Yorkshire Naturalists at Riccall. 173 



have all died off, and fruits in spring in the midst of the succu- 

 lent, upright leaves. Colchicum seems to fruit well in this 

 station. 



The sundew, butterwort, Salix repens, with the argentea 

 variety, Orchis Morio, etc., were brought to the meeting and 

 reported there. 



The plant associations of the areas under investigation are 

 typically those of a heath type. Calluna vulgaris and Erica 

 tetralix are in abundance ; the general hairiness or ' incana ' 

 form of each being a very striking feature. The chief grass 

 is the tussocky Molinia ccerulea. There is a very. little of dwarf 

 Vaccinium myrtillus and plenty of Potentilla tormentilla. The 

 ill-drained portions are the habitat of Eriophorum vaginatum 

 and E. angtistijolium, with immense zones of Juncus effusus. 

 Near to Skipwith a fairly large area is controlled almost entirely 

 by Pteris aquilina. The woods are dominated by the conifers, 

 Pinus sylvestris and Larix europcea ; seedlings of the former 

 being frequently met with on the open Common. In addition 

 are Bctula tomentosa, Salix caprea, and 5. repens ; Ulex euro- 

 pcBUs of great height on. the higher and drier mounds is also a 

 conspicuous feature. In the vicinity of the drains, and the 

 open parts of the birch-willow woods, Epilohium angustifolium 

 is a most common plant, and also occurring are Lastrea filix- 

 foemina and L. filix-mas. 



Mosses and HEPATics.^Mr. Wm. Ingham, B.A., writes : — 

 A genus of mosses well represented on Riccall Common was 

 Campyloptis, of which several species were seen. These were 

 in dense tufts buried up to their apices in peaty soil, so that 

 they were well protected against the dry April weather. The 

 commonest species is C. pyriformis, which is easily distinguished 

 by the detached leaves lying on the tufts. These leaves are 

 blown about by the wind and each leaf has the power of pro- 

 ducing a fresh plant. A near neighbour to this is C. flexuosus, 

 a moss which is frequent on our Yorkshire Commons. A third 

 species, C. fragilis, was frequently met with in our route across 

 the common. Two other members of the geniis are of con- 

 siderable interest. One is C. brevipilus, known at once under 

 the microscope by its narrow leaf cells having a sigmoid curve. 

 This species was unusually fine in deep tufts. The last species 

 found and also the rarest is C. atrovirens var. miiticus. Al- 

 though found by the writer on 12th March, 1897, and again 

 On 4th April, 1901, this year it was found to be more abundant 

 and in deeper tufts. Mr. Cheetham detected this moss in 

 several places. As its specific name denotes, the tufts are black 

 below and green above, and the varietal name indicates that 

 the usual hair points of the leaves are absent. This last 

 Campylopus is not recorded from any other place in Yorkshire, 

 nor even from any other place in England. 



1912 June 1;, 



