EXPLANATION OF TEE PLATES. 137 



BUXBAUMIE^. 



Chaeacteeistics op Oedee. 



Capsule very large ; calyptra small ; peristome doublej the outer rudimentary^ 

 consisting of layers of tissue^ in Suxbaumia divided into teeth, the inner a plaited, 

 conical membrane ; columella large ; stem, scarcely any ; leaves few, the upper 

 fringed. 



Fig. 10. BuxBAUMiA aphylla. 



Fairy Spoons. Leafless Buxbaumia (a) . 



Colour. Purplish brown. 



Stems. Scarcely any, buried in the earth. 



Leaves. Very few, miaute, the lower roundish, the upper fringed. 



Flowers and Fruit (6) . Capsule spoon-shaped, oblique, large, the lower part 

 concave, the upper flat, folding over the lower; lid small, the uj)per and 

 lower portions of the capsule finally splitting ; sporangium (c) large, united 

 by filaments to the walls of the capsule, and having a pedicel within the 

 apophysis. Dioicous. 



Locality. Very rare. On earth or on decayed wood. More common in Scotland 

 than in England. 



Fig. 11. DiPHYsciuM poliosum. 



Leafy Buxbaumia {a) . Ants' Egg Moss. 

 Colour. Dark green, capsule yellow. 

 Stems. Scarcely any. 

 Leaves (c) . Few, the lower linear, the upper fi^inged with jointed cilia, which 



are probably paraphyses ; the nerve of these very strong. 

 Flowers and Fruit. Dioicous. Capsule very large, ovate, immersed, like an ant^s 



egg ; columella (5) very large ; spores minute. Spring and Summer. 

 Locality. Shady banks and rocks. Not uncommon. 



