Hair-cap Mosses 



Distribution. North America ; Eastern States, north to New- 

 foundland, west to Ontario. 



The Short-leaved Hair-cap Moss, Pogonatum brachyphyl- 

 lum, (Michx.) Beauv. 



Habit and habitat. The short-leaved Pogonatum is found on 

 sandy or loamy soil. The plants do not grow close together, 

 but scattered somewhat, on a persistent green felt of slender alga- 

 like threads. 



Name. The specific name brachyphyllum is compounded of 

 the Greek fipaxu, short, and <j>v\\ov, a leaf. 



Plants (gametopbyte) . Olive-green or dark-brown when old; 

 stems rigid, short, to f of an inch long. 



Leaves. In rosettes at the 

 summit of the stems, curved, 

 appressed and brown when 

 dry, very short, strap-shaped; 

 apex blunt; margin entire; 

 vein broad; lamellce numer- 

 ous, 6 to 7 cells deep, irregu- 

 lar, the terminal cell smooth, 

 elliptic in section; base clear 

 with large cells. 



Habit of flowering. Male 

 and female flowers on separate plants (dioicous). 



Veil (calyptra). Hairy, dirty-brown, reaching to the middle 

 of the spore-case. 



Sport -case. Yellow-brown, erect or curved, broadest at the 

 mouth, rough with tiny projections. 



Pedicel (seta). Erect, short i to i inches long, twisted. 

 Lid (operculum). Flat, beak short, blunt-pointed. 

 Teeth (perislome). Simple and blunt. Thirty-two in num- 

 ber. 



Spores. Mature in winter. 



Distribution. Pine barrens of New Jersey, south to Florida 

 and Louisiana. 



The Hair-like Hair-cap, Pogonatum capillare, (Michx.) Brid. 

 Habit and habitat. Pale-green plants growing rather close 

 together. 



Name. The specific name capillare is the Latin for "hair- 

 like," referring to the slender character of the stem, leaves and teeth. 



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P. brachyphyllum. 

 Spore-case with veil. 



P. brachyphyllum. 

 Spore-case with lid. 



