374 CLDB-MOSS FAMILY. 



* Stems trailing, sending out rootlets nearly up to the end, 



*- Branchlets only I" broad: leaves wide apart in each row. 



S. delicatissima. Stems 4' -8' longi irregularly forked and branched; 

 branches rather distant ; leaves oblong-roundish, obtuse, with » few slender 

 cilia towards the base ; intermediate ones ovate, pointed. 



■<- -1- Branchlets 2" - 3" broad, their leaves closely placed in each raw. 



S. Kraussi^na. (Ltcopodium DEUTiccLiTUM of the florists.) Stems 

 very long, articulated below each branch ; branches distant, bearing a few short 

 forked branchlets ; leaves bright green, the larger ones oblong-ovate, acute, 

 rounded on the upper side, neai-ly straight on the lower, minutely denticulate ; 

 smaller ones with longer often reflexed points. 



S. uuciu^ta. (Lyc. cisi0M of florists.) Stems very long, not articu- 

 lated, freely branched ; branches 2 - 3-pinnate with short crowded branchlets ; 

 leaves when living with a steel-blue iridescence, fading to green when dried, very 

 closely placed, larger ones oblong, equal-sided, obtuse, entire ; smaller ones 

 ovate with slender incurved points. 



* * Stems ascending, only the lower part bearing long rootlets. 



S. Mart^nsii. (Ltc. sioLONfFERUM of florists.) Stems 6' -10' long, 

 much branched from the base ; branches bipinnate, with copious branchlets 

 2" - 3" or even 4" wide ; larger leaves crowded, obliquely ovate, the upper side 

 broadest, obtuse, entire ; smaller ones ovate with a slender often recurved point. 



» * * Stems erect, or nearly so, rooting only at the very base. 



S. ei^hropus. Stalk 2' - 6' high, bright red, having a few closely np- 

 pressed red leaves, and bearing at the top a broad frond-like stem pinnately or 

 pedately divided into a few 2-3 times pinnate branches, with very numerous 

 extremely crowded branchlets 1 " - 1 J" wide ; leaves closely imbricated, obliquely 

 ovate-oblong, curved upward, rather obtuse, ciliate ; smaller ones ovate, with 

 long straight points. 



S. Braiinii. (Lyc. ■Wii,lden6vii of florists.) Stalk straw-color or pale 

 red, shorter than in the last, finely pubescent, as are the branches ; frondiike 

 stems long-ovate, 4 times pinnate, resembling an elegant fem ; branchlets not 

 crowded, about 1" wide; leaves scarcely imbricated, orate, obtuse, entire; 

 smaller ones with straight points. 



» # * » Stems in a dense nest-like tuft, not rooting : branches often curling up 

 when dry. 



S. CUSpid&ta. (Lyc. cikcinXle of florists.) Frond-like stems 6' -8' 

 long, green above, paler beneath, oblong or lyre-shai)ed, loosely is-pinnate; 

 branchlets 1" wide ; leaves obliquely triangular-ovate, with long often incurve(' 

 bristle-points, having a narrow whitish margin, sparingly ciliated and minutely 

 denticulate ; smaller ones obliquely ovate, with long slender points. 



S. lepidopIi;^lla, from Lower California, &c., is the " Bird's-Nest Moss," 

 or " Eesurrection-Plant." It is a nest-like ball when dry, but when moist it un- 

 folds and displays the densely 2 -3-pinnate elegant fern-like branches radiating 

 from a coiled-up central stem ; the leaves white-margined, closely imbricated, 

 round-ovate, obtuse. — Nearly 30 species are cultivated in Great Britain, besides 

 those here described. , 



3. ISOETBS, QUILLWOET. (Name from the Greek words for equal and 

 year, meaning that the plant is the same at all seasons.) The species demand 

 too nice discrimination for the beginner, and must bo studied by aid of the 

 Manual. (Lessons, p. 160, fig. 516-519.) 

 I. laciistris, rather rare only N., and the far commoner 

 I. echin6spora, are the principal northern species, living under water. 

 I. rip^ria and I. Engellll&,nni, with leaves 4' - 20' long, live partly 



out of water, at least for a part of the summer. 

 I. melail6poda, only W., Uvea in shallow ponds or pools which dry up in 



