52 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS 



Purple Fork-moss (Ceratodon purpureus), a moss 

 which we have already met with several times. 

 At its lower end, or neck, as it is called, a small 

 swelling in the capsule wall will he seen. Such 

 a capsule is said to he strumose, a word derived 

 from the Latin strmna, a wen. A minute detail 

 like this might seem, at first sight, to be scarcely 

 worth observing, or may even pass unnoticed, and 

 yet in this particular plant this slight swelling 

 is always present, in a more or less marked degree, 

 and is one of the signs by which it is known. 

 With a good lens the swelling may easily be seen, 

 even in the field. In some cases the part of the 

 fruit-stalk just under the capsule becomes very 

 much swollen (forming what is known as an 

 apophysis), as illustrated by figs. 12 and 13 of 

 Plate IV.a. It will readily be believed that such 

 a striking characteristic is of importance as 

 regards identification. And lastly, contrast this 

 form with that of the capsule at fig. 15 of the 

 same plate (Webera elongata), where the neck 

 of the capsule tapers very gradually into the 

 fruit-stalk, giving a long, drawn-out appearance 

 to the whole. 



Now notice the oblique mouth of the capsule 

 of the Common Cord-moss (Funaria hygrometrica), 

 drawn at fig. 3 of Plate IV., a moss frequently 

 to be found growing on heaths, banks, and walls. 

 This same capsule is also given at Plate IV.b, 

 fig. 1, in order to illustrate another feature, 



