TORTULA. 



THir. Ch. Capfule oblong. Fringe fifnple, of numerous 

 capillary teeth, fpirally and repeatedly twilled together. 



This is a moH natural genus, the character of whofe fringe 

 car.not be miftaken. Barbula of Hedwig differs only in 

 havino- round-headed male flowers, on a feparate plant from 

 the female, inftead of axillary bud-like ones, on the fame 

 individual. This is a difficult and obfcure diftinftion, with- 

 out any natural difference. Of Barbula Hedwig defines 

 twelve fpecies, of Tortula three. Of the two genera united, 

 nineteen are now enumerated as natives of Britain and Ire- 

 land only, exclufive of five of Hedwig's, not as yet dif- 

 covered among us, fo that twenty-four are known in all. 



The habit of the genus here defcribed is rather dwarf; 

 the Jlems ereft, fometimes fhort or nearly wanting ; root 

 fibrous, moftly perennial j leaves entire ; fruit-Jialks terminal 

 or lateral ; capfule nearly ereft, generally even, rarely fur- 

 rowed ; ltd conical or awl-fhaped ; fringe long, brown, or 

 deep red, elegantly twilled, its points rather loofe and 

 fpreading. 



The fpecies are, in many cafes, difficult to afcertain, and 

 probably fome of the fmaller ones are too much multiplied. 

 All our native ones are figured in Engl'ijh Botany. We (hall 

 here felecl fome of the principal, in order to exhibit, as in 

 other inftances, a compendious view of the genus. 



T. rigida. Rigid Screw-mofs. Fl. Brit. n. i. Engl. 

 Bot. t. i8o. (Barbula rigida; Hedw. Crypt, v. i. 65. 

 t. 25. Bryum rigidum ; Hudf. 477. B. acaulon, ericae 

 tenuifoliae Gerardi folio ; DiO. Mufc. 388. t. 49. f. 55.) — 

 Stem very (hort. Leaves fpreading, rigid, involute, ob- 



tufe, riblefs. Capfule cylindrical. Lid conical Found 



on rocks, walls, chalky banks and cliffs, bearing capfules 

 in the winter and early fpring, not only in England, but in 

 various parts of Europe, from Sweden to Greece. The 

 writer of the prefent article firft difcovered and dillinguifhed 

 this humble mofs, fince the time of Dillenius, on a bank on 

 the right hand of the road from Norwich towards Yarmouth, 

 a little beyond Thorpe. It agrees in fize with the rnofl 

 common of moffes, T. muralis, hereafter mentioned, but dif- 

 fers in the thicknefs and dark colour of its almoft linear 

 leaves, vvhich have no hair at the point. The fru'it-Jialk is 

 folitary, red, half an inch to an inch high. Capfule in- 

 cUning, cylindrical, fmooth, dark brown, with a Hender 

 veil and lid. Fringe brown, of thirty -two fine teeth. The 

 foliage is incurved when dry. 



T. eouvoluia. Convoluted Screw-mofs. Fl. Brit. n. 5, 

 Engl. Bot. t, 2382. ( Barbula convoluta ; Hedw. Crypt. 

 V. I. 86. t. 32, excluding the Mnium fetaceum of Linnaeus. 

 Bryum convolutum ; Dickf. Crypt, fafc. 2. 6. H. ficc. 

 fafc. I. -o. B. ftellare nitidum pallidum, capfulis tenuif- 

 fimis ; Dill. Mufc. 381. t. 48. f. 44.) — Branches fhort. 

 Stem-leaves lanceolate, keeled ; thofe of the (heath obtufe, 



convoluted and riblefs. Lid taper, oblique Native of 



fahdy heaths, dry banks and walls, in England, Ireland, 

 Sweden, and Germany, bearing fruit in winter and fpring. 

 The perennial roots bear broad, denfe patches of very low 

 \e3iy Jiemt, whofe branches are extremely fhort. Leaves 

 'hoTt, imbricated, of a full bright green, fpreading, ovato- 

 lanceolate, pointlefs, fingle-ribbed. Sheaths at the bafe of 

 the fruit-ftalks very large, folitary between the branches, 

 confpicuous for the pale green hue of their convoluted rib- 

 lefs fcales. Fruit-Jlalks (lender, wavy, of a pale lemon- 

 colour, an inch high. Capfule (lender, incurved, pale 

 brown, fmooth, with a (lender oblique lid, half as long as 

 itfelf. 



T. nervofa. Rib-(heathed Screw-mofs. Compend. n. 6. 

 Engl. Bot. t. 2383. (T. eoBvoIuta; Swartr Mufc. Suec. 

 Vol. XXXVI. 



