White Mosses 



The name Leucobryum, from the Greek Xev*o<?, white, and 

 fipvov, a moss, was suggested by the pallid colour. 



The leaves are lance-shaped with 

 an awl-like apex and a vein occupy- 

 ing the width of the leaf with the 

 exception of a few rows of cells on 

 each side. 



The spore-cases are exserted on 

 long pedicels, they are erect or have 

 the summit somewhat inclined, and 

 the base more or less swollen on 

 one side. When dry the wall is 

 grooved lengthwise. 



The lids have an awl-like beak 

 and the teeth are two-parted and 

 purple at the base. 



The genus is universal, with 

 seventy-four species in all, nine 

 of them being known in North 



America L. glaucttm. Portion of peristome. 



Common White Moss, Leucobryum vulgare, Hampe. 



Habit and habitat. Conspicuous in white cushions about the 

 roots of trees in woods and on the borders of swamps. It is 

 not uncommon to find on the terminal leaves of female plants 



a b 



(a) Young plant. (6) Terminal 

 leaves. 



Leucobryum vulgare. 



minute tufts of root-like hairs developing a cluster of young 

 plants, which may fall to the ground and form a new colony. 

 Name. From the Latin, vulgaris, common. 



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