CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS OF DEVONSHIRE. 365 



(6.) Fontinalis squamosa* 



Much doubt, for a long time, existed, whether 

 this plant was truly entitled to its place as a good 

 species. Its general character is so different from 

 that of Fontinalis antipyretica, that it is noticed 

 by early writers. Bauhin calls it F. minor lucens* 

 from its beautifully glistening appearance, and 

 Dillenius, who gives a figure, Tab. 33. fig. 3. 

 F. squamosa, tenuis sericea atro-virens. All 

 doubt promises at length to be dispelled, and Fon- 

 tinalis squamosa will probably be soon "regarded as 

 an established species, and not of that extreme ra- 

 rity that was formerly imagined. Among the hills 

 above Buxton in Derbyshire, I found it in a state 

 well adapted for investigation. There had been 

 no rain of any consequence for many weeks, so that 

 the young plants I gathered had not been exposed 

 to any strong current, but so far from it, not unfre- 

 quently grew in small pools formed by the floods 

 of the preceding winter. These young plants 

 were from 2 to 4 inches long, and had leaves as 

 large as those figured in Eng. Bot. t. 1801 ; be- 

 ing very luxuriant, they were more open to ob- 

 servation and accurate examination. After a pa- 

 tient search, I could find not the least trace of a 

 keel in any of the leaves. From the period of 

 germination, these plants had not been subject to 

 any attrition, but every part had been gradually 