41. Schrad. Spicil. 66. ) — Stem much branched. Leaves 

 all ovate, acute, keeled, with a midrib. Sheaths between 



the branches, imbricated More common than the lad, in 



England, Sweden, and Germany, bearing capfules in March. 

 The tufts of this are much higher, the branches being longer 

 and more numerous. Leaves more ovate and pointed ; thofe 

 of the Jheath more numerous, ribbed, imbricated, not rolled 

 tocrether, differing little from the proper foliage. Fruit- 

 JlcUks tawny, or red. Capfule ereCt, fomewhat ovate, 

 fmooth, with a fhorter thicker lid than that of T. convoluta, 

 with which the prefent fpecies has ufually been confounded. 



T. JlellaSa. Starry Furrowed Screw-mofs. Fl. Brit, 

 n. 6. Engl. Bot. t. 2384. (Bryum (lellatum ; Dickf. 

 Crypt, fafc. 2. 6, excluding the fynonyms.) — Stem none. 

 Leaves ovate, keeled, incurved. Capfule ereft, ovate, 

 fomewhat cylindrical, furrowed. Lid oblique. — Hitherto 

 gathered only by our great Englifh cryptogamift Mr. 

 Dickfon, about Banks, and by the fides of rivers, in Scot- 

 land. The fynonyms he has applied to it are judly pointed 

 out by Hedwig as erroneous, and belong in faft to three 

 different fpecies. But Hedwig himfelf errs far more unac- 

 countably, in alferting Mr. Dickfon's mofs to be merely T. 

 convoluta. The want of z.Jlem, fmaller fize of the whole 

 plant, and, above all, the llrongly furrowed capfule, fingular 

 perhaps in the whole genus, afford fufficient diflinftions. 

 The fringe and lid are as long as the capfule ; veil much 

 longer. There appears to be no Jheath to the folitary /rai*- 

 Jlali, whofe height is half an inch. 



T. ruralis. Great Hairy Screav-mofs. Ehrb. Crypt, 

 n. 184. Fl. Brit. n. 7. Engl. Bot. t. 2070. (Barbula 

 ruralis; Hedw. Sp. Mufc. 121. Bryum rurale ; Linn. 

 Sp. PL 1581. B. rurale unguiculatum hirfutum, elatius 

 et ramofius; Dill. Mufc. 352. t. 45. f. 12.) — Stem 

 branched. Leaves obtufe, recurved, hair-pointed ; the up- 



permoft ftellated. Capfule cyKndrical, fomewhat ovate 



Common on walls, roofs, and the trunks of trees, through- 

 out Europe from Sweden to Greece, bearing fruit frrtm 

 January to April. This is much larger than any of the 

 foregoing, the Jlems, moftly about two inches high, com- 

 pofing broad cufhion-like patches, of a dirty hoary afpeA 

 in dry weather ; dark green in wet ; bearing abundance of 

 upright capfules, on long red ftalks, in winter and fpring. 

 The leaves, recurved in every direftion, ai'e very abrupt, 

 with a ftrong rib, ending in a long, roughifh, wavy hair. 

 Capfule (lender, the teeth of its fringe united at the bottom, 

 into a firm, partly perforated, tube, which laft charaAer in 

 this, the fubulata, and a few other Tortule, has given occa- 

 fiou to Mohr to eftablifh a genus by the name of Syntrichia ; 

 but it feems to us better avoided. 



T. fubulata. Awl-fhaped Screw-mofs. Hedw. Sp. 

 Mufc. 122. t. 27. Fl. Brit. n. 8. Engl. Bot. t. iioi. 

 (Bryum fubulatum ; Linn. Sp. PI. 1581. Curt. Lond. 

 fafc. 3. t. 66. B. capfulis longis fubulatis ; Dill. Mufc. 

 350. t. 45. f. 10.) — Stem nearly fimple, fhort. Leaves 

 ovato-lanceolate, pointed. Capfule cylindrical. Lid av/1- 

 fhaped, flraight. — Common in damp fhady places, in the 

 fouthem and middle countries of Europe ; rare in Swe<kn, 

 and even in Scotland. It forms denfe perennial tufts, of a 

 fine de^ green, bearing capfules in March and April. 

 The leaves are broad, nearly obovate, tipped with a point, 

 fometimes elongated into a hair, when it becomes the T, 

 pilofa of Schrader's Spicilegium, 66. The fruit Jlalis are 

 terminal, an inch or more in height, rather (lout, but feldom 

 ftraight. Capfule almoft ereft, long and flender, with a 

 long taper hd and veil. Fringe united into a fpiral tube for 

 three quarters of its length. 



I T. »i«? 



