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OCCURRENCE OF FUNARIA HYGROMETRICA (L.) SIBTH. 



Ara VILLA Meek Taylor 



One of the most interesting of mosses from the viewpoint of the ecologist 

 is Funaria hygrometrica (L.) Sibth. 



It is cosmopolitan, appears in great abundance in various soils, and is a 

 prolific sporophyte producer. It is probably because of its wide distribution 

 and ease of recognition, that we find it given as the type species in many elemen- 

 tary texts of Botany, and in many respects it is admirable for this purpose. 



Within the city limits of Chicago we find it as a pioneer crevice-species on 

 rocks and in cracks of the cement walks. In the vicinity of the city it can be 

 found in cracks of stone walls and in crevices of small rock ledges. It is equally 

 at home on cinder piles along railroad embankments and on old ash heaps. 

 It has been found fruiting on areas on which rubbish had been burned during 

 the previous season, and along the gravel walks in Lake Park in the city of 

 Milwaukee. 



It comes in on almost pure sand in vacant city lots, as in Chicago, or on hard 

 clay soils as found in Corvallis, Oregon, and can be found in similar abundance 

 on the soils of worn-out farms. As mentioned by Grout^ it may even occur as a 

 fireweed, and not only that, but as a fire-weed in swamps, as was the case a few 

 years ago in a swamp forest at Thornton, Illinois, where the first new growth, 

 a close covering of Marchantia was followed by a luxuriant display of Funaria 

 and Folytrichum commune L. The former was of unusual size and developed a 

 great quantity of spores. It is not uncommon to find Funaria in low depress- 

 ions filled with water. Unlike most plant species, it thrives with similar ease 

 on the Atlantic coast, in the middle west, and on the coast of the Pacific. 



How shall we account for the presence of Funaria in such widely different 

 habitats? It cannot be explained by a lack of competition with other plants 

 alone. However true it may be that few plants find in these habitats their most 

 favorable conditions for growth, back of the scarcity of herbaceous plants must 

 be some cause which leads to their absence, but which does not prove a detri- 

 ment to Funaria. Compared with herbaceous species this moss seems to possess 

 a much greater toleration for unusual chemical conditions of soils, since it is 

 able not only to live in acid soils but shows an equal toleration to alkaline con- 

 ditions. Old worn out farm soils are often easily shown to give an acid reaction, 

 while a basic reaction can be obtained from a test of cinder piles and ash heaps. 

 That the moss should be resistant to one is not surprising, but that it can live as 

 well in both acid and alkaline habitats is worthy of consideration. The same 

 thing may be said of its ability to withstand great variation in extremes of mois- 

 ture. 



Added to this tolerance of soil and moisture conditions is the production 

 of great quantities of very light spores which may be carried far afield by the 

 wind. The well-known peculiar twisting of the seta when moistened, must 



^ Grout, A. J. Mosses With a Hand Lens and Microscope. 



