Vol. XVIII 
SOME MOSSES FROM MONROE COUNTY, INDIANA 
F. L. Pickett 
The mosses of the following list were collected in Monroe County, Indi- 
ana, from 1910-1914. Most of them were collected in territory within a radius 
of five miles from Indiana University at Bloomington. 
There is very little record of moss collecting through this region previous to 
the lists prepared by the writer together with Miss Mildred Nothnagel, for the 
Indiana Academy of Science, and published in the Proceedings for 1912 and 
1913. Since the preparation of the latter of these, considerable additions have 
been made to the collection. • The whole list is presented now as being of pos- 
sible interest or value as a check-list for this locality. The list is not nearly 
complete, as only few sterile forms are included. But the removal of the col- 
lectors to other fields has made improbable the addition of new material in the 
near future. 
During the summer of 1914 the whole collection was carefully reviewed, and 
specimens were sent to various bryologists for verification. The writer is under 
special obligation to Geo. B. Kaiser for the verification of old material and identi- 
fication of new material. 
Attention may be called to the following observations. Such rare-fruiting 
forms as Leucobryum glaucum and Plagiothecium deplanatum have been found 
fruiting here. The rather rare Orthotrichum Lescurii or 0 . Porteri is found in 
great abundance wherever there are partly shaded limestone outcrops in this 
section. The rough country with narrow ravines, wooded or recently deforested, 
clay soil, and outcropping limestone, furnishes greatly varied conditions for moss 
growth. The rapid change in amount of available water resulting from a thin 
soil layer over stone, and the great temperature range, from io° Fahr. to ioo° 
Fahr., tend to foster the formation of peculiar xerophytic associations. The 
great differences in narrow areas, as in ravines with bushes and running water at 
the bottom and dry exposed limestone fifty feet up the side, tend to produce or 
bring out variant forms. In the Bryologist for November, 1914, the writer 
presented some notes on the effect of these radical conditions upon the distribu- 
tion of particular species. To those interested in physiological forms, carefully 
collected material from this region would prove very interesting. 
The use of the two species names of Orthotrichum above is due to the inability 
to get an exact determination of the material. Several specimens have been 
sent to different persons for determination, but there has been about an even 
split in opinions. 
The March number of The Bryologist was published March 25, 1915* 
