158 HISTORY OF BRITISH MOSSES. 



capsule oblong; lid rostrate, shorter than the capsule. — 



Eng. Fl.jp.4i4!. Barbula revoluta, Hull. Syn. pt. I. p. 621. 



Banks, walls, and stones, in shadj places. Fr. Spring. 



Not very generally distributed on the continent of Europe. 



tt I/eaves uniform. 



6. ToRTULA MURALis, Hcdw. [Wall Screio 3foss.) 

 Stems mostly short ; leaves patent, narrow, oblong, the mar- 

 gins recurved, the nerve strong, running out into a hair-like 

 point; capsule oblongo-cylindrical ; lid conical, acuminate. 

 — Mnff. FLp. 44. Barbula muralis, Mitll. 8yn.pt. \.p. 625. 



Wall-tops, stones, and rocks ; very common. Fr. April. 

 The little hair-tipped leaves of this common Moss are so 

 abundantly distributed over every wall, that it seems super- 

 fluous to draw the attention of the most cursory observer to 

 them. Their minute spores would seem to be vegetating 

 ere the mortar has dried on the wall-top ; and it seems, like 

 the domestic sparrow, to love the society of man, as tiny 

 tufts seem to be the last form of mossy vegetation that jields 

 to the influence of the smoke of towns. It seems to be 

 equally common throughout all the temperate zones. 



There is a variety, brevipila, with the leaves nearly plane 

 and scarcely piliferous. 



7. ToRTULA RURALis, Sw. {Great Hairy Screw Moss.) 



