ToRTULACE^.] 214 [Tortula. 



Ireland, and on the coast of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. It is remarkable 

 for the soft texture of the leaves, which when old, lose their chlorophyl and 

 become entirely diaphanous. Dickson's specimens were adulterated with 

 T. muvalis Var. y. and thus led to some confusion in early continental writers. 



9. TOETITLA VAHIII {Schultz) Wils. 



Autoicous ; short, resembling T. muralis. Leaves oblong-cuneate, 

 diaphanous, not revolute at margin, nerve excurrent in a green arista. 

 Caps, cylindraceous, lid conico-rostellate, per. with a broad basal 

 membrane. (T. XXXI, D.) 



Syn. — Barbula Vahliana ScHULTZ Recens. Barb, et Syntr. 222, t. 34, f. 31 (1823). Brid. Bry. 

 univ. i, 545 (1826). Br. Schimp. Bry eur. f. 13 — 15, Mon. 33, t. 18 {1842). C. Muell. 

 Synops. i, 626 (1849). Schimp. Synops. 183 (i860), 2 ed. igg (1876). Lesq. James 

 Mosses N. Amer. 117 (1884). 



Tortula muralis a. Hook. Grev. in Brewst. Edin. Journ. i, 292 p.p. (1824). Arnott 

 in Mem. soc. d'hist. nat. Paris, ii, 285 p.p. (1825). 



Tortula extenuata De Not. in Mem. ac. Torin. xl, 299 (1838), et Syllab. 174. 



Tortula Vahliana Wils. Bry. Brit. 129 {1855). De Not. Muse. ital. I, 27, t. 9 (1862); 



Epil. bri. ital. 534 (i86g). Linde. de Tort. 237 (1864). Hobk. Syn. br. m. 65 (1873). 



Autoicous ; short, pale green, gregarious or cffispitulose. Leaves 

 densely crowded, erecto-patent and flaccid when moist, appressed or 

 twisting when diy, papillose at back, lower small, ovate, mucronate, 

 upper oblong-lingulate, channelled, subundulate, apex obtuse or some- 

 what pointed, shortly piliformi-aristate with the excurrent nerve, margin 

 more or less revolute; cells at base hexagono-rectangular, hyaline, upper 

 small, obtusely angular, a single row at margin larger, rounded, yellowish, 

 with projecting papillae. Caps, on a pale purple seta, narrowly elongato- 

 cylindric, slightly incurved, brown ; lid elongato-conical, one-third 

 length of caps, pale red ; annulus broad, compound ; per. contorted, 

 orange, on a very short obscurely tessellated basal membrane. 



Male infl. on a short lateral branch, bracts ovate, concave, obtuse 



or hair pointed. 



Hab. — Damp clay soil by roadsides and ditches ; rare. Fr. 4 — 5. 



Angmering, Sussex (Davies 1863) ! ! Between Mayford heath and Pirbright common, 

 Woking (Sheppard and Westell 1871) ! ! Cherryhinton, Cambridge {H. N. Dixon 

 1882) ! ! 



Var p. subflaccida Lindb. 



Plants smaller, dull green ; leaves more opaque, shorter, flaccid, with 

 plane margins, the nerve only excurrent in a short mucro ; capsule and lid 

 shorter. 



Syn. — Tortula muralis yS. Drummond Mss. 



T. oblongifoUa Wils. Bry. brit. 129, t. 43. Berk. Handb. br. m. 254. 

 Barbula oblongifoUa Schimp. CoroU. 141 et Synops. 185. 

 Tortula Vahlii Var. p. subflaccida Lindb. op. c. 238 



