MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 



177 



ground in cool moist ravines, swamps, and woods, but reaches its 

 perfect development in the deep mountain woods of New England 

 and similar regions elsewhere. Here it forms deep soft dark- 

 green carpets over earth, stones and debris. The erect ascending 

 stems are 2-5 inches long and inch or more wide with the 

 leaves. The under sides of the stems bear numerous slender 

 flagella with tiny leaves ; these the uninitiated are apt to consider 

 as roots. As its name indicates, the oblong-ovate truncate leaves 

 are three-toothed at the apex, but these teeth are not large enough 

 properly to be called lobes. The leaves are plainly incubous as 

 shown in the figures, and somewhat deflexed, i. e., bent toward the 

 ground. The underleaves are easily seen. The spores mature 

 in August and September. The Three-lobed Bazzania is quite 

 variable in size and in unfavorable localities is so small that 

 the beginner may call it the next unless he has seen both and 

 remembers that B. triangularis is subalpine. 



B. TRIANGULARIS (Schleich.) Lindb. (B. deftexa Underw.) is 

 a subalpine species growing on rocks. The leafy stems are about 

 T V inch wide; the downward growing flagella are present and 

 most of the leaves are 2 to 3 toothed, although some may be entire. 

 The plants vary a great deal in color from dark to light green. I 

 have seen specimens as dark as the Frullanias. 



FIGURE 107. Bazzania trilobata. From Bryologist, 4: 68, 1901. 

 A. Plant slightly magnified showing flagella springing from under- 

 side. B. (i) Portion of female plant with capsule. (2.) Capsule 

 open. C. Involucre, perianth and base of seta enlarged. The involucre 

 consists of the small leaves at the bottom of the figure. D. Male plant 

 seen from below, showing antheridial branch, minute underleaves and in- 

 cubous arrangement of leaves. E. & F. illustrate spiral elaters, spores, 

 and cell structure of leaf, which cannot be seen clearly with a hand-lens. 



