2 MOSSES WITH A HAND-LENS 



The Peat Mosses of Europe and America are the same in the 

 main. There are, according to recent continental authors, a great 

 number of species, which it requires all the trained ability of an 

 expert to recognize. But for our purposes there are two easily 

 recognized groups, each of which contains many so-called species. 



The Spoon-leaved Peat Mosses, fig. c, c', c", are easily recog- 

 nized by their thick branches and their broad spoon-shaped leaves. 

 The Acute-leaved Peat Mosses are figured in a, a and b, b. Fig. 

 b represents the Acute-leaved Peat Moss, which is common in all 

 the peat bogs of Europe and America. It is often tinged at the 

 top with a bright red or crimson color. The Squarrose Peat Moss 

 is one of the Acute-leaved group, but is easily distinguished by 

 the spreading tips of the leaves, as indicated in fig. a, a. The 

 branches are much stouter than in the Acute-leaved Peat Moss 

 proper. 



T 



BUXBAUMIA* 



HE drawings speak for themselves. No one who finds the 

 queer looking objects figured here will have any difficulty 

 in identifying them. 



Buxbaumia is more 

 highly modified than al- 

 most any other moss. 

 Its leaves are few and 

 are clustered at the base 

 of the seta. They en- 

 tirely disappear before 

 the capsule ripens, so 

 that the mature plant 

 consists of 'only the seta 

 with a few rhizoids at 

 the base and the queer, 

 bug-like capsule. Mrs. 

 Britton calls the Buxbau- 

 mias "The Hump-backed 

 Elves." To the author 

 they look like bugs on a 

 stick. 



The capsules are in the 

 Fig. i. a, a, two different views of Bux- , , ... . , 



bautnia aphyllaX^h y two different views best condition late in 

 X4 . autumn or early winter. 



