252 HOW TO KNOW THE MOSSES 



Operculum long-beaked. 



Range, Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Georgia; 

 Europe; Asia; Africa. 



Oxyrhynchium rusciforme (Neck.) Warnst. {Eu- 

 rhynchium rusciforme (Neck.) Milde, Rhynchostegium 

 rusciforme Bryol. Eur.) is a robust moss common on 

 rocks often overflowed in beds of streams. It is usually 

 well fruited, which helps to distinguish it from the 

 acrocarpous moss, Rhacomitrium (p. 113), which it 

 most resembles and which is found in similar places. 

 Although the capsule of Rhacomitrium sometimes ap- 

 pears lateral, it is always erect, while in Oxyrhynchium 

 it is inclined. The leaves of Rhacomitrium are not so 

 large as in Oxyrhynchium, and fold more closely when 

 dry, giving the branches a more slender appearance. 

 Other pleurocarpous mosses growing in brooks have 

 leaves smaller or more or less curved and turned to one 

 side, and lack the stout appearance of the branches 

 characteristic of Oxyrhynchium. See Hygroamblyste- 

 gium (p. 211), Eygrohypnum (p. 218), Brachythecium 

 (p. 244), and Bryhnia (p. 254). 



78. EURHYNCHIUM Bryol. Eur. 

 (Eu-rhyn-chi-um) 



A genus containing several species, one of which is 

 occasional in our region. Name derived from the Greek 

 for ''well " and " beak," referring to the long beak of 

 the operculum. 



