DEVELOPMENT. 



The leaves vary in colour, being of every shade of green, 

 in some cases reddish, in others brown, or again, as in 

 Leucobryum glaucum, nearly white. 



Mosses are often termed flowerless plants, which is a 

 misnomer, as both male and 

 female flowers occur on these 

 plants, and may readily be 

 found in most species when the 

 leafly stem has arrived at ma- 

 turity. In many of our mosses, 

 as in the Bryums and Poly- 

 trichums, they occur as star-like 

 bodies at the top of the stem ; 

 in others, such as the common 

 Hypnum rutabulum^ both male 

 and female flowers may be 

 found as bud-like bodies in the 

 axils of the stem-leaves. In 

 the bog-mosses, or Sphagnums^ 

 they occur in pendulous cat- 

 kins, which are often tinged 

 with red or brown. 



If these flowers are dissec- 

 ted, it will be seen that they 

 consist of a number of leaves 

 surrounding or enveloping the 

 organs of reproduction, the 

 Antheridia (fig. 6 A), (bodies 

 which perform the function of 

 an anther), i.e. the male; or 

 the Archegonia (fig. 7 2?), 

 (bodies which perform the func- 

 tion of a pistil or ovary\ i.e. the 

 female reproductive bodies. 



The leaves surrounding the 

 antheridia form what is termed 



the perigonium (that which surrounds the male organ) ; 

 those surrounding the archegonia form the perigynium 

 (that which surrounds the female organ). The male flowers 



6. Fttnaria hygrome- 

 A, an antheridium burst- 

 ing ; a, the antherozoids ( x 350). 

 , the antherozoids more strongly 

 magnified ; b, the mother cell ; c, 

 free antherozoids of Polytrichum 

 ( x 800). 



