Jennings: Manual of Mosses- -9. Splanchnaceae 111 



from within the matted material. Leaves ot the fertile stem few, about 1 mm 

 long, tufted, thin, obovate to broadly lanceolate, abruptly acuminate, costate 

 into the apex, usually with a few sharp teeth towards the apex; leaf-cells large, 

 lax, irregularly rhomboid-hexagonal but longer towards the margin and base 

 and smaller above; perigonial branches up to about 1 cm high much exceeding 

 the perichaetial, sparsely leafy with lanceolate slenderly pointed, above sharply 

 serrate blades; antheridial flowers capitulate to discoid, surrounded by squar- 

 rose very slenderly acuminate squarrose perigonial leaves up to 3 mm long: seta 

 erect, somewhat twisted when dry, reddish; hypophysis much wrinkled when 

 dry, when wet about 3 mm long by 2 mm thick, pyriform, more slenderly 

 tapering below, when ripe red-purple above, somewhat lilac below, composed 

 of loose tissue and with stomata surrounded by a ring of stellately radiating 

 cells; capsule oval-oblong, about 1 mm high; operculum convex, obtusely mam- 

 iliate; peristome yellowish, consisting of 32 divisions united to form 16 three- 

 layered teeth forming 8 triangular groups, very hygroscopic, inflexed when wet 

 and abruptly strongly reflexed when dry, the areolation of the middle layer of 

 cells strongly predominating when viewed under the microscope and being 

 quite irregular in pattern: pre-peristome consisting of 16 very thin, oblong- 

 lingulate teeth about one-fifth the height of the main peristome; annulus none; 

 areolation of the capsule walls of rounded, small, strongly incrassate cells; 

 columella much exserted from dry capsule dilated at the apex; spores smooth, 

 6-7 /x in diameter. 



Mostly on cow dung. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to Wisconsin, 

 and north to Newfoundland, Quebec, and Ontario. 



These specimens are smaller in practically all parts than stated in most 

 descriptions. 



Elk Co.: Midmont Swamp. C.M.B. July 1, 1948. Elev. 1940 ft. Somerset Co.: 

 Open sphagnum bog. near Mt. Davis. Elev. 2400 ft. C.M.B. & O.E.J. July 15. 1949 

 (figured). 



2. TeTRAPLODON Bruch & Schimper 



A genus of at least 9 species, mostly on decaying animal excreta of cold 

 northern and alpine regions and resembling Splschnum excepting for the nar- 

 rower leaves, hypophysis little if any Vv'ider than the capsule, and teeth first in 

 fours then in pairs, and consisting of two layers of cells. 



1. TeTRAPLODON angustatus (Hedwig) Bryologia Europaea 



{Splachnum angustatum [Linnaeus f.} Hedwig) 



Plate LXXII 



In dense tufts; stems erect, about 8-12 mm tall, pale translucent-yellowish, 



with dense reddish tomentum below; leaves few, rather distant except for 



about four to .seven in a comal tuft, these being about 3-5 mm long by 0.5-0.8 



mm wide, narrowly lanre-oblong, tapering into a very long slender acumination, 



usually with a few, scattered, .sharply spreading, one-celled teeth; costa loosely 



cellular, at base about one-foiarth to one-third the width of the leaf, tapering 



gradually into the long, somewhat reddish, flexuous, excurrent point; leaf-cells 



