256 PLANT LIFE. 



gelatinous cells down which the spermatozoid makes 

 its way. The gelatinous matter contains cane sugar 

 which attracts the spermatozoid. 



After fusion of the egg cell and spermatozoid, the 

 fertilised egg so formed begins to develop. It grows 

 into a long stalk ending in a brown or yellowish green 

 sack, the capsule, full of spores. These spores are 

 scattered by the wind. When a spore falls to the 

 ground it germinates and produces, not the moss as one 

 would expect ; but a preliminary state in the shape of 

 a green mass of branching threads, very like a robust 

 green alga. Upon this protonema, the moss stems arise 

 as a series of buds which form the moss plant again. 



The history of a moss may be written thus : 



__ , male, antheridia. 



Moss plants — — 



female, archegonia. 



^ capsules ^ ^ , , 



Eggs — Spores — protonema — moss plants. 



stalks. 



Thus the sexual stage of the life-history alternates 

 with the spore stage.^ Protonemas may be produced 

 from any part of the moss. The leaf, stem, capsule, or 

 even its stalk may give rise to them. A protonema 

 divided into pieces will continue to grow until it reaches 

 the moss-forming stage. Thus the moss is not bound 

 to follow the above history, but may continue its 

 development by a sort of budding or non-sexual 

 growth. 



The spores of mosses are, as has been mentioned, 

 contained in a sack, the capsule, and are distributed 

 apparently by the wind. These capsules vary greatly 

 in shape and in structure. In such forms as Funaria 



^ This part of the subject will be found exhaustively treated in all English 

 text- books. 



