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Sanius and Linnseus, for the genus now called Bog-mofs. — 

 Dill- Mufc. 240. Linn. Gen. 562. Schreb. 758. Mart. 

 Mill. Dia. V. 4. Hedw. Fund. v. 2. 85. Theor. t. 12. 

 Sp. Mufc. 27. Sm. Fl. Brit. 1145. Jufl. 12. Lamarck 

 lUuftr. t. 872.— Clafs and order, Cryptogamia Mu/ci. Nat. 

 Ord. Mu/ci. 



Efl'. Ch. Capfule feffile, without a fringe. Veil cut 

 round, its bafe remaining on the bafe of the capfule. 

 Anthers each furrounded with a ring. 



Obf. Weber and Mohr have juftly remarked, that this is 

 the only known genus of moffes in which the germen and 

 capfule are truly feffile, not at any ftage of growth elevated 

 en 2.ped'tcdlus, or partial ttalk, above the bafe of the flower. 

 The whole flower indeed, and confequently the ripe capfule, 

 is ftalked, which being rarely the cafe with other modes, 

 vihofe pi:Jia//i are very long, the two different kinds of ftalk 

 have been confounded together. 



1. S. latifolium. Broad-leaved Bog-mofs. Hedw. Sp. 

 Mufc. 27. Fl. Brit. n. 1. Engl. Bot. t. 1405. Turn. 

 Mufc. Hib. 5. (S. paluitre a ; Linn. Sp. PI. 1569. Fl. 

 Dan. t. 474. S. paluftre molle deflexum, fquamis cymbi- 

 formibus ; Dill. Mufc. 240. t. 32. f. i.) — Branches tumid, 

 deflexed. Leaves ovate, obtufe, concave. This mofs oc- 

 cupies the furface of watery turfy bogs throughout Europe, 

 bearing capfules in fummer. Its pale whitifli-green hue, 

 often tinged with red, makes the plant confpicuou?. The 

 large mail'es it compofes are moftly filled with water, like a 

 fponge, and are not firm enough to be walked upon. 

 Drofera, Erica tctralix, and the Cranberry, are the chief 

 plants that grow amongft it, often without being rooted in 

 the ground. The Jiems are various in height, foft and 

 flexible, befet with numerous, fliort, tumid, tapering 

 branches, flightly bent downward ; the uppermoft crowded. 

 Leaves imbricated, pellucid, broad, obtufe, entire, in- 

 curved, reticulated, without rib or veins. Capfules about 

 the tops of the ftems, ereft, brown, fmooth, on flovver- 

 ftalks not an inch long. /,;</ almoft flat. ^«7 thin, more 

 orlefsof its circular bafe remaining round the capfule. The 

 foftnefs and elafticity of this mofs render it very fit for 

 packing. 



2. S.fquarrofum. Prominent-leaved Bog-mofs. Mohr 

 Ind. 2. Sm. Compend. ed. 2. 159. Engl. Bot. t. 1498. — 

 — Branches deflexed, tapering. Leaves ovate, acute, with 

 recurved, prominent, keeled points. — Native of Germany, 

 Sweden, and England. Mr. Turner gathered this fpecies, 

 which the late Mr. Mohr only had previoufly mentioned, 

 not defcribed, on bogs at Belton, near Yarmouth, bearing 

 fruit in June and July. It differs from the foregoing in the 

 more taper terminations of the branches, and efpecially in 

 the fpreading recurved points of its leaves, which have a 

 central fold hke a keel, and give the fquarrofe charafter of 

 the plant. The capfules have a prominent beaked lid. 



3. S. capillifolium. Slender Bog-mofs. Hedw. Sp. 

 Mufc. 28. Fl. Brit. n. 2. Engl. Bot. t. 1406. Turn. 

 Mufc. Hib. 6. (S. paluitre^; Linn. Sp. PI. 1569. S. 

 paluftre molle deflexum, fquamis capillaceis ; Dill. Mufc. 

 ^43- ^' 32' f" 2» A.) — Branches {lender, deflexed. Leaves 

 ovato-lanceolate, pointed, flattilh, clofe-preffed, with 

 ftraight points. — Abundant on bogs, efpecially in rather 

 mountainous fituations, bearing capfules in fummer, and 

 often tinged with red. Its much fmaller fize, and narrower 

 flatter leaves, diilinguilh this from both the preceding. The 

 reticulations of the foliage are obferved by Mr. I. D. 

