Beown. — On Neio Zealand Musci. 451 



Art. XLI. — Neio Zealand Musci : Notes on the Genus 

 Dicranum, with Description of New Species, including 

 Some Doubtful Species of Blindia. 



By EoBEBT Beown. 

 Plates XXIX.-XXXIV, 



[Read before the Pliilosophical Institute of Canterbury, 6th November, 



I HAVE collected a large number of plants belonging to this 

 genus in various districts in New Zealand, but I find that 

 several of these have already been described in the " Handbook 

 of the New Zealand Flora," which is still the standard work 

 on this subject here. Some of those described there are not 

 mentioned by me in this paper, for the simple reason that, 

 up to the present time, I have seen no specimens thereof. 



Among the new species here described are several of which 

 I have been unable to obtain all those parts which are neces- 

 sary to determine with certainty their generic character, hence 

 it is possible some may ultimately have to be r-emoved to other 

 genera when all the details are available. For the present I 

 have classified them under the present genus, that being, in my 

 opinion, the one to which they have most affinity. This paper 

 may also prove useful as a I'ecord of the existence of these 

 plants in New Zealand at the present time, as, unfortunately, 

 owing to climatic changes, advance of civilisation, and other 

 causes, many species of the Musci are becoming rather rare, 

 others have become quite extinct, and others are not found in 

 those habitats where they formerly existed. 



The peristomes in some of the new species will be found to 

 be very curious and interesting, being irregularly bifid or trifid, 

 and very irregularly perforated. 



In the New Zealand species of this genus found by me I 

 find three distinct characteristics in the leaves and two in the 

 capsules ; by means of either one or the other the genus might 

 be conveniently subdivided — (1) Those species in which the 

 leaves have broad sheathing-bases and the upper portion 

 subulate ; (2) those in which the leaves are secund and taper 

 into long slender points, and have no sheathing-bases ; (3) those 

 in which the leaves are not secund, are more or less obtuse, 

 and without sheathing-bases. 



The subdivision I have preferred adopting is that based on 

 the character and shape of the capsules, which gives a clear 

 idea of their divergence from and relation to each other : 1st 

 (Section A), those which have more or less ovate capsules; 

 2nd (Section B), those which have cylindrical capsules. 



