26 DICRANACEAE 



cles. Leaves small, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate or subulate; 

 cells roundish to quadrate, sometimes slightly papillose dorsally, 

 somewhat elongated at the base. Capsule usually inclined 

 and deeply furrowed when dry. Peristome from a narrow 

 basal membrane, of 16 teeth, bifid nearly to the base. 



C. purpureus (L.) Brid., our only species, is one of the com- 

 monest of all our mosses. It is found on the edges of paths, 

 roofs of old buildings, sand by the seashore, and in general any 

 barren compact soil is its favorite habitat. 



Var. aristatus Aust. " Plants taller, often paler; seta yellow; 

 leaves acute or acuminate, costa excurrent; xerophytic." "Sandy 

 barrens of N. J.," Muse. App. 117. 



Subfamily Seligerieae 



Plants minute, scarcely branched; leaves narrowly lanceolate- 

 subulate, without distinct alar cells; capsule exserted, erect or 

 nearly so. Peristome of 16 short teeth, cleft or perforate or 

 nearly entire (lacking in S. Doniana). 



SELIGERIA B. & S. 



S. Doniana (Smith) C. Muell. "In pockets and hollows of 

 rocks, rare; Sparta & Ogdensburg, New Jersey;" Austin, Bx! 

 Summer. 



S. setacea (Wulf.) Lindb. [S. recurvata (Hedw.) B. & S.] 

 "On moist shaded rocks at Hohokus and Godwinville, N. J.," 

 Muse. App. no. Spring-summer. 



Subfamily Oncophoreae 



Leaves chlorophyllose, opaque, usually papillose, without 

 distinct angular cells, the upper minute, quadrate. Capsule on 

 a long seta, oblong or subcylindric, usually unsymmetric and 

 inclined, usually striate and frequently strumose. The dis- 

 tinguishing characteristic of this subfamily is the small and 

 rounded or quadrate often papillose cells of the upper leaf, and 

 this character indicates a very close relationship to the Tortu- 

 laceae, which is also shown in the peristomes of Saelania and 

 Ceratodon. 



