LESSONS IN BOTANY. 





LK > IN BOTANY. XI.l I I. 



BE' ..ntinutd). 



.u has boon said tu how that the family of Lichen* 

 id l>y 110 moans deficient nthcr in int<T--t r in l>":iuty : lmt a 

 :!!. which awaits ns on thn moor, the Cladonias, will, we 

 ilnnk, I).- touii'l more interoatintf than any we hare yet seen. 

 .if tin- tribe are of a character in some respecU quite 

 .int.Ti nt in. m most of tho varieties which we have described, 

 inasmuch aa they grow on the earth, and bear much the appear- 



aa well aa in general the name uf mosses. 

 Cloaely m.ittintf the surface of tho ground all over the aide of 

 tho hill, au'l between tho bushes on that little bit of coppice, 

 iioa the pretty and valuable apeoiea, the Cladonia ranytfcrina, 

 i .leer moan. This ia branched and hoary, growing many 

 ui.'liiM doop, and in early aprin^ 

 exhibiting a moat exquisitely 

 lovoly appearance, oa the half- 

 moltod hoar-frost glittera in 

 the nun shine, and aeema to tip 

 its inultituilinouB pointa with 

 lusters of diamonds. This 

 species covers acres, indeed 



strive miles of ground, in 

 l.ai>l;uul, especially on those 

 tr.i>:t4 whore pine-forests have 

 been burned, and supplies food 

 for the reindeer throughout the 

 long northern winters. Its 

 fruit is borne at the extreme 

 points of the branches in 

 brown clusters. On tho banks 

 and walls which divide and 

 flank the moor, are found 

 several other varieties of Cla- 

 donia growing in the peat. 



There is the beautiful grey- 

 cup, or chalice-moss, which 

 sends up from a cluster of grey 

 thalli lovely little cups each 

 about largo enough to contain 

 a drop of water, and from tho 

 edges of these cups proceed, in 

 the course of time, clusters of 

 other and smaller cups, lifted 

 on long foot-stalks, which again 

 occasionally branch and bear 

 more cups at their points, tho 

 edges of all of which are eventu- 

 ally furnished with branches of 

 brown, shining apothecia. This 

 is Cenomyce pixidata ; and in 

 the same situations we shall 

 find another species, Cenomyce 

 fimbriata, even more beautiful 

 than Cenomyce pixidata, for its 

 cups are elegantly fringed at 

 the edges, and it is furnished 

 with delicately crenate thalli, 



or leaves of a silvery greenish-white, which cluster on the 

 podetia, and on the outside of the cup (Fig. 295). There are 

 many other species of Cladonia and Cenomyce, all likely to be 

 found on the moor. The autumn is tho season in which 

 they are in perfection, although we still find them in situ, for 

 lichens are very slow in growth and in decay, and will remain 

 for years with very little variation in their appearance. Several 

 of these tribes bear fruit of the most brilliant scarlet hue, as 

 bright as small coral beads, and the silvery grey of their setting 

 makes them more admirable than the jewels of a bride ; indeed, 

 our jewellers have overlooked a tribe which might furnish many 

 a beautiful type for ornaments, either for a fair lady's dress, or 

 for tho decoration of her room or table. The varied forms of 

 these genera deserve some special notice : some, as we have 

 seen, are cup-like ; one takes exactly tho form of the horn of 

 the stag this is the Cenomyce ccrvicornis, and is found on tho 



293. FRINGED CUP MOSS (CLADONIA FIMBRIATA). 293. CEXOMYCE BELLI- 

 DIFLORA. 297. CENOMYCE DEFOKMIS. 293. BORRERA FUKFUF.ACEA. 

 299. 8PHBOPRORON COBALLOIDES. 300. GRAFKIS SCBIFTA 301. 

 CUDBEAR (PARHELIA TABTAREA). 



(Fig. 297), u Bulphur-ooloured, and grows in branching tufU 

 throe inchwi high, and bearing scarlet fruit, at the rooU of 

 trees. But we must forbear, for to attempt to enumerate the 

 varied and capricious appearances of all the specie* of thi* 

 interesting gonua would be in rain, and we must content our- 

 selvoa with giving figures of two other varieties, namely, 

 Borrera furfurcuxa (Fig. 298) and 8pha>rophoron coralloidei 

 (Fig. 299), for there remain two of tho fire tribes of lichen* 

 which we have as yet not noticed. 



The fourth tribe, the Athalami, contain* but one genus, the 

 . i ; these are all yellow, and form a sort of leprous crust 

 on rocks, old pales, or tree*, the mode of their fructification, 

 being as yet unknown. 



The fifth tribe, or I'teudo-Licltenfi, contains some very inte- 

 resting species : the flr*t genus, or Opegrapha, is named so from 



two Greek words signifying a 

 chink, and to write, because the 

 shields or apothecia are crack* 

 upon the surface of the thallu*. 

 which look like strange Oriental 

 characters on a pale grcand. 

 They are almost always /bund 

 on the smooth bark of tree*, 

 varying in colour, some being 

 black, others white, olive, grey, 

 green, or yellow. There u 

 another genus, Qraphis, which 

 is even more remarkable for 

 its resemblance to written 

 characters than Opographa ; 

 Oraphia acripta (Fig. 300) 

 and Graphia aerpentina, but 

 especially the former, having 

 markings strikingly like the 

 Chinese character. 



But in our admiration of the 

 external character of lichen*, 

 we must not forget to take a 

 glance at their hidden qualities, 

 nor withhold our praise to Him 

 who has given to such simple, 

 and often unnoticed plants, 

 qualities which render them 

 exceedingly valuable to man, 

 and make some of the species 

 highly important articles Li 

 commerce. 



We havo noticed the value 

 cf the reindeer-moss, or, as it 

 is frequently called, Lapland 

 moss, as the main food of the 

 reindeer ; and there is no ne- 

 cessity to Bay mu'jh of that 

 well-known kind, the Iceland 

 moss, Cetraria Islandica, which 



is sold in all chemists' shops, 

 and so frequently ased as an 

 article of diet for consump- 

 tive and weak patients. Tho 



Roccella tinctoria, or true dyer's lichen, ia the orchil of 

 commerce, celebrated for yielding a fine purple dye, for 

 which the cudbear (Parmelia. tartarea, Fig. 301) is but a 

 poor substitute, though one which is, nevertheless, in much 

 request, and by collecting which many an industrious 

 peasant in the Highland district gains his living. This 

 lichen is scraped from tho rocks with an iron hoop, and 

 sold in large quantities to tho Glasgow merchants. It is no 

 easy process to obtain it, for to dislodge lichens cf the crusting 

 growth which have once established themselves on rooks and 

 stones is hard work. They not unfrequently take up their 

 position on grave-stones, and effect in a few years that which, 

 without their aid, would scarcely be accomplished in centuries 

 namely, the total obliteration of the name, dates, and other 

 inscriptions which had been on tho stones. The simplest and 

 surest mode of dislodging tho foe from such poaitiona, is to 



Pentland and other high hills ; another, Cenomyce bellidiflora, or cover the stone on which they have congregated with earth, 



da : ay-flowered cenomyce (Fig. 29C), grows in stiff ssaly tufts on turf, or other matter, which by depriving them of their main 



the tops of lofty mountains ; whilst another, Cenomyce dtformia supporters, air and light, will soon clear off the incumbrance, 



111 Nt 



