coast 

 Range, in Tertiary formation, at an elevation of less than a thousand feet, 

 probably. 



Griinmia Holzingeri occurs on Archaean rocks, in the heart of the 

 Rockies, at an altitude of 7000-8000 feet, in sight of slowly expiring glaciers, 

 once mighty streams of ice, associated with European alpine species, fully 

 700 miles to the northeast of the other plant, and the Bitter Root mountains, 

 the barren plateau region including the Snake river plains of Idaho, the 

 Great Basin of Utah and Nevada, and the Sierra Nevada range of Califor- 

 nia lie between the stations. Nevertheless, the two plants in gross appear- 

 ance, in size, texture and color, looks exactly alike. And Dr. Kindberg may 

 be right. Unfortunately, G. Hohingcri was found in the sterile state only. 

 The comparison which the writer was able to make with two sterile plants 

 of type material of (/. Maniiiae kindly communicated by Dr. Kindberg, 

 resulted in discovering apparent discrepancies m size and areolation of 

 leaves. But since the original description of G. Maniiiae has become avail- 

 able to the writer, the idea has gained ground that the comparison of the 

 two plants, which at first seemed to cast doubt upon Dr. Kindberg's sugges- 

 tion, may, by accident, have been between perichaetial leaves of one plant 

 and ordinary stems leaves of the other 1 And, in spite of the considerable 

 difference in altitude at which the plants occur, they may prove identical. 

 Further and more conclusive investigation is necessary to establish this 

 identity beyond doubt, and the writer would consider it a favor if any moss 

 students who read the BKVor.ooisr, and have found Griinmia Maniiiae. 

 either near Napa Springs, California, or at points intermediate between this 

 type station and that of Griinmia llolzingcri. namely, the region north of 

 Lake McDonald, northwest Montana, would enter into correspondence with 

 him, with a view fully to clear up the present doubt. Meanwhile, the differ- 

 ence in altitude, in geological horizon, and the great distance between the 

 two type stations, are serious obstacles in the way of reducing Griinmia Hol- 



i^cri. 



And, whereas in the cases of unusual plant distribution noticed by the 

 writer, a plausible explanation has always been found by reference to the 

 phenomena of the great ice cap over the Northern Hemisphere, and the 



