238 The Irish Naturalist. [Sept. 



other species of Metzgcria, which are dioecious, having the 

 antheridia or male inflorescence on one plant, and the calyptra 

 which contains the female inflorescence on another plant. 

 Recent researches of myself and others, show that the plant 

 is to be found in almost every county; it is as widely dis- 

 tributed in Ireland as M. furcata. In specimens of both 

 species collected at Clonbrock, I have been struck by the 

 remarkable examples they exhibit of adventitious budding or 

 branching, and it is obvious that they reproduce themselves 

 more by this method than they do by spores. I shall quote 

 one instance where this means must be adopted to reproduce 

 the species. Metzgeria picbcscens is a rare plant, confined to a 

 few stations in Co. Antrim. We have only the male plant in 

 Ireland ; the female has not been found, so far as I am aware. 

 In the Irish Naturalist for April last year, from copious 

 specimens I have been enabled to demonstrate the subject of 

 adventitious branching or budding with a figure of Metzgeria 

 conjugata bearing young plantlets, which I trust will serve to 

 explain this singular mode of reproduction. 



Amongst the rarer species which I collected JungermaMia 

 exsecta, Schmidil, must not be forgotten. I found it once 

 before, in Co. Wicklow. It is a curious plant, not like any 

 other liverwort that I know. The leaves are in two rows, 

 ovate in outline, the apex bluntly bi- or tridentate, and having 

 about the middle on the upper margin a strong tooth, pointing 

 obliquely upwards across each leaf. The specimens from 

 Sheep-pool bog are luxuriant ; they were growing amongst 

 Jungermania incisa and bore gemmae, but no fertile specimen 

 was found. The plant is beautifully figured by Sir J. W. Hooker, 

 in his grand work on the British Hepaticas, at tab. 19, and 

 supplement, p. i. In his description of the plant, he writes — 

 " This singular species of Juiigermayiia seems to be confined to 

 the two most eastern counties in the Kingdom (Norfolk and 

 Suffolk), at least I never heard of its being found in any other 

 places, excepting indeed, very latel}^ near Bantry, by Miss 

 Hutchins, of whom it may almost with truth be said, that she 

 finds everything." It has since that time been found by Dr. 

 Carrington at Killarney ; and at Gleniff", Co. Leitrim, and at 

 Sallagh Braes, Co. Antrim, by the late Dr. D. Moore. We 

 have no previous record for Co. Galway. 



