Mosses and Lichens 



Pedicel (seta). Red-orange, becoming brown, stout, glossy, 

 to 2\ inches high. 



Lid (operculum). Red, flattened-convex with a short beak. 

 Teeth (peristome). Pale, symmetrical, 

 rather short, sixty-four in number. 

 Spores. Ripe in summer. 

 Distribution. From Florida to Alaska, 

 also in Europe. 



The Common Hairy-cap, Poly- 

 tricbum commune, L. See Colour Plate X. 

 Habit and habitat. This moss is 

 widely distributed and attains its largest 

 size in peat-bogs where it may usually 

 be recognised by the long stems covered 

 below by the silvery bases of the leaves 

 and by the angular 

 spore -case which 

 bears a flat disk at the 

 base. It has the dis- 

 tinction of being one 

 of a few mosses 

 which have served in 

 the economy of the 

 household. In the 



P. juniperinum. Spore-cases. 



north of England the plants are made into small dust- 

 ing brooms and mats. Withering states that the 

 plants are used for bedding by bears, and Carolus 

 Linnaeus, the renowned Swedish botanist, is said, 



, 



f . conttnttnt, 



Spore-case. 



P. juttiperinum. Cross section of leaf to show (a) lamellae growing from the inner 

 surface of the vein, (s) The vein. On the left, the blade is shown one cell thiok 

 and seven cells wide. 



