182 
Transactions of the Boyal Society of South Africa. 
Oaika's Kop, alt. 6000 ft., Tjumie, CP., 1916 ; coll. D. B. & M. 
Hend. (No. 232). 
The regular corkscrew-like twisting of the subula when dry, the leaves 
being otherwise unaltered in position, is a marked character, best observed 
by holding the plant up to the light. It is somewhat similar to but rather 
less marked than what obtains in some species of Syrrhopodon, e. g.. 
S. spiralis Ken. & Card., S. apertifolius Besch. This twisting occurs very 
occasionally in the long-leaved forms of the northern D. Jiexicaule, but it is 
less easily observed there owing to the exceedingly delicate, filiform subula,. 
which here is of an appreciable width. The rather coarse toothing of the 
apex and the elongate basal cells with a narrow border of very delicate- 
hyaline ones are also distinguishing characters. 
Saelania glaucescens (Hedw.) Broth. Griant's Castle, 8000 ft., Natal, 1915 ; 
coll. E. E. Symons, comm. Sim. (No. 8681). Wager (' Check-list of Mosses 
of South Africa,' Pretoria, 1917) records this also from Yan Eeenen. It is^ 
quite a recent discovery from South Africa. Distrib.: Northern Europe 
and Asia to Spitzbergen ; Japan, Kashmir, Caucasus ; North America from 
G-reenland to Vermont and Minnesota ; New Zealand. 
Aongstroemia vulcanica C. M. On the ground near water, Maritzburg,. 
1908 ; coll. H. A. W. (No. 290), S plant. 
A. julacea (Hook.) Mitt. Griant's Castle, 8000 ft., Natal; coll. Sim. 
(No. 8537b). 
With Ditrichiim strictum, together with which it was growing, this 
constitutes a most interesting addition to the African moss-flora. The two- 
form a further link in the curious chain of mosses having a very definite- 
while very restricted geographical distribution, viz. southern (or high alpine) 
South America, South Africa, and New Zealand. They are found in either 
markedly high southern latitudes or at high altitudes, and seem to imply an 
early distribution from a common antarctic or subantarctic centre. The 
distribution of the two as hitherto recorded is — 
Ditrichiim strictum, Chimborazo, Fuegia, Falkland Is., Kerguelen,. 
Marion Is., Auckland Is., Campbell Is., New Zealand, Tasmania. 
Aongstroemia julacea, Andes of New Granada and Quito. 
A. julacea is a very striking plant in appearance ; the almost orbicular 
leaves, which are curiously cristate-papillose round the upper margin, are 
very closely appressed to the stems, which are quite terete and julaceous,. 
and the plant may easily be mistaken for an Anomobryum. 
Microdus minutus (Hampe) Besch. Moorddrift, Waterberg District, 
Transvaal, 1916 ; coll. H. A. W. (Nos. 402, 410), c. fr. ; Maritzburg, 2000 ft., 
June, 1917 ; coll. Sim (No. 8711), c. fr. 
No. 402 represents a small reduced form, which, however, intergrades 
with No. 410 ; the latter corresponds with M. limosus Besch., which, how- 
ever, from a study of Bescherelle's specimens I should certainly refer to- 
■» 
