THE GENERA OF MOSSES. 143 
seta cannot therefore justly be said to be axillary. The 
other doubtful species, P. axillare, is more deserving of a 
place under Pleuridium, and indeed Horns chuch seems to 
be at a loss what to do with it ; but even here the seta is 
at first terminal. " Pedicellus primo ortu terminalis, at 
mox, producto caulis apice, lateralis 
The PJiasca can scarcely be said to possess a habit pe- 
culiar to themselves. Among those with short setae, P. 
alternifolmm resembles closely the shoots of Dicranum 
varium^ while P. cuspidatum is frequently passed over by 
the tyro for barren stems of Bryum caspiticium ; those 
with the setae exserted, especially P. rectum and hryoides^ 
approach intimately to some of the Gymnostoma and Weis- 
sid6) and more especially to what constitutes the following 
genus. 
Hab. These plants are seldom found in lofty situations, 
but generally on moist banks, and open fields in the low 
countries. They abound chiefly in Europe ; North Ame- 
rica, however, possesses some ; and the Cape of Good Hope 
two species, P. nervosum and splachnoides. We have also 
seen what we conceive to be a variety of P. subulatum, 
from King George's Sound, New Holland. 
Hist. This genus, as we have formerly noticed, was 
ranked by Dillenius under his Sphagna, but was separ- 
ated by LiNN^us, under its present name. Only two, 
however, of his species prove to be true Phasea, and the 
remainder have been transferred to other genera. In Bri- 
tain no more than these two appear to have been known in 
the time of Hudson, but this number was soon increased by 
* Sk J. E. Smith,^ Flora Bsitannica, p, 1150. 
