HYPNUM. ?.65 



found, and as yet unknown in Britain) Spring. Tlie 

 transverse imdulations of tlie leaves when they are drying 

 is a striking characteristic of the species. Hooker men- 

 tions that it is closely allied to //. rohustum, a North Ame- 

 rican species. 



67. Hypnum coMMUTATUMj Hedw. {Curled Fern Feather 

 Moss.) Stems pinnated ; leaves falcato-secund, cordate, 

 very much acuminated, serrated, their margins reflexed, the 

 nerve disappearing below the summit ; capsule oblong, 

 curved and cernnous ; lid conical. — Eng. FL p. 94 ; Mull. 

 Syn.pt. 2.;;. 422. 



On moist, dripping rocks, and near waterfalls, especially 

 in calcareous districts. Fr, Spring. The bright green 

 cushions of this common but graceful species must be fa- 

 miliar to all, whether botanist or not, who visit the shelv- 

 ing or precipitous rocks, down which the streamlet trickles 

 in its way to the river's bed. Its specific name, comimdatura, 

 or " changed," refers to the petrifying process to which its 

 stems and foliage are frequently subjected by the deposition 

 of calcareous matter from the water amid which it grows. 



" Contentment seems its dowry, as it throws 

 Its golden mantle o'er the dripping rocks, 

 And drinks the dews of heaven and the soft spray 

 Of the small waterfall." 



-L>^ 



