216 FIRST FORMS OF VEGETATION. 
water. It is abundant in the Highlands of Scot- 
land, in deep, leaf-embowered ravines near a moun- 
tain-lake or waterfall. It grows among dense 
cushions of the beautiful apple and other mosses, 
to which it affords a fine contrast by its velvety 
tufts of a deep orange colour, which are rendered 
especially brilliant by the stray sunbeams that 
chance to reach its growing place. It affects the 
trunks of larch and other pine trees in the High- 
land woods, often covering them from head to foot 
with its scarlet livery. I remember being greatly 
struck with its profusion and fine effect in the 
woods along the bay of Tobermory in the island of 
Mull. In similar localities, and particularly on the 
micaceous rocks on the Highland mountains, may 
often be observed its Ethiopian relative, the black 
rock byssus (Chroolepis ebeneus), forming a thin, 
black, velvety patch of indefinite extent, composed 
of fine, branched, black hairs, closely matted to- 
gether, and sometimes sprinkled over with black 
powder. Few would suspect its vegetable charac- 
ter ; indeed, it bears a greater resemblance to a 
piece of black felt scraped from a hat than to any 
plant. Both these plants are supposed to be 
peculiar states of certain lichens, their reproductive 
bodies being very similar. A yellowish species of 
this genus called C. odoratus, popularly known as 
the ‘sweet scented moss, is occasionally found 
