41 G HEPATTC.F.. 



Wlntelieacl). 5. Stipule x 85 (Dolgelly, J. Ralfs). 6. Perianth 

 X 16 (Dolgelly, J. Wlntelieacl). 7, 8. Scales from near mouth 



of perianth x 24 (ditto). 9, 10. Ditto from, lower down 

 X 24 (ditto). 11. Pistillidia x 85 (ditto). 12. Perigonial bract 

 X 85 (ditto). 13. Antlieridinm x 85 (ditto). 14, 15. Perigonial 



bracteoles x 85 (ditto). 



Subtribe YII, F08S0MBE0NIE^. 



Genus 37. FOSSOMBRONIA, Racldi. 



Fossomhronia, Raddi in Act. )Sc. Soc. Moden. (1S20). 



Dioicous or monoicous, growing in tliin layers, usually densely 

 caespitose, small, pale or yellowish green in colour, inodorous or 

 fetid. Stems short, fragile, simple or furcate, often innovant, no 

 postical branches, antical plane or canaliculate, postical rotundate 

 or narrowly carinate ; creeping ; densely radiculose, rootlets very 

 long, violet-purple, red or rarely white. Leaves large, succubous, 

 obliquely or sublongitudinally inserted, antical margin decurrent, 

 subquadrate, often longer than broad, usually narrow at the base, 

 undulate, rarely plicate, apex broadly lobulate or sinuate, some- 

 times subdentate ; cells moderately large, in some species two and 

 three layers thick. Stipules absent. Female flowers terminal. 

 Bracts similar to the leaves, but rather larger and more incised. 

 Perianth campanulate, pyriform or turbinate, mouth wide, lobate, 

 often longitudinally plicate, upper part tender and composed of a 

 single layer of cells, low^er portion composed of two or three 

 laj^ers. Calyptra free, subglobose or pyriform, much smaller than 

 the perianth, at the base thickened, sometimes with a few sterile 

 pistillidia surrounding it. Pedicel thick, short. Capsule globose, 

 rupturing irregularly into 4 valves, bistratose. Spores large, more 

 or less brownish, tetrahedral, convex face variously armed, lamellate 

 or papillate. Elaters short, obtuse, normally bispiral, sometimes 

 1 or 3 loosely twisted. Antlieridia 2 or 3, aggregated, exposed 

 on the antical face of stem, orange, shoitly ]:edice]late, afterwards 

 mixing with the pistillidi^,. 



