SECT. II. REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 223 



commune. Sometimes it is erect, as in Phascum pa- 

 tens; and sometimes drooping, nodding, or pendu- 

 lous, as in Bryum ccespiticium. The external surface 

 is generally smooth, as in Encatypta vulgaris; but 

 sometimes it is marked with longitudinal furrows, 

 as in the Genus Bartramia ; being when in a 

 young state somewhat white or green ; but when 

 in a mature state, brown, red, or yellow. 



Like the capsules which they support, the pe- Pedicles. 

 dicles are sometimes erect, as in Bryum cylin- 

 dricum; and sometimes bent, as in Bryum hornum. 

 They are generally solitary, but sometimes also 

 aggregate, as in Bryum ligulatum ; in which it 

 is no unusual thing to find five or six of them is- 

 suing from the same point. In some species they 

 are so very short as to be scarcely perceptible, and 

 in others they are from one to three inches in 

 length, as in Polytrlchum commune. The surface 

 is generally smooth and shining, as in Hypnum 

 nitens ; though sometimes it is also rough, as in 

 Hypnum lutescem. Its colour is sometimes white 

 and pellucid, as in Griitimia contraversa ; but in 

 a ripened state it is generally brown, yellow, purple, 

 or red. At the base it is almost always sheathed 

 by a thin and membranaceous substance, the lower 

 portion of the original veil, and sometimes it is 

 slightly bulbous, as in Hypnum Teesdalii. At the 

 summit it is also often distended into a large bunch Apophy- 

 or protuberance of a globular or oval figure, upon S1 

 which the capsule sits, as in the genus Splachnum ; 



