Vol. XIII] EVANS— HEPATICJE OF CALIFORNIA H5 



or four cells thick ; while the axis and branches never broaden 

 out at the apex. 



It will be seen that Schiffner's differential characters are 

 based on variable features, and this is made still more evi- 

 dent by his remarks on a specimen of R. major collected by 

 Howe at Duncan's Mills, Sonoma County, California. In 

 this specimen the main axis is described as six cells thick and 

 is said to broaden somewhat at the apex, thus showing (as 

 Schiffner himself admits) an approach to R. sinuata. It is 

 not surprising therefore that his conclusions regarding R. 

 sinuata and R. major have not been universally accepted by 

 European hepaticologists. Muller, 13 for example, does not ac- 

 cept them at all; in his opinion the differential characters are 

 insufficient even for the establishment of a variety and he cites 

 A. major 1 * "mit ruhigem Gewissen" as a simple synonym of A. 

 sinuata (Dicks.) Dumort. Macvicar, 15 on the other hand, ac- 

 cepts A. major as a valid species distinct from A. sinuata. At 

 the same time he states that "it is doubtful how far" it "is per- 

 manently distinct" and cites a specimen from Sussex in which 

 some of the thalli are bi- or tripinnate. 



From the data in the literature and from the study of a 

 large series of specimens the writer is inclined to regard R. 

 major as a poorly developed form or variety of R. sinuata, 

 rather than as a distinct species, its peculiarities being appar- 

 ently associated with an unfavorable environment. It may 

 be added that some of the material from California represents 

 the more typical form of R. sinuata, the thalli being often 

 tripinnate and the main axis seven to nine cells in thickness. 

 This is true, for example, of the two specimens collected by 

 Mrs. Sutliffe in 1922 at the following stations: Big Carson 

 Canyon and Mt. Tamalpais, both in Marin County. 



11. Fossombronia hispidissima Steph. Mem. Herb. Boissier 



16: 35. 1900 



Mill Valley, Marin County, Mrs. Sutliffe; near Stanford 

 University, Santa Clara County, C. F. Baker (determined 



"Rabenhorst's Kryptogamen-Flora 6: 340. 1908. .... 



"The combination, Aneuro major," was apparently first used by the writer in con- 

 nection with a specimen from Alaska (see Zoe 5: 129. 1901). 

 "Student's Handb. British Hep. 55. 1912. 



