48 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS 



it hangs with its mouth directed to the ground 

 (pendulous, as this position is called). At fig. 17 

 of Plate III. we have a much more rounded or 

 spherical capsule ; it is taken from the Common 

 Apple-moss (Bartramia pomiformis], a beautiful 

 little pale green moss, which is particularly 

 partial to dry, shady banks, where the soil is of 

 a sandy nature. Under such conditions it often 

 spreads and flourishes, and the groups of small 

 round capsules which in the spring, when newly 

 formed, are light green in colour, and later on 

 turn a warm brown form very conspicuous 

 objects. This particular capsule, moreover, is 

 specially long-lived, and it is by no means un- 

 usual to find the vivid green heads of the young 

 fruit growing side by side with the empty brown 

 shells of those which were produced in the pre- 

 vious year. The name "Apple-moss," given to 

 the members of this family, would seem to have 

 been suggested by the evident resemblance which 

 the capsule bears to an extremely diminutive 

 apple. Mg. 11 of Plate IV.a shows this capsule 

 on a larger scale. 



The capsule drawn at fig. 18 of Plate III. is 

 again rather long in proportion to its width, and 

 is moreover distinctly bent, or inclined ; it belongs 

 to the Wavy-leaved Hair-moss (Catharinea un- 

 dulata), mention of which has also been made in 

 an earlier page (see page 12). The fresh green 

 capsules of this moss, often still covered by the 



