198 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
The Genus Riccardia in Chile. — Alexander W. Evans {Trans. 
Connecticut Acad. Arts and Sci ., 1921, 25 , 93-209, 13 figs.). A 
systematic account with detailed descriptions of the 25 species of the 
hepatic genus Riccardia (often known as Aneura ) w’hich have been 
recorded for Chile. A further 8 species, about which there is more or 
less uncertainty, are excluded from the list. The plants described as 
new to science are 3 in number — R. Thaxteri , R. diversiflora, R. myco- 
phora. Synonymy, distribution, and critical notes are given; a key is 
provided, and 22 of the species are illustrated. The generic characters 
of Riccardia are discussed, as also are its affinities and phylogeny. 
A. G. 
Jungermannia stygia Hook. f. & Tayl. — W. H. Pearson {Proc. 
Roy. Soc. Tasmania , 1921, 166-7, 1 pi.). This hepatic from Campbell’s 
Island is shown to have been described from a mixture of two quite 
different plants ; one (figured by Hooker in his Flora Antarctica) with 
rotundate leaves is probably a Jamesoniella ; the other with widely 
emarginate leaves is a Gymnomitrium , not distinguishable from 
G. concinnatum , and is clearly the type intended by Hooker and 
Taylor. Further, Rodway, in his List of Tasmanian Hepatics, is in 
error in citing Cesia erosa Carr. & Pears, as a synonym of G. 
concinnatum. C. erosa is a good species ; it is monoecious and has its 
leaves margined with a row of acute elongated cells. Stephani, in his 
Species Hepaticarum , erred in regarding G. erosa as a synonym of his 
Acolea stygia. A. G. 
Rhacopilopsis trinitensis E. G. Britt. & Dixon. — H. N. Dixon 
{Journ. of Bot., 1922, 60 , 86-8). An account of a moss which has 
been described under four different specific names, and been placed in 
seven genera. It occurs on both sides of the Atlantic, in Trinidad and 
Cayenne on the one hand, and in Angola, Congo and Nigeria on the 
other, and is characterized by its dimorphic leaves, the lower row of 
which are but half the width of the others. A. G. 
Muscixiese of the Wirral. — W. A. Lee and W. G. Travis {Lan- 
cashire and Cheshire Naturalist , 1921, 14 , 35-48, 75-91, 130-42). An 
account of the local Bryophyte flora. The Wirral occupies a peninsula 
between the estuaries of the Mersey and the Dee. The physical 
geography of the area is discussed, and lists are given of the species 
found on peaty heaths, shore clay banks, and dune tracts. Important 
changes have occurred since F. P. Marrat’s records were made seventy 
years ago. The dune slacks have dried up, and the aquatic species 
characteristic of them have disappeared : the resident population has 
vastly increased, from the overflow of Liverpool ; and many species, 
especially corticolous, have been exterminated by the smoke-polluted 
atmosphere. The list contains 183 mosses, 57 hepatics, and numerous 
varieties ; but many of these (45 mosses and 9 hepatics) are already 
extinct. A. G. 
Mosses of the Bureau of Soils Kelp Expedition to Alaska. — 
J. M. Holzinger and T. C. Frye {Publ. Puget Sound Biol. Sta ., 
1921, 3, 23-64, figs.). An enumeration of the mosses collected in 
