LIBRARY 



Reprinted for private circulation from NEW vijtMr 



The Botanical Gazette, Vol. LXIX, No. 4, April 1020 



____! BOTAN&Ak 



LIFE HISTORY OF FOSSOMBRONIA CRISTULA 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 264 



Arthur W. Haupt 

 (WITH PLATES XIV-XIX AND ONE FIGURE) 



Fossombronia, according to Schiffner (8) , comprises 26 species 

 of world wide distribution. The genus belongs to the family 

 Codoniaceae of Cavers (2), which is, next to the Haplomit- 

 riaceae, the highest family of the anacrogynous Jungermanniales. 

 Fossombronia and its closely related genera Blasia, Noteroclada, and 

 Treubia are thalloid dorsiventral forms which show the beginnings 

 of genuine leaves corresponding to those of the acrogynous Junger- 

 manniales, and represent, with the Haplomitriaceae, possible 

 ancestral forms from which the Acrogynae have been derived. 



Fossombronia cristula was discovered and named by Austin 

 (1) in 1868, who found it growing "on damp sand in an unfre- 

 quented path" near Batsto, New Jersey. For many years no 

 additional material was collected, nor was it reported as occurring 

 in any other locality in the United States. This no doubt was due 

 to the small size and obscure habitat of the species. In 191 5 

 Evans (3) made a taxonomic study of F. cristula and stated that 

 specimens had been collected in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 

 York, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Indiana. Land found the 

 species in 19 14 in Porter County, Indiana, 2-3 miles east of Dune 

 Park, and a preliminary report of its occurrence in this region was 

 published by Hill (5) in 191 6 from material furnished him by 

 Land. Hill also found plants growing in Lake County, Indiana, 

 3 miles east of Tolleston. In his paper the author incorrectly 

 refers to the species as F. crispula, which is not the name given it 

 by Austin. 



Material 



The material used in this study to illustrate the development 

 *^ of the sporophyte was kindly furnished by Dr. Land from his 

 *"*" collection of 1914 from the Dune Park region. Additional plants 



CO 



^ Botanical Gazette, vol. 69] [318 



