IV. 

 CLASSIFICATION. 



AN essay like the present could scarcely be considered 

 complete unless some account were given of the classifica- 

 tion or systematic arrangement of the plants. It would be 

 quite beyond the scope of this work to notice the various 

 systems that have been from time to time adopted, and it 

 would occupy too much space to go into the minuter details 

 of the system here adopted, so that this will be merely 

 a slight analysis of the larger groups, and it is hoped will 

 be sufficient to give the student an intelligible idea of the 

 affinities as well as the differences to be observed in these 

 plants. 



Mosses may be conveniently divided into groups by means 

 of the situation of the fruit, its peculiarities, and the mode 

 of branching of the stem. These main groups are three. 



I. ACROCARPI. Fruit terminal (fig. 4). 



II. CLADOCARPI. Fruit terminal on short lateral branches 



(fig. 36). 



III. PLEUROCARPI. Fruit lateral (fig. 5), springing from 

 the side of the stem. 



The first group, Acrocarpi, has two sub-groups which many 

 botanists place separately. This plan will be adopted here. 

 These are : 



Sub-group I. Schistocarpi. 



Fruit splitting longitudinally into four or more valves, 

 adhering at the top. Andreaa (fig. 13). 



Sub-group II. Syncladei. 



Branches fasciculate (having dusters of short lateral un- 

 equal branches). Sphagnum (fig. 29 and fig. 30). 



Considering the two foregoing groups as forming separate 

 series, the Acrocarpous mosses are divided into several 



