388 Notes on a few rare Mosses. [Sess. 



Edge in Cheshire, by Wilson, 1833 ; Harrison's Eocks, 

 Tunbridge Wells, by Borrer, 1844; The Strid, Wharfedale, 

 by Spruce ; West Kilbride, Ayrshire, by Boyle, 1887. 



At the excursion of the Society to Bosslyn Glen for Hepaticae, 

 I must confess I paid more attention to mosses tnan hepatics, 

 and by doing so had the good fortune to find this rare moss. 

 I did not know the moss when I first saw it, but on Mr Scott 

 coming up, I handed a piece to him, and was very pleased not 

 to hear him name it right off, as he usually does. When next 

 I saw Mr Scott, he told me that he believed the moss to be 

 Stableria gracile, and it was sent away in order to have the 

 name verified. 



The next moss I shall notice, Hypnum patientia, is not so 

 rare, but the finding of it in fruit is very uncommon : indeed 

 there is but one record of its being so found, and that was in 

 Western Prussia, by Dr Klengraff — I do not know the date. 

 Dixon and Jameson say : " Found on the ground in woods, 

 on rocks covered with earth, &c, principally on clay ; not 

 common. Fruit very rare ; not found in Britain." It was 

 by the merest chance that we noticed it. Mr Scott and I 

 were on the Pentlands one Saturday afternoon, about the 

 beginning of March, when he pointed out to me a large bed of 

 Hypnum patientia from which he had pulled a small patch. 

 I likewise pulled a bit, and it was on preparing this for drying 

 that I noticed the fruit-stalks appearing. On mentioning it 

 to Mr Scott, he would scarcely credit it, knowing it to be such 

 a rare fruiter. We thought that we might get a deal of fruit, 

 but, alas ! very few fruit-stalks came up, although there were 

 three large beds of it. I think such a find is well worth 

 recording. 



My other specimen is Hypnum stramineum. It is also a 

 very rare moss in Scotland. Mr Scott found it on the Pent- 

 lands. It is a lovely moss, but a very rare fruiter. I have 

 found a Hypnum in fruit which must be either H. stramineum 

 or the more rare one, H. trifarium : Mr Scott thinks it is the 

 former. 



There are several other rare mosses which we have found 

 in the neighbourhood, but these I shall do little more than 

 mention at present, leaving full descriptions for another occa- 

 sion. First, we got a small piece of Andra?a rupestris on the 



