BOTANY 



fallax, first recorded from that locality as a British moss. But the most 

 fertile localities for our rarer mosses are the water-splashed rocks of the 

 limestone districts, as in the Dove dale ; here the ever present humidity 

 renders the moss flora rich and varied ; on rocks in the stream are Eu- 

 rhynchium crassinervium, Brachythecium illecebrum^ and on the limestone 

 rocks the rare Amblestegium confervoides, its first British locality, and 

 great masses of Weissia rupestris, Hypnum rugosum, and now and again 

 T'richostomum mutabile. The calcareous rocks too of the Manyfold valley 

 yield many lime lovers of interest, such as Weissia verticillata and Tricbo- 

 stomum crispulum, and on the grit and limestone walls of Alton Encalypta 

 streptocarpa is abundant, and the only fruiting example of Aulocomnion 

 androgynum found in Britain was from these stone fences. In some of 

 the limestone valleys of the Manyfold and Churnet are hollow cave-like 

 openings worn out by water action in the ages past, and in these is seen, 

 though rarely, the phosphorescent luminosity of the pretty little cavern 

 moss Scbistostega osmundacea and some of the more delicate forms of 

 Webera. The total moss flora of Staffordshire is larger than that of any 

 of the surrounding counties so far as these are known, but as there are 

 no properly representative lists published of some of them comparisons 

 would be valueless. The total moss flora of Staffordshire is 285 species 

 and 83 varieties, a total of 368 for the county. 



To show in a slight measure the distribution of the mosses enumer- 

 ated, the county has been divided into the three districts drained by the 

 rivers: (i) the Weaver; (2) the Trent, including the Dove and the 

 Sow; and (3) the Severn; and the numbers given in the list following 

 refer to these districts. 



Sphagnum cymbifolium, Ehrh. 1-3 

 ft. squarrosulum, N. & H. 2 



papillosum, Ldb. 2, 3 



ft. confertum, Ldb. 2 

 y. stenophyllum, Ldb. 2 



- molle, Sull. 2 



y. tenerum, Braith. 2 



- tenellum, Ehrh. 2 



- subsecundum, Nees. 1-3 



ft. contortum, Schp. 1-3 

 S. obesum, Schp. 2 

 e. viride, Boul. 1-3 



- squarrosum, Pers. 2 



acutifolium, Ehrh. 2 



ft. rubellum, Russ. 2 

 /x. patulum, Schp. 2 

 v. hetevirens, Braith. 2 



Girgensohnii, Russ. 2 



fimbriatum, Wils. 2 



- intermedium, Hoffm. 2 



ft. riparium, Ldb. 2 

 y. pulchrum, Ldb. 2 



cuspidatum, Ehrh. i, 2 



ft. falcatum, Russ. 2 

 Tetraphis pellucida, Hedw. 1-3 

 Catharinea undulata, W. & N. 1-3 



y. Haussknechtii, Dixon. 3 

 Oligotrichum incurvum, i, 2 



3 



Polytrichum nanum, Neck. 



ft. longisetum, Ldb. z 



- aloides, Hedw. 2, 3 



- urnigcrum, Linn. I, 2 



- piliferum, Schreb. 13 



- juniperinum, Willd. 2, 3 



- strictum, Banks. 2 



- gracile, Dicks. 2 



- formosum, Hedw. 2, 3 



commune, Linn. 1-3 



ft. perigoniale, B. & S. 2 

 y. minus, Weis. 2 

 Buxbaumia aphylla, Linn. 2 

 Diphyscium foliosum, Mohr. 2 

 Archidium alternifolium, Schp. 

 Pleuridium axillare, Ldb. 2 



subulatum, Rab. 2, 3 



alternifolium, Rab. 2 

 Ditrichum homomallum, Hpe. : 



flexicaule, Hpe. i, 2 



ft. densum, Braith. 2 

 Seligeria pusilla, B. & S. 2 

 Ceratodon purpureus, Brid. 1-3 



ft. paludosa, Bagnall. 2 



conicus, Ldb. i 

 Rhabdoweissia fugax, B. & S. 2 

 Cynodontium Bruntoni, B. & S. 

 Dichodontium pellucidum, Schp. 



61 



