368 MUSCI. Di'snuitodon. 



14. DESMATODON, Bridtl. 



Closely allied to Trichosfomum, from Avhiclx it is separated by broader ovate- or 

 obovate-oblong and usually obtuse or obtusisli leaves ; teeth of the peristome simi- 

 lar, rather short and subulate, somewhat incurved or loosely twisted when dry : low, 

 soft, sparingly branched : inflorescence monoecious, the male flowers terminal and 

 axillary : capsule erect in our species. 



A small genus of five European species (four of which are also American), and five peculiar to 

 North America. 



1. D. latifolius, Bridel. Stems -| to rarely 1 inch high : leaves deep green, 

 paler with age, mure or less spreading, incurved or somewhat twisted wdien dry, 

 ovate-oblong, acuminate, carinate-concave with revolute margins, the costa excurrent 

 or ceasing below the apex : capsule oblong-cylindric, brownish becoming chestnut- 

 colored, covered to the base by the whitish calyptra ; operculum with an oblique 

 blunt beak : divisions of the teeth distinct or rarely somewhat connate, strongly 

 papillose, pale red, incurved on drying. — Bruch & Schimp. BryoL Eur. t. 129, 

 130; Sulliv. & Lesq. Muse. Am.-Bor. Exsicc. 2 ed. n. 122. Dicramim latifolium, 

 Hedw. iMusc. Frond, i. 89, t. 33. 



Var. muticus, Bridel. Stem taller, more slender and branched : leaves more 

 obtuse : capsule deep purple. 



Slopes of Tuolumne Canon, and on Mount Dana at 11,000 feet aMitwAe (^Bolander) ; in Silver 

 Valley, on exposed soil, at 8-9,000 feet altitude (Breuxr) ; Cascade Mountains (Lijall) ; and 

 from "Arctic xVmerica to Utah, Colorado and Labrador.- Also in alpine and subalpine Europe. 



2. D. systilius, Bruch & Schimp. Leaves broader and softer, obovate-oblong, 

 with flat margins, and minutely crenulate at the apex, the costa excurrent as a long 

 seta : capsule narrower cylindric, yellow becoming red ; operculum adherent to the 

 columella : teeth smaller and less regular, partially coherent, paler. — Bryol. Eur. 

 t. 131. 



Foot of Mount Dana (Bolandcr) ; Rocky Mountains of British America (Drummond) ; also 

 European. 



D. CERNUUS, Bruch & Schimp. 1. c, t. 134, distinguished from the preceding by the gibbous- 

 ovate cernuous or subhorizontal capsule, has been collected in the East Humboldt Ali.untains, 

 Nevada ( Watson), and in British America. A European species. 



15. BARBULA, Hedwig. 



Closely allied to Trichostomum, from which it is distinguished by the usually 

 very long distinct and filiform divisions of the teeth, which are more or less twisted 

 to the left. — T'ortula, Schreb. 



The largest genus of the group, including over 100 species, Schimper referring to it a number 

 that are usually placed in Trichostmnmn or Dcsnmtodon. Mitten unites the three genera. The 

 species hi some of the groups seem to be needlessly multiplied. 



§ 1. Very loio annuals, the rigid leaves with a hroad thickened nerve covered above 

 toward the a^jex with jointed filaments. — Aloina. 



1. B. ligida, Schultz. Stems loosely cespitose, 1 or 2 lines long, scarcely 

 branched : leaves dark green, spreading, oblong, obtuse, the membranous margin 

 strongly inflexed : inflorescence dioecious : capsule erect, elliptic-oblong, straight, 

 half-covered by the long-beaked calyptra ; operculum obliquely long-rostrate ; annulus 

 distinct : teeth rather long, twice twisted. — Eecens. Barb. t. 32, hg. 1 ; Bruch <k 

 Schimp. Bryol. Eur. t. 137. Torhda rujida, Wilson, Bryol. Brit. t. 32. 



Var. pilifera, Schimp. Upper leaves tipped with a hair-like awn as long as the 

 blade. — DeNot. Muse. Ital. t. 4. 



Collected (the variety) only on Guadalupe Island, Palmer. The species occurs tlirough tem- 

 perate and southern Europe, the variety in Italy and at the Cape of Good Hope. 



