iirscf. 37 



exceptions to the uniformity of the ecllular tissue of mosses, for they ilevelope vasculur 

 tissue ; also to their generally delieate and translucent texture, for they are firm, 

 tough, and dry. Nor are all mosses gi-een, though that is the ])revailinu; colour. Some 

 are uearh* white, as Leucohrijum and OdMeplmrum : others iiearh" hlaek, as Andraa : 

 others, again, arc of a beautiful golden yellow, as Stercodon praiiiollift and Tnie/ii/piis 

 (X«c/vT(«) crispalula, Burmese plants. And many others, such as Stcrcodon and 

 J/eteoriuM, present a beautiful adini.\turc of various shades of brown and yellow. 

 Trees and rocks owe, indeed, much of their rich colouring to the mosses 'which 

 adorn their surface. 



Mosses, like feras and orchids, are either terrestrial or epiphytal ; they arc erect, 

 creeping, or pendulous, simple or branched. They are covered with small leaves, 

 commonly growing unit'onuly round the central axis, so as to make the plant appear 

 cylindrical, but not uufrcqueutly they are more or less bifariously disposed, which 

 gives the moss a tiattened appearance. In one (I believe, solitary) instance, that of a 

 rare European moss called " Jiicrliinimia ophylla" a moss may be said to be IcaHess, 

 for to all intents and purposes it is so, presenting to the eye nothing but a single seta 

 or stem about half an inch high surmounted by a rather large sponii/ji'itm ; rudi- 

 mentary leaves have, however, been discovered. But, however mosses may differ 

 from each other in thcii- general appearance, the fructification, when once seen or 

 understood, affords an unfailing mark by which to distinguish the class. 



Accordingh', leaving the male and female organs of reproduction, which arc 

 concealed and microscojiic, we will now describe what is alone visible to the naked 

 eye and is commonly called the fruit of a moss. This (I except here the small and 

 partially distinct gr aip, Andraa), is in the form of a hollow capsule, called the fheca 

 or sporuiiffiiiM, which is either sessile among the leaflets, or elevated on a rigid bristle- 

 like support or stalk, called the se/a. This spore-case is more or less globose 

 or cylindrical, or sometimes even square. It contains the spores and opens in various 

 ways to allow of their escape. In every case, in an early stage, before the spornngium 

 is fully ripe, it is surmounted by a sort of cap or veil, which is called the cah/ptra. 

 This small appendage either covers the spore-case uniformly like an extinguisher, 

 when it is said to be mitnfonn ; or it is ruptured laterally, and sticks jauntily on one 

 side like a Xormandy cap ; or, if one may draw a comparison from the country, like 

 that remarkable sort of night-cap which Tamil boys wear when they go to school ; 

 it is then called dimidiate. This cali/ptrn, or hood, or veil (as it is variously called), 

 is sometimes large enough (relatively to the size of the spore-case) to be a conspicuous 

 object upon it, but oftener it is small and vei-y fugitive. When this hood has fallen 

 off or been removed carefully by a pair of pincers, the spore-case is laid bare, and in 

 some few mosses, as in Phascum, it is seen to be entire, though it shows a small beak 

 or point, and the spores can only escape by its decay and irregular rupture. In the 

 great majority of cases, however, the sporangium is furnished with a lid, or operculum, 

 which is nearly flat, or conical, or lengthened into a slender curved point. This lid, 

 when the sporangium is fully matured, falls off (or it may be pulled off shortly before 

 maturity), disclosing either a naked mouth, as in Splmgnum and Gymnostomum, or — 

 much oftener — a single or double row of cilia, or teeth, as they are commonly called, 

 which form an exquisitely beautiful fringe to the mouth of the sporangium. These 

 teeth expand and contract in a livcl\- manner, according as moisture is applied or 

 withheld. Inside the urn, or sporangium, the innumerable green spores may now 

 be seen. No one, except those who have seen these fringes of teeth, or peristomes, 

 as thej- are called, can form any idea of their exquisite variety and beauty. They aic 

 among the loveliest objects which the microscop(! has ever revealed. 



Apart, however, from their beauty, the most singular feature about these teeth, 

 or cilia, is their nundjcr. In some (comparatively few) mosses, as we have seen, they 

 arc wholly wanting; but where they are present, they are always four, or some 

 multiple of four, i.e. they are 4, 8, K!, 32 or 01. No other number is known; nor, 

 as far as I have seen or heard, are they ever fewer or more numerous by so much 

 as one, through abortion, or chance malformation, or sport, as often happens with 

 the stamens or other parts of flowering plants; so exquisitely perfect are thiy in 

 their minute organization. 



