]66 



BRITISH MOSSES. 



AMBLYODON. 

 Fig. 4. Amblyodon dealbatus. 

 Pale Thread Moss (a) . 



Colour. Yellow green. 



Stems. Short, branched, tufted, bare of leaves, and radiculose below. 

 Leaves (b) . Ovate-lanceolate ; areolae large. 



Floivers and Fruit. Capsule (a) on long seta, terminal, solitary, irregular, gib- 

 bous at the back, nearly erect, mouth oblique ; peristome (b) , outer teeth 

 short, obtuse, spreading ; inner a membrane divided into sixteen narrow 

 processes. Summer. 



Locality. Wet mountainous places in Scotland and Ireland. 



FUNARIEiE. 



Fig. 5. Characteristics of Order. 

 Stems very short, tufted, on earth, at first simple, afterwards branched; leaves in 

 three or five rows. Capsule {a) solitary, pyriform, oblique, mouth small and oblique. 

 Peristome (b) double, outer of sixteen teeth, with numerous prominent external 

 bars, united at first to a disc, of which a portion remains after they are separated (c) ; 

 inner a membrane divided into sixteen processes, opposite the teeth, and 

 attached to them at their base. The seta much twisted, its mode of twisting 

 being a character of each species. Every part of the plant is remarkably 

 hygrometric. 



Fig. 6. Funaria hygrometrica. 



Common Cord Moss (a) . 



Colour. Emerald green. 

 Stems. Short, tufted. 



Leaves (b) . Large, ovate-lanceolate ; nerved to the apex. 



Flowers and Fruit. Capsule furrowed when dry, mouth with a border (annulus) , 



oblique ; seta arched, twisted to the right when dry. Spring and autumn. 

 Locality. Walls, &c. everywhere. 



The calyptra slips half off the capsule when it is fully formed, and remaining 



