53 



parted. I certainly did not meet with a great many, but those I 

 have seen in superficial as well as overgrown conceptacles were 

 bisporic. However, it may be, that they were not fully developed, 

 and in such cases the partition cannot be stated with certainty 

 until a greater number of conceptacles in different specimens have 

 been examined. Thus in other species I have seen several not 

 fully developed sporangia growing down into the frond together 

 with the conceptacles, and overgrown ones very likely never have 

 been mature. Often I have also seen two-parted and apparently 

 fully developed sporangia in superficial conceptacles of species, by 

 which the named organs typically are tetrasporic, and, as remarked 

 before, such ones have probably in fact not been fully developed. 

 The sporangie are in both the above forms about 120 — 160 p- long 

 and 40—60 fi broad. 



Relation to other species. The form abbreviata shows greater 

 affinity to L. fornicatum, and cup-shaped specimens, rubbed in 

 the lower part, may without closer examination be confounded 

 with smaller specimens of that species bearing thinner branches 

 than usual. It appears, on the other hand, to be more nearly 

 connected with the preceding species, and particularly through the 

 form represented by the above mentioned freely developed specimen 

 it exibits close relation at least to younger specimens of this spe- 

 cies. It, however, differs by its branches being thinner than general 

 in L. dehiscens, frequently larger and flattened conceptacles and, 

 above all, by its tendency to form a crust-like hypothallus. Still, 

 younger individuals of f. abbreviata as well as the form congluti- 

 nata much reminds one of certain forms of L. fruticulosum, the 

 former rather resembling L. fruticulosum f. fastigiata or forms 

 which are most nearly related to this, and the latter in its most 

 extreme form apparently connected with L. fruticulosum f. glo- 

 merata. However, it is plainly distinct from this species not only 

 with reference to its development, but the conceptacles of sporangia 

 also are different. The species probably includes more forms than 

 the above mentioned. 



Habitat. I met with this plant in the same bank as L. for- 

 nicatum and other species, and apparently growing scattered, the 



