tJg PACIFIC STATES FLORAL CONGRESS. 



species represented were not few. Little cups of brown and black 

 and yellow stood in order upon the "festive board/' while green mosses 

 abounded, their dry and curled leaves patiently waiting for the longed- 

 for rain, which came a few days later. As I passed from tree to tree, 

 and from one old rail and post to another, I thought, verily, the 

 mosses and lichens of the Pacific Coast are objects of wonderful inter- 

 est and beauty. We may not know many of their Latin names, use- 

 ful and pleasant though that knowledge would be; but to the atten- 

 tive eye and receptive heart they speak in a language far older than 

 that of imperial Rome, and they may bring thoughts too deep for 

 words, and awaken feelings too personal to allow of communication. 



Of the mosses, which are plants of a more complex and higher 

 nature than the lichens, there are two great divisions, both of which 

 are abundantly represented on our coast. The green liverworts, or 

 Hepaticae, form the humbler and less-known division, while the Musci, 

 or true mosses, are known, in form at least, to almost every one. 

 Mosses of all descriptions love moisture, though many of them are 

 strangely capable of lying dormant during long droughts, and resuming 

 their activity again when the welcome rains reappear. In such a state 

 as California, it would be impossible for them to live, to any con- 

 siderable extent, were they not endowed with this wealth of patience. 

 Farther to the north, their love of water can be more frequently 

 gratified, and consequently we find them growing there in remarkable 

 luxuriance. The rainy side of the Hawaiian Islands also produces many 

 choice forms, both of the liverworts and the true mosses. In cool, 

 wet meadows, mosses abound, and by brook-sides we always expect to 

 find moss-covered banks and stones. 



The liverworts are of various forms, some being flat and prostrate, 

 while others are more erect, and have a leafy appearance. One of 

 the most common of the former kind, which is found growing in 

 almost every greenhouse, is the Lurmlaria cruciata, which, however, 

 is not a native, but was introduced from Europe. It is a little plant, 

 usually less than an inch across, and it lies nearly flat, like a scrap 

 of paper. It is of a very lively green color, looking as fresh as a 

 May morning. If you lift it from the soil, you find numerous little 

 roots, or rather rhizoids, which clasp the grains of sands or earth 

 quite closely. Its edges are slightly ruffled, and it frequently forks into 

 two branches as it increases in size. On its surface you can often find 

 httle crescent-shaped cups, containing minute, flattened, green balls. 

 * are the gemmae, or reproductive buds, by means of which the 

 plant ?8 propagated. These gemma, are dispersed either naturally or 

 artificially and each one which falls on good ground may produce 

 a new plant, and so the chain of life is lengthened and strengthened. 



