Jennings: Manual of Mosses — 5. Pottiaceae 79 



Beaver Co.: James. (Porter's Catalogue). Indiana Co.: James. (Porter's Cata- 

 logue). About 3 miles northeast of Saltsburg along abandoned road above Black Leg 

 Creek, Nov. 23, 1941. O.E.J, and G.K.J, (figured). Washington Co.: Snake Woods, 

 near Washington. Mar. 10, 1894. Linn and Simonton. 



2. AsTOMUM NITIDULUM Bryologia Europaea 

 {Systegium nitidulum (Jaeger) 

 The moss reported in Porter's Catalogue as collected by James in Indiana 

 County, and listed as Astomum nitidulum Bry. Eur., is doubtful. It is sug- 

 gested that A. nitidulum is a hybrid of Astorrmm Muhlenbergianum and 

 Weisa viridula, or that it is A. phascoides (Hook.) Grout from Ohio west- 

 ward. This latter species has stouter leaves than A. Muhlenbergianum with 

 longer seta and a rostrate lid. 



Indiana Co.: Derry. James. (Porter's Catalogue). 



2. Weisia Hedwig 



Autoicous, rarely paroicous, polyoicous, or dioicous: low, cespitose, freely 

 branching: upper leaves much larger, relatively to the lower, erect-spreading, 

 crisped when dry, carinate, elongate-lanceolate; costa strong, cuspidate-excurrent; 

 basal leaf-cells rectangular, hyaline, the upper small, rounded, low-papillose on 

 both surfaces: seta erect or sometimes curved, mostly longer than the peri- 

 chaetial leaves; capsule erect and symmetric or a little inclined and swollen 

 dorsally, round-ovoid to cylindrical, narrow-mouthed, finally usually some- 

 what plicate, the urn at the rim being several cells thick and the insertion of 

 the peristome thus considerably removed from the exterior border of the rim; 

 peristome-teeth short, often rudimentary, undivided, papillose, the exterior 

 layer more strongly developed and with projecting bars; lid obliquely long- 

 rostrate; calyptra cucullate. 



A widely distributed genus of 27 terrestrial species; 7 species occurring in 

 North America; only one in our range. 



1. Weisia viridula [Linnaeus] Hedwig 

 Plate XVI 

 Densely cespitose, yellowish-green: stem erect, often branching, up to 5 

 mm. tall; leaves erect-spreading, the upper much larger and up to 3 mm long 

 and 0.5 mm wide, lance-linear, tapering to an acute or acuminate apex, the 

 margin strongly involute, entire, leaves crispate when dry; costa strong, about 

 .030-. 040 mm wide at base, excurrent into a shoit and more or less hyaline 

 point; upper leaf-cells roundish-hexagonal, strongly papillose, obscure, the basal 

 more or less elongate-rectangular and hyaline: seta slender, up to 1 cm long, 

 lustrous, yellowish, faintly sinistrorse; capsule erect, ovoid, symmetric, slightly 

 narrowed at mouth, reddish-brown, about 0.9 mm long, somewhat plicate when 

 dry and empty; exothecial cells rather thin-walled, irregularly oblong to hexag- 

 onal or rounded, those at the mouth in 3-5 rows, much smaller, quadrate and 

 darker in color; peristome-teeth 16, more or less rudimentary, short, irregularly 

 linear, divided, or truncate, papillose; lid conic, obliquely long-rostrate, alto- 

 gether nearly as long as the urn; calyptra cucullate, covering about t\'.o-thirds 



