- 5 6- 



near Easton, West Virginia, where it was discovered about twenty years ago by 

 A. L. Andrews. 1 



5. Mylia cuneifolia (Hook.) S. F. Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. PI. 1: 694. 1821. 

 Jungermannia cuneifolia Hook. Brit. Jung. pi. 64. 1814; Leptoscyphus cuneifolius 

 Mitt. Jour. Bot. 3: 358. 1851. A plozia cuneifolia Dumort. Hep. Eur. 55. 1874. 

 Coleochila cuneifolia Dumort. Hep. Eur. 106. 1874. Clasmatocolea cuneifolia 

 Spruce, Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 15: 440. 1885. Leioscyphus cuneifolius Steph. 

 Bull. Herb. Boissier II. 5: 218. [Sp. Hepat. 3: 18.] 1905. 



Collected on the bark of trees, in June, 1923, on Mt. Mitchel (57 n ft. alt.) 

 and Mt. Pisgah (5649 ft. alt.), North Carolina, by P. O. Schallert (Nos. 5, 25, both 

 in part). New to North America. 



This distinct species has long been considered one of the great rarities of the 

 European flora. Its occurrence in the United States is therefore of much interest 

 from the standpoint of plant distribution. The original specimens of Hooker's 

 Jungermannia cuneifolia were collected in the vicinity of Bantry, Ireland, by 

 Miss Ellen Hutchins, over a century ago, and the species is now known from 

 perhaps half a dozen additional Irish localities. In 1832 Corda 2 reported it from 

 near Friedland in Bohemia, but his record has not been confirmed and is no longer 

 accepted by hepat icologists. It was not until 1898, in fact, that a thoroughly 

 trustworthy station outside of Ireland was made known. In that year Kaalaas 

 announced the discovery of the species, under the name Clasmatocolea cuneifolia, 

 near Fossan, Stavanger Amt, Norway. In the following year Macvicar 3 extended 

 the known range of the plant by reporting it from Moidart, West Inverness, 

 Scotland, and has since added a few other Scotch stations. 4 Except in Ireland, 

 Scotland and Norway no European localities are known, and the species is thus 

 seen to be "Atlantic" in its range. 



Since M. cuneifolia is totally unlike M. Taylori (Hook.) S. F. Gray and M. 

 anomala (Hook.) S. F. Gray in its general appearance and since its sexual organs 

 are still unknown, the affinities of the species remained more or less doubtful 

 for many years. In 1889, however, a closely allied species, M. antillana Carringt. 

 & Spruce, 6 from the island of Guadeloupe was described, and in this the flattened 

 bilabiate perianth characteristic of the genus Mylia was demonstrated. It thus 

 became evident that S. F. Gray was correct in including Jungermannia cunei- 

 folia in his genus Mylia (which is the same as Mitten's genera Leptoscyphus and 

 Leioscyphus) and that Spruce was in error when he provisionally referred the 

 species to his genus Clasmatocolea. 



Small depressed mats of Mylia cuneifolia are occasionally found, but it 

 is much more usual for the stems to occur in intricate admixture with other hepa- 



1 See Bryologist 8l 65. 1905. The species is here listed as L. marchica (Neesf Steph., which 

 at that time was understood in a broad sense, including L. Mildeana amon? its synonyms. For 

 the distinctions between the two species, see Evans, Rhodora 12! 109. 19 10. 



2 In Sturm, Deutschl. Fl. Jungerm. 94. pi. 28. 1832. 

 > Jour. Bot. 37: [6]. 1899. 



4 See especially Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 25! 188. 1910. 



6 Bescherelle & Spruce, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 36j clxxvii. pi. 4. 1889 



