63 



NEW AND RARE BRITISH HEPATIC-E. 



By Symers M. Macvicar. 



Riccia Huebeneriana Lindeb. var. pseudo-Frostii Schiffn. in 

 O&terr. hot. Zeit. lv. 8 (1905). Mr. W. E. Nicholson recently sent 

 rne a Riccia gathered by him at Horsted Keynes, Sussex, 22nd 

 September, 1906, the habitat being on the nmd of a large pond. 

 The violet colour of some of the fronds had suggested to him that 

 the plant was rather R. Huebeneriana than i?. cnjstallina, to which 

 he had previously referred it. On examination I found the plant to 

 be nearer R. Huebeneriana than any other species known to me, but, 

 as it differed somewhat from my continental specimens in being less 

 dichotomously branched, fronds rather larger and more frequently 

 green, I sent part of the specimen to M. Crozals. This specialist 

 in the genus confirmed the plant as R. Huebeneriana. Mr. Nichol- 

 son afterwards sent a specimen to Prof. Schiffner, who replied that 



it was /?. Hi'tbeneriana var. pseudo-Frostii. In the Fragmente 

 Schiffner mentions that there are two chief forms of R. Hueben- 

 eriana : — 1. The typical plant, as described and figured by Linden- 

 berg in Monogr. Rice. This form has regularly dichotomous 

 branches with spreading segments. 2. The form to which he 

 gives the name var. pseudo-Frostii. The latter has a quite diffe- 

 rent habit, forming close rosettes with parallel segments lying 

 near one another, and being about twice as large ; also being yellow- 

 green, with the borders sometimes rather reddish in colour. Schiff- 

 ner states that in the meantime he cannot decide with certainty 

 whether this var. pseudo* Frostii ought to be considered as a species 

 or not, as he had not fresh material of typical R. Huebeneriana for 

 comparison. It appears from the note to Mr. Nicholson that he has 

 now come to the conclusion that it is worthy of specific rank, but 

 it has not been so published. 



The only other European species having large air -cavities which 

 the plant under consideration can be confused with is R. crystallina. 

 The latter is green or yellow-green in all its stages, never becoming 

 tinged with violet ; fronds flat, larger and broader, obcuneate, in 

 section of nearly the same diameter throughout, the dorsal and 

 ventral surfaces being almost parallel; spores 70-82 /x. The former 

 has the fronds more or less violet except in shade, narrower, and 

 channelled towards the ends of the segments ; in section is nearly 

 quadrate, and shows a distinct furrow ; spores 56-73 /*. In this 

 species also the capsule ruptures through the ventral surface of the 

 frond. 



Mr, Nicholson first gathered this interesting addition to our 

 flora in Crowborough, in Sussex, September, 1904, where he found 

 it again this year, as well as in the locality at Horsted Keynes. 



Lophozia badensis (Gottsche) Schiffn. Jnngermannia badensis 

 Gottsche in Gott. et Babh. Hep. eur. exs. no. 95 (1859). This 

 species has been much confused with Lophozia turbinata (Eaddi) 

 Steph., and to a less extent with small forms of Lophozia Muelleri. 

 Schiffner has recently gone fully into the question of the confusion 



