54 CRYPTOGAMIA-MUSCI. 



late, entire, nearly plane ; capsule oval, truncated, with a wide 

 orifice : lid obliquely rostrate. 



Hab. On banks and earth-capt dikes, in irregular even 

 patches, common. Winter. 



HASSELQTJIST having observed this plant growing in great 

 abundance upon the walls of Jerusalem, conjectures it may 

 be the hyssop of the Scriptures ; Solomon " spake of 

 trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto 

 the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." 



In stubble-fields in autumn, I have gathered a little moss 

 very nearly allied to Gym. truncatulum, but perhaps dis- 

 tinct from it. The stem is simple, very short, with longer 

 barren shoots intermixed ; leaves elliptic-lanceolate, con- 

 cave, obscurely toothed at the point, the nerve non-excur- 

 rent. My specimens are not sufficiently mature, but Mr 

 ARNOTT, who did me the favour of examining them, is in- 

 clined to refer them to Gym. rufescens. 



2. G. ovatum, small ; stem short, simple ; leaves ovate, erect, 

 concave, piliferous, their nerve furnished with a granuliferous 

 membrane; capsule ovate ; lid rostrate. 



Hab. On earth-capt dikes, frequent in this neighbourhood. 

 Winter. 



It is curious to notice how gay these little mosses are on 

 every wall top during the winter months and in early 

 spring, almost or perhaps the only things which seem to 

 enjoy the clouds and storms of the season. They choose 

 the most exposed stations, spread out their leaves, and 

 push up their glossy capsules amid rains, frost, and snow ; 

 and yet there is nothing in their tender and loose struc- 

 ture, from which we could a priori infer their capability 

 of resisting influences so generally destructive to vegeta- 

 tion. But so it is : the more simple the organization of 

 plants, the stronger is their tenacity of life ; and its phe- 

 nomena are exhibited and called into play by stimulants 

 not only very feeble, but apparently the very reverse of 

 those necessary to excite plants of a higher order. Thus 

 mosses and lichens, overstimulated by heat and dryness, 

 wither away in summer, but vegetate freely at a season 

 when there is no other vegetation, and when their humble 

 fronds cannot be overshadowed by a ranker growth. 



3. G. pyriforme, stem simple, very short; leaves grass-green, 

 ovate, acuminate, concave, serrated at the top ; fruitstalk stout ; 

 capsule roundish-obovate, large ; lid convex, shortly rostrate. 



Hab. Wet sides of ditches, frequent. Spring. 



