. MOSSES. 65 



fringe at the mouth of the urn. My specimens are from 

 Longleat Park, Wilts, where they are growing upon a 

 sandstone rock. 



An important group succeeds the Bristle mosses, 

 namely, that of the Fork mosses : it includes seven 

 families. The first family was discovered by the botanist 

 Blind, of Munster, and is hence called Blindia. {Plate 

 V., jig. 3.) 



The Northern moss family has but one British 

 representative (Arctcea fulveUd). The Dogs-tooth moss 

 resembles the Bent leaved Weissia, but its urn is shorter, 

 and its leaves are keeled at the base : it grows in hilly 

 countries. The next three families, though bearing 

 different botanical names, are all Fork mosses in honest 

 English, so we will discuss them as one great family. 



The true Fork-mosses (Dicranmii) are very numerous. 

 The many fruited Fork-moss (D. polycarpa) we have 

 from the Highlands, where it grows on rocks. It has 

 long stems, spreading lance-shaped leaves, and urns not 

 much longer than broad. 



The transparent Fork-moss (D. pellucidium) grows in 

 a loose tuft, and is of a light green colour, and more 

 slender urns, the fruitstalk a little bent at the neck. It 

 grows in wet places. Our specimen was from dripping 

 rocks near Bichmond. 



The Drooping leaved species (D. squarrosum) was 

 contributed by our friend from Blair Athole, its leaves 

 spread in every direction, and are turned back, the stems 

 are forked, and its loose tufts are of a bright green. When 

 it bears fruit the stems are onlv one or two inches high, 

 but it grows much taller when barren. 



E 



