228 HOW TO KNOW THE MOSSES 



Plants growing chiefly on rocks in shaded ravines in 

 mountainous regions; dull green; not common; fruit 

 occasional. 



Stems rigid, usually prostrate or arched; irregularly 

 branched. 



Leaves quite large, straight, spreading, dull green. 



Seta about i inch long; reddish. 



Capsule short-cylindrical, inclined; mature in spring. 



Operculwn short-beaked. 



Range, Nova Scotia to Ontario, south to North Carolina; 

 Europe; Asia; Africa. 



Hylocomium brevirostre (Ehrh.) Bryol. Eur. {Hyp- 

 num brevirostre Ehrh.) is less frequently found than the 

 two preceding species and is confined to the cool ra- 

 vines of mountainous regions. The stems are more 

 robust than in H. umhratum and the leaves larger and 

 wider-spreading, giving the plants a coarser appear- 

 ance. In general growth H. brevirostre more closely 

 resembles Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (p. 224), but 

 the latter is found more often on the ground in swamps, 

 and has wider-spreading leaves. H. brevirostre may be 

 distinguished from Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus (p. 223), 

 which also occurs on rocks, by the less shaggy ap- 

 pearance, the less robust stems, and the smaller, less 

 spreading leaves. R. triquetrus is much more com- 

 mon. 



