152 



SHORT NOTES. 



Is Hypnum catenulatum Brid. a North American Moss ? — On 

 page 320 of the ' Manual of the Mosses of North America,' (Boston, 

 1884), Lesquereux and James make the following remark as to the 

 habitat of Hypnum catenulatum Brid. : — " Hab. Mount Ingleborough, 

 New York [Xourll, fide Bchimpr in Svn. ed. 2, 605). We have never 

 seen an American specimen of this moss, nor can we find trace oj 

 the locality given by Schimper." Now, what Schimper actually 

 says (loc.cit.) is: — "Plants steriles sfepe tenuissim^ louge fili- 

 formes, foliis dimidio fere minoribus submuticis paulum laxius 

 textis reperiuntur ; formam hanc, colore atro-viridi insignem, el. 

 Nowell in Monte InijJehorouf/h comit. Eboracensis legit." This, of 

 course, is a well-known locality in Yorkshire, and the late John 

 Nowell was an energetic bryologist of that county. The American 

 authors have made the mistake of supposing thatNew York State 

 was intended. However, there yet remains No. 219 of Thomas 

 Drummond's * Musci Americani ' (1828), which was issued under 

 this name, with the remark: — "Hab. Upon rocks, rare; not 

 found in fructification." With regard to it, Wilson (Journ. 

 Bot. 1841, p. 439) says: — "Certainly a distinct species. In a 

 moist state this moss is remarkable for its strongly-aromatic 

 scent, resembling the plant called Foenugreek." But later 

 (' Bryologia Britannica,' 1855, p. 358), he says: — "No. 219 of 

 Drummond's 'Musci Americani' is a variety of H. catenulatuin.''' 

 But, according to Bruch and Schimper (Journ. Bot. 1843, p. 668), 

 it "is entirely distinct from the European plant." The actual set 

 of Drummond's mosses submitted by R. J. Shuttleworth to Bruch 

 and Schimper, and containing the specimen upon which they 

 pronounced this opinion, is now in the herbarium of the British 

 Museum. This certainly differs considerably from Hampe's notion 

 of that species. It would be extremely interesting to know whether 

 fi'uiting specimens of this moss have been found in North America, 

 and, if so, what conclusion has been arrived at w^ith regard to their 

 determination. — Antony Gepp. 



Melampyrum sylvaticum in Caithness ? — In the interesting list 

 of Caithness i')lants now publishing in the * Scottish Naturalist,' 

 Mehnnpyrum sylvaticum. is included, on the faith of a reference by 

 Smith in Fl. Brit. ii. 653. Roemer's edition (the one quoted) 

 corresponds with the original in printing the locality in question, 

 "Wick Cliffs, nr. Swayne, With." — not, as cited in Scot. Nat. 

 (April, 1889, p. 78), "At Wick Cliffs, near Swayne, With." The 

 authors of the list go on to say, "Certainly Smith's reference to 

 Caithness is much more likely to be correct than Withering's to 

 Somerset"; but Smith had no knowledge of the matter, and only 

 quoted from Withering. M. sylvaticum is, however, included in 

 Top. Bot. (both editions) as a Caithness plant. There is no note 

 of it in Mr. Watson's MSS. in the British Museum, and Messrs. 

 Grant and Bennett have no reference to it, except that already 

 cited : on what authority was the plant enumerated for Caithness 

 in ' Top. Bot.' ? — James Bkittex. 



