GYMNOSTOMUM. 83 



One can scarcely take an autumn botanical ramble in a 

 rocky dell, — • 



" Among the hollow rocks, 

 Whence gush the streams, the ceaseless fountains play, 

 And their unfailing wealth the rivers draw," — 



without encountering the pale green cushions of this beau- 

 tiful Moss, bedecked here and there with its glossy brown 

 capsules. 



6. Gymnostomum tortile, Schwfegr. {Twisted Beard- 

 less Moss.) Stems tufted ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, 

 their margins involute, their nerve excurrent ; capsule oval ; 

 lid nearly straight (oblique, according to Midler), somewhat 

 shorter than the capsule. — FL Hibernica, ]it. 2. p. 10, 

 Weissia tortilis, Milll. Stjn.pt. \. p. 661. 



On cliffs of mountain-rocks, especially of banks of rivers •, 

 very common in the south of Ireland. Tr. Spring. Such 

 is the locality and description given by Dr. Taylor, who 

 first recorded it as a native of our Isles. It is also found 

 in mountain districts in the south of Europe, but "no- 

 where common.'^ From G. microstomum, to which it is 

 allied, it is distinguished by its more robust habit and 

 broader leaves. Fragments of an aunulus are sometimes 

 found in the mouth of the capsule. 



