34 CRYPTOGAMIA MUSCI. 



* * * * Leaves two-ranked ; stem flattened. 



37. H. denticulatum, stems matted ; leaves ovate, pointed, en- 

 tire, 2 short nerves at the base ; capsule cylindrical, inclined ; lid 

 short, conical. 



Hob. On stones, and at the roots of trees in moist woods. 



38. H. complanatum, stems pinnate ; leaves oblong, obtuse, api- 

 culate, entire, nerveless ; " capsule ovate, erect ; lid rostrate." 



Hob. Trunks of trees, common, but not in fruit. 



39. H. undulatum, whitish ; stem procumbent ; loosely branch- 

 ed; leaves ovate-acute, entire, transversely undulate, 2 faint 

 nerves at the base ; capsule oblong, furrowed, arched, cernuous ; 

 lid rostrate ; fruitstalks 2 inches. 



Hal. In woods and on moors, but very rarely in fruit. 

 In plantations about Blackadder, Rev. A. Baird. On 

 Cheviot and the adjoining hills ; and on the Lammer- 

 muirs, plentiful. 



The Hypna are so very abundant, and so generally dispersed, 

 that it would, perhaps, be no exaggeration to say that they 

 form a fourth part of the vegetable clothing of this island. 

 They are met with every where : in many old pastures 

 they usurp the place of the more useful grasses ; they 

 form a large proportion of the vegetation of moors ; they 

 flourish at hedge bottoms, in woods and deans, on rocks, 

 and even on sand links ; and they grow in profusion in 

 every marsh, and bog, and stream. The share they thus 

 contribute to the green covering of the earth is considera- 

 ble, especially in winter, when they are in their greatest 

 beauty and perfection. In this season of cold and vicissi- 

 tude, they foster the roots of other plants ; and they pre- 

 serve amid their dense tufts myriads of insects which 

 might otherwise perish. In summer, birds make much 

 use of them in building their nests, for which they are 

 very suitable by their lightness, warmth, and elasticity. 

 If we except their occasional use in packing brittle wares, 

 they are of no direct utility to man, unless, with the ex- 

 cellent LIGHTFOOT, we admit amongst the utilities that 

 entertainment and agreeable instruction which they afford 

 to the contemplative mind of the naturalist, at a season 

 when few other plants offer themselves to his view. 



