THE GENERA OF MOSSES. 
57 
or most rarely branched, one to three-fourths of an inch in 
length, filiform, erect, and flexuose ; naked from the base 
to about two-thirds of the whole length, when it becomes 
clothed with distichous leaves of a lanceolate form, plane, 
bright green, nerveless, entire, and loosely reticulated 
" they are decurrent at the base, but by no means con- 
fluent ; those in the centre are the longest, and they gra- 
dually diminish in size above and below The perichas- 
tial leaves are much narrower than those of the stem. 
Obs. The calyptra of this moss we have found, by care- 
ful examination, to be campanulate, or entire, as Hedwig 
describes it. Few authors seem to have noticed it since his 
time from their own observation. As to the operculum, we 
have borrowed part of our character from Hedwig, having 
never . been able to satisfy ourselves completely respecting 
the lacinise, but this we shall mention more particularly 
when we come to the history. If we consider the excessive 
minuteness of the theca, its form, and naked stoma, no 
other known moss can be confounded with it ; the foliage, 
however, much resembles that of Dicranum hryoides^ for 
which, as Dr Hooker remarks, it has probably been fre- 
quently passed over. Among the GymnostomoidetE it ap- 
proaches to Drepanophylhim alone. 
Hab. This singular moss seems to be confined to Europe, 
and hitherto has chiefly been observed in the northern divi- 
sion. In Britain, the only known stations are in Devon- 
shire, where it was originally discovered by the Reverend 
Mr Newberry, on the road from Zele to South Tawton 
Church, four miles from Okehampton. This habitat, about 
* Hook* and Tayl. Muse. Brit; 
