ox ANOMOCLADA. 165 



wide beds at the foot of trees, or hangs in masses from the trunk 

 and branches, and from rocks. — One species is Irish, L. tumidula, 

 Tayl., scarcely more than a subspecies of Z. cupressina, Sw. 

 3. Microlepidozia. Plants dioicoiis, in depressed matted patches, or 

 creeping among Mosses, slender, almost capillary, with (or without) 

 posticalflagella. Leaves transverse —neither succubous nor incubous 

 — deeply cloven. Perianth thin, of only one layer of cells ; ciliato- 

 laciniate at the mouth. — Corresponds nearly to the § Capillares 

 of " Syn. Hep.," and includes one European species, the common 

 L. setacea, Tluds. 

 The two former of these sections differ but slightly ; the third is 

 almost distinct enough to form a genus apart. 



In Aneura the frond is always branched, and often decompound, 

 but all the branches are lateral ; although when the growth of a frond 

 is arrested — as by the decay or rupture of the leading shoot — it is 

 sometimes renewed by a postical innovation. The female ramuli are 

 as truly lateral as any other branches, as may be easily seen in those 

 that have remained unfertilised, and are sometimes considerably elon- 

 gated; but when fertile the receptacle becomes depressed and gibbous 

 (as in Acroholhus, Nardia geoscyphus, &c.), and may appear postical, 

 if its origin be not carefully traced. Thus much on the ramification of 

 the Jungermaiinidea? must suffice for the present. 



Besides Odontoschtsma there is another genus which neai-ly a[)- 

 proaches Anomoclada, namely, Adela7ithus, Mitt., but as its differences 

 are more patent I have not thought it necessary to record them above. 

 Adelanthus was founded by Mr. Mitten, in 1864, for the reception of 

 Junyermannia decipiens of Hooker (discovered by Miss Hutchins near 

 Bantry) and a few other species which, so long as they were known by 

 only barren specimens, had been bandied about between Junyermannia 

 and Playiochila. To the latter genus there is considerable resemblance 

 in habit and in the toothed leaves, which, however, differ essentially 

 in the antical margin being incurved, whereas in Playiochila it is in 

 variably recurved. In June — August, 1857, 1 gathered Jung. 

 decipiens in the Forest of Canelos and on Tunguragua — plants of both 

 sexes, the females with perfect perianths ; and (probably about the 

 same time) fertile specimens were gathered by "Wright in the island of 

 Cuba. The inflorescence proving to be lateral at once sundered 

 J. decipiens from Playiochila, and, combining that species with two or 

 three others which had been gathered in perfect state, chiefly by Dr. 

 Hooker on the Antarctic voyage, Mr. Mitten proposed the name 

 Adelanthus for the group ; and, although the character he assigned for 

 it is incomplete, the genus is a good and natural one. It has, however, 

 since been merged into Odontoschisma by both Gottsche and Lindberg ; 

 and as I have been asked on various hands to say why I cannot sub- 

 scribe to the sentence of these eminent Hepaticologists, I proceed to 

 justify my course, first, by giving a clear summary of the main 

 characters by which Adelanthus is essentially distinguished from 

 Odontoschisma ; and, secondly, by adding detailed descriptions of a few 

 species of each genus. 



