584 ALEXANDER W. EVANS 



Anthocerotales. 



A n thocerotaceae . 



Aiithoceros L. 



26. Anthoceros Skottsbergii Steph. Kiingl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. 

 46''': (1911), in part. 



On moist rocks and soil. 



Masatierra: B. Cumberland, vicinity of the colony, Skottsbekg, 1908 

 (no. 2), cited by Stephani, p. 91; V. Anson, near Plazoleta (no. 102); B. 

 Cumberland, moist clift's near the beach (no. 103, 104, 105); Portezuelo de 

 Villagra, 590 m. (no. 106); along path to Portezuelo, on clay (no. 107). 



*Masafuera: Q. del Mono, narrow gorge on ground, 570 m. (no. 108); 

 along path between O de las Chozas and O. de las Casas, 450 m. (No. IC9, 

 no); Q. de las Casas, innermost accessible part, 200 m. (no. in); ravine near 

 the Campo Correspondencia, n50 m. (no. n2). 



Stephani based his A. Skottsbergii on two specimens, the first collected 

 by Skottsberg on the island of Masatierra and the second by the same col- 

 lector on the island of Chiloe. These two specimens, however, belong to two 

 different species, the Masatierra plant being characterized by pale yellow spores, 

 which are not hispid, and the Chiloe plant by dark spores, which are distinctly 

 hispid. In the writer's opinion the name A. Skottsbergii should be restricted 

 to the Masatierra plant because, in the original description, the spores are 

 described as »pallidae, leves», and because this plant is the one first mentioned. 



Unfortunately this opinion is at variance with the view held by Stephani. 

 Five years after his original description was published he again proposed A. 

 Skottsbergii as a new species^ but this time based it on the Chiloe plant alone 

 and described the spores as »fuscae, hispidae». In this description he makes 

 no mention of the Masatierra plant. His Species Hepaticarum, in fact, which 

 is supposed to include the Hepaticae of the entire world, does not include a 

 single representative of the Anthocerotales from Juan F"ernandez. Since the 

 original A. Skottsbergii was an aggregate of two species it might be argued 

 that the author of the species would be justified in restricting the name to 

 either one of its component parts. In the present instance, however, the writer 

 feels that he was not justified in restricting the name to the Chiloe plant, be- 

 cause this plant does not agree with the original description. It would have 

 been better if he had given the Chiloe plant a new name. 



The spores of A. Skottsbergii, as here restricted, are pale 5'ellow and are 

 mostly 40 — 48 [J. in diameter, the average being about 45 \j. The entire surface 

 is covered over with very minute, punctulate markings, and the spherical sur- 

 face bears in addition a series of low ridges. These, in their most typical 

 development, are in two concentric series. The outer series, which is near the 

 periphery of the face, consists of about twelve ridges, in the form of crescents 

 or horse-shoes, with their convexities directed inwards: the inner series of two 

 or three longer ridges, forming a more or less definite, interrupted circle. But 



^ Sp. Hepat. 5: 1000 (1916). 



