20O 



MOSSES AND FERNS 



CHAP. 



the female plant is still but a few millimetres in height. In this 

 case there is no doubt that the apical cell forms an archegonium 

 directly, but not necessarily the first one, which arises usually 

 from one of the last-formed segments. The elongation of the 

 axis of the female branch is but slight, even in the later stages, 



FIG. 104. Longitudinal section through the apex of a male plant of F. hygrometrica, 

 Xsoo; L, leaf; ^, antheridia; p, paraphyses. 



and the plant remains bud-like even after the sporogonium is 

 developed. In regard to the development of the leafy axis, or 

 gametophore, therefore, Fnnaria offers a very marked contrast 

 to Fontinalis or Sphagnum, where the gametophore reaches 

 such a large size and has practically unlimited growth. 



The young archegonia are quite colourless, and the details 



