7<^ 



Wheldon : The North of England Hai'pidia. 



Var. plurnulosum Schimp. Darker coloured, much more 

 slender, prostrate, intricately branched. Leaves hardly at all 

 striate, subentire, smaller and shorter. Capsule smaller. 



10. Mickle Fell (65), Wheldon ! Hebden Bridge (63), 

 Crossland and Needham. 



11. High Force (66), Ingham! 



Hypnum fluitans Linn. Monoicous or dioicous. Pale or 

 yellowish-green, passing sometimes to chestnut, purple, or 

 brown. Stem varying from 10 to 30 cm. in length, usually 

 hooked at the extremity, more or less regularly pinnate. Leaves 

 frequently falcate, oblong or oblong lanceolate, sometimes nar- 

 rowed below some distance above the insertion, terminating in 

 an acuminate point, which is normally denticulate, sometimes 

 dentate, more rarely sinuolate or subentire, smooth or slightly 

 striate. Nerve generally entering the acumen, sometimes reach- 

 ing the point or a little excurrent. Texture close. Cells linear, 

 remaining elongate almost to the base. Basal cells passing 

 abruptly to those of the stem, angular cells sometimes inflated 

 forming swollen auricles more or less distinctly separated, and 

 frequently extending to the nerve. Pericha^tial leaves entire, 

 nerved,' smooth. Annulus none. External teeth punctate or 

 very feebly striate, scarcely limbate.* (See figs. 1 to 4, p. 91.) 

 Group Amphibium Ren. (H. fluitans 8 amphibium Sno.). 



Usually monoicous, often fertile. Tufts pale, green, stems 

 floating or in depressed patches, slender, slightly divided, occa- 

 sionally imperfectly pinnate. Leaves rather distant, loosely 

 appressed, flexuose or spreading*, feebly secund below, terminal 

 ones more falcate-secund, narrow, margin denticulate below 

 or all round, and sometimes dentate above, rarely subentire. 

 Nerve relatively narrow, rarely exceeding three-quarters, more 

 usually reaching a little more than half-way, and sometimes still 

 shorter, in some forms showing a tendency to become forked. 

 Texture thin, cells linear, very narrow, little altered except at the 

 extreme base, the angular cells very little dilated, forming badly- 

 defined auricles which are very slightly or not at all swollen. 

 Fruit stalk very long. The plants of this section are found 

 principally in peat-bogs, and ascend from the level of the sea to 

 over 2,000 feet in West Lancashire. Mature leaves from the 

 best developed plants should be selected for examination. (See 

 fig. 1, p. 91.) 



* This arrangement, uniting; H. fluitans and H. exanniriatum , is not 

 usually recognised by British bryologists, but there can be no question 

 that it is a natural one, all the forms intimately intergrading. 



Naturalist, 