 Sowerby to be peculiar, the little tranfverfe veins running 

 in pairs. Sometimes » fold, or keel, refembling a mid-rib, 

 is difcernible. 



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4. S. cufpiJatum. Long-leaved Floating Bog-mofs. 

 Hoffm. Germ. v. 2. 22. Fl. Brit. n. 3. Engl. Bot. 

 t. 2092. Ehrh. Crypt. 251. Turn. Mufc. Hib. 6. (S. 

 palullris mollis deflexi, fquamis capillaceis, varietas fluitans; 

 Dill. Mufc. 244. t.' 32. f. 2, B.I — Branches fpreading, 

 rather downwards. Leaves lanceolate, long-pointed, wavy, 

 lax. — Mod frequent, in pools or rivulets, among bogs in 

 mountainous countries, but Mr. Turner found it near Yar- 

 mouth, bearing fruit in fummer. This refembles the com- 

 mon latifolium in colour, but the more elongated floating 

 flems, diltinguifli the fpecies before us. The branches are 

 loofely direfted downward, pointed, often very flender. 

 The reticulations of the leaves moft accord with thofe of 

 our laft fpecies ; but their points are more elongated, and 

 edges wavy. Capfule fliort, and rather bell-lhaped when 

 fully ripe. 



We have thus brought together four fpecies of the pre- 

 fent genus. Hedwig has but two, befides the 5. alpinum 

 of Linnseus, figured in Dillcnius, t. 32. f. 3, which is 

 founded in an error of the laft-mentioned author. What 

 he defcribed and delineated, prove to be nothing more than 

 luxuriant bog fpecimens of Dicranum jltxuofum of Hedwig 

 and Fl. Brit., Engl. Bot. t. 1491, among which fome ex- 

 traneous bodies had fallen, and thefe were mittaken for 

 capfules. 



SPHENE, in Mineralogy, a mineral compofed of nearly 

 equal parts of oxyd of titanium, filex, and lime. Its 

 colours are generally a dark brown, inclining to red or 

 yellow. It occurs cryftallized in various forms, and alfo 

 fometimes in maffes. The cryftals are more frequently four- 

 fided prifm?, either oblique or reftangular, or fix-fided prifms, 

 with two oppofite fides broader than the reft, or elongated 

 oAohedrons. The edges of the cryftals are frequently 

 bevelled, and the apices of the oftohedrons are fometimes fo 

 flattened as to prefent a lenticular form. 



The fraftiire of fphene is imperfeftly conchoidal ; it 

 fcratches glafs, and is brittle. The internal luftre is ftiin- 

 ing, inclining to refinous. The fpecific gravity is frem 

 3.480 to 3.510. It is fufible by the blowpipe into 

 a blackifk-brown enamel. This mineral is found imbed- 

 ded in fienite and granite in various parts of Scotland, and 

 alfo in Sweden, Norway, France, Switzerland, and in 

 North America. The name fphene was given to this 

 mineral by Haiiy, from the wedge-hke fliape of fome of the 

 cryftals. 



Foliated fphene differs from the above in colour, which 

 is various (hades of yellow, inclining to a ftraw or cream 

 colour, and in the ftrufture, which is foliated, with a double 

 cleavage parallel to the fide of an oblique four-fided 

 prifm. The crofs frafture is foliated. Both tiiefe vari- 

 eties of fphene pafs from different degrees of tranflucency 

 to opacity. 



SPHENOCLEA, in Botany, fo denominated by Gaert- 

 ner, from o-pm, a -wedge, and xMtu, tojhut up., becaufe of the 

 wedge-ftiaped feed-veffel — Gasrtn, v. i. 113. t. 24. f. 5. 

 Willd. Sp. PI. V. I. 927. (Gsrtnera ; Retz. Obf. fafc. 6. 

 24. Rapinia ; Loureir. Cochinch. 127. Pongatium ; Juff. 

 423.) — Clafs and order, Pentandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Lyfimachiit, Jufl. ? 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth fuperior, of five roundilh, per- 

 manent leaves, broad at the bafe. Cor. of one petal, 

 fliortcr than the calyx ; tube very fhort ; limb in five lanceo- 

 late, equal, ereft fegments. Stam. Filaments five, capil- 

 lary, very ftiort, inferted into the tube of the corolla ; an- 

 thers roundifti, two-lobed. Pijl. Germen inferior, com- 

 preffed at the bafe ; ftyle very fliort ; ftigma capitate, per- 

 manent. 



