452 Transactions. — Botany. 



In the first section (Section A), of which D. tasmanicum is 

 the typical plant, the capsules of the different species become 

 differentiated from the type until they assume the wide 

 mouth and turbinate form of the genus Blindia. Those 

 specimens having this latter particular form of capsules are 

 provisionally placed among the Dicranums, as, unfortunately, I 

 have not been able to obtain all those parts which are necessary 

 to accurately locate the species ; but I note as a most important 

 fact that some of them have the leaves, habit, and locale of 

 Dicranum whilst possessing the capsules of Blindia. 



I have had great difficulty in determining which genus to 

 place some of the present mosses in, whether in Dicranum or 

 Blindia, the differences between the two genera being so 

 slight ; the former having ovate to cylindrical capsules and 

 the peristome united at the base, the latter having tur- 

 binate capsules, and in the peristome the teeth are free to the 

 base. 



In my own opinion it would be better to have added a 

 new genus than to put mosses with ovate capsules into 

 Blindia ; but, as this has been done, and many of my plants 

 touch closely on the border-land between the two genera, 

 I have provisionally placed them all in the genus Dicranum, 

 leaving their ultimate position to be decided when fuller and 

 more correct information regarding these plants has been 

 obtained. 



In the "Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand 

 Institute," vol. xxv., p. 298, Mr. Beckett has identified a moss, 

 specimens of which were given to him by me, and collected 

 near the Waimakariri glaciers — D. riupestre (? Blindia) of this 

 paper — as Blindia robusta, Hampe, and has added a de- 

 scription of that moss. He is in error as to the identification. 

 Blindia robusta is larger, the leaves are not so sharply secund 

 nor so closely imbricating ; the sheathing-base of the perichae- 

 tial is longer, the capsule longer and narrower, but, above all, 

 B. robusta is a monoecious plant, havmg the male inflorescence 

 on separate branches, and its habitat in swampy ground, 

 whilst D. rujjcstre is dioecious, and has its habitat on rocks. 



He has also in the same publication — vol. xxvii., p. 403 — 

 identified D. colimim of this paper, found by me in SteVk-art 

 Island, with B. temcifolia, and has added a description of that 

 moss. He has made some mistake here, for, on reference to 

 his figures of B. temcifolia (specimens of wdiich he obtained 

 from Mr. Weymouth, of Hobart) and mine of D. colimim, it 

 will be seen they do not agree. I have not b^en able to make 

 a comparison of B. tcnuifolia with D. coliniLm, as I have 

 never seen any specimen of the former. 



I find one of the new species, D. rostratum, is very closely 

 allied to D. tasmanicum, the leaves being apparently identical, 



