190 LICHENS. 



surface ; from this crust little bull-necked stems arose, 

 surmounted by a rose-coloured top, resembling an uneven 

 mushroom, except that it had no gills beneath. Here was v 

 certainly one of the crusted lichens ; its true fruit 

 (Apothecia) was well developed, and the form thereof 

 showed it to be the rose-coloured mushroom lichen 

 (Bseomyces roseus, Plate XIII., fig. 1). I remember 

 finding a plant resembling this at Braid Hermitage, near 

 Edinburgh, when I was searching for fungi. It differed 

 from the one in my hand in having a more decidedly 

 green crust, and in the miniature mushrooms being more 

 even in shape and of a brownish red hue. I felt glad 

 that I had preserved the specimen ; for it would make 

 my collection better to have two species of Hooker's first 

 genus of lichens. The Braid plant was the red mushroom- 

 lichen (B. rufus, Plate XIII, fig. 2). There is a brown 

 species found on rocks and walls, and another, characterized 

 by the thickness of its crust, which is peculiar to Eoss-shire. 



But time was passing away too fast to allow me to 

 continue my reflections and my search together ; so I 

 hastened to collect all the beauties around me. There 

 was a white-branched lichen of most elegant form, which 

 I suspected to be the reindeer moss, and a lichen bearing 

 little cups on its stem. Another, growing near it, had 

 crimson knobs instead of cups, and in many places the 

 stones and earth were covered with black swollen dots. 

 These I placed in my case, and then betook myself to the 

 woods, in search of further treasures. 



Although the sun was shining so gloriously to-day, 

 yet April showers had been falling heavily during the 

 night, and for many days previous, so that the woods 



