ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 65 



Bryophyta. 

 (By a. Gepp.) 



Chinese Muscinese. — E. Levier* publishes an alphabetical enumera- 

 tion of the Muscineae collected by the Italian missionary, G-. Giraldi, in 

 the province of Shen-si, China. The lists comprise 286 mosses and 

 6i) hepatics. The mosses were examined by C. Mueller,t who determined 

 265 mosses, 228 of which were new species. The mosses have been 

 revised by V. F. Brotherus, who has described 7 more new species 

 and reduced 28 of those described by C. Mueller, and raised the 

 total of the determinations to 286. The hepatics were originally 

 described and figured by C. Massalongo,:]: and have since been revised by 

 F. Stephani. Massalongo has described ID new species and 11 new 

 varieties ; Stephani has added 8 new species. In his introduction Levier 

 gives a brief notice of Giraldi, and considers the general character of the 

 Shen-si moss-flora. It is principally of the type found in the north 

 temperate zone. The 61) species which are not endemic are mostly (52) 

 to be found in Europe, Asia, and the United States ; only a few occur 

 in the Chinese littoral region, Japan, Corea, and Formosa. Two are 

 very remarkable — PapiUaria nigrescens and Orfhostichopsis tetragona— 

 being tropical American species. Giraldiella and Ascidiota are new 

 genera of mosses and hepatics invented by C. Mueller and C. Massalongo 

 respectively. 



North American Muscineae. — I. Hagen,§ having obtained some 

 fine specimens of Tetraplodoii australis from Florida, collected in 

 December, has been able to study the species thoroughly and demonstrate 

 that it differs from Tetraplodon in having a soft hyaline seta, exserted 

 columella, geminate teeth, and a short conical calyptra. In these 

 points it agrees with Spilachnum, and particularly with S. ampullaceum 

 and S. vasculosum in the structure of the costa and the false leaf -traces 

 in the stem. The author sets forth the synonymy of the plant, and 

 revives the name *S'. caulescms Dicks. J. W. Bailey || publishes some 

 field-notes on the mosses of Vancouver Island, founded on collections 

 made at Cumberland, on the east side of the island. A. Lorenz If pub- 

 lishes some notes on the mosses of Waterville, New Hampshire, a granite 

 region. The interesting features of tlie moss-flora in relation to the 

 environment are brought out. C. C. Haynes** figures and gives some 

 critical notes on three species of the genus Lophozia. J. F. ColHusft 

 finds that Polytrlchum. commune is far less common than has been 

 generally supposed, and is very variable in its characters. He gives a 

 definition of what he takes to be the true plant, and asks collectors to 

 examine carefully specimens from all sorts of localities. He treats of 

 the varieties perigoiiiale and uUginosum, and states that after examining 

 thousands of leaf sections of P. commune and its allies, he has become 

 aware that there is much more variation in the lamellfe than is admitted 



* Nuov. Giorn. Bot. ItaL, xiii. (1906) pp. 237-80, 347-56. 



t Op. cit., 1896-8. I Atti Accad. di Verona, 1897. 



§ Bryologist, ix. (1906) pp. 92-4. || Tom. cit., pp. 95-6 



i Tom. cit., pp. 96-97. ** Tom. cit., pp. 99-100 (figs.). 



tt Rhodora, viii. (1906) pp. 131-5. See also Bryologist, ix. (1906) pp. 101-2. 



Feb. 20th, 1907 F 



