96 



MOSSKS WITH A HAND-l.l',NS 



FiGURiS 40. Philonotis fontana X I ; leaf, capsule, and male head X 10. 



dom appearing in sterile mats. Although Philonotis is common, 

 the sporophyte is infrequent. The capsules mature in May or 

 June. 



Family 17. Bryaceae. The Bryom Family. 



HE capsules of the Bryum Family are nearly always 

 drooping and frequently have a well marked neck when 

 dry. The peristome is double and well developed. 

 (See glossary under "Peristome"), The leaves are 

 usually plainly bordered by a thicker darker margin- of 

 elongated cells, and the costa is stout and often excurrent. 



BRYUM. 



Bryum is perhaps the most difficult and troublesome of all 

 the genera of mosses. The genus is large (500 species, 195 in 

 Europe and America), and the distinctions between the species- 

 are often few and difficult to observe. There are, however, 

 several species that can be recognized readily. 



