354 MUSCI PE.ETERITI. 



monoici, foliorum rete angustius, capsula sicca lavis, operculum 

 haud rostratum, annulus e triplici serie cellularum compositus." 

 • Now, on none of my specimens of PL sylvaticum, including those 

 from Schimper himself, is there any capsule answering to the 

 above description, especially as to its being furrowed when dry ; all 

 the capsules I have seen being perfectly smooth at every stage, even 

 when old and empty. But there is a form of PL denticulatum, often 

 seen growing along with PL sylvaticum — as in Bruch's specimens 

 (a) above referred to — which has striated capsules ; and I cannot 

 avoid the conclusion that Schimper has combined in his description 

 the characters of the two. 



Good specimens of PL sylvaticum, gathered in the Pyrenees 

 (Bois de Jurancon) I find thus described in my notes : — 



Dioicum, olivaceo- vel fulvo-viride, siccando fuscidulum 

 flaccidum, basi parum ramosum et stoloniferum ; ramis elongatis, 

 suberectis inferne grandi-densifoliis apice sparsifoliis. Folia lon- 

 giora(quam PL denticulati) ovata et ovato-lanceolata plus minus 

 acuminulata, margine piano vel toto fere leviter reflexo, costis 

 binis ad folii \— raro ad £ usque— attingentibus, cellulis mediis 

 (H X s's-f mm.) dimidio latioribus quam PL denticulati. Invo- 

 lucrum 9 fertile breve, capsula brevius, sterile saepe auctum; 

 bracteaa semper breviter binerves. Capsula cylindrica vel anguste 

 pynformi-cylindrica lonyicolla, inclinata, siccando immutata vel 

 subarcuata ('striata. Operculum rostratum capsulam adasquans vel 

 paulo brevius. Flores $ saspe fasciculati, turgidi polyandri. 



None of my European specimens diverge essentially from this 

 character, which suffices for my present purpose, although it leaves 

 several features unnoticed. 



If we turn now to the published descriptions of PL denticulatum 

 we find Schimper calling the capsule " incurvo-cernua arcuato- 



oblonga et arcuato-cylindracea sicca Icevis." But Wilson 



says of PL denticulatum, " Capsule oblong inclined less ccmuous 



than m H. sylvaticum. Lid acutely conical, not beaked." He does 

 not mention the striated capsule under H. denticu latum, but under 

 H. sylvaticum one of the characters he adduces to distinguish it 

 from H. denticulatum is " capsule when dry quite smooth, not 

 /wrw#*." From all which it appears that Wilson's typical 



H. denticulatum had a furrowed, but H. sylvaticum a smooth, 

 capsule ; while for Schimper it was 11. denticulatum that had the 

 smooth, and H. sylvaticum the furrowed, capsule. 



Referring to my herbarium for further evidence I found that 

 nearly all my British specimens of PL deuticuhitum were of Wilson's 

 type, with the leaves subplane, or only slightly declined, even or 

 somewhat crispate ; the capsule elongate, rather long-necked, pale, 

 often whitish, inclined, straight or slightly arcuate, usually very 

 distinctly striated when dry, and especially when emptied of the 

 spores, rarely smooth or nearly so ; lid conico-acuminate or sub- 

 rostellate. But in July l as t my friends Messrs Slater and Stabler 

 brought me from an adjacent wood (Coneysthorpe Banks) magnifi- 

 cently-fruited patches of Schimper's type of PL denticulatum, having 

 deep-green secund and hooked fnliswrp. vptv \\ht> fW, nf «nmp fm-ms 



