— 14 — 
lows natural relationships, but the sandwiching in of Anthoceros between 
Sphaerocarpus and Marchantia is even more violent and unnatural than 
was the now long obsolete placing of the Gymnosperms between the Mono- 
cotyledons and the Dicotyledons. The nomenclature of the work is, in gen- 
eral, that which is most familiar to English-speaking students of the Hepa- 
ticae, but in supporting the efforts of some continental writers to revive 
Dumortier’s Madotheca in plaee of the Linnaean Porella , v the author is 
departing not only from the English, American, and Scandinavian usage of 
many years’ standing, but also, we believe, from the usage which must 
eventually prevail elsewhere. The book contains descriptions of several 
species, the discovery of which in the British Isles was too late for their 
inclusion in Pearson's admirable monograph. The work, as a whole, in spite 
of some patent defects, we think will prove useful to the less technically 
inclined students of the Hepaticae both in the British Isles and in North 
America. New York Botanical Garden. 
PAPILLARIA NIGRESCENS (Sw.) JAEG. & SAUERB. 
Meteorium Nigrescens Mitt. 
Elizabeth G Britton. 
The type of this species .was collected and 
described by Swartz from high mountains in Jamaica 
and was figured by both Hedwig andSchwaegriclien 
in the Species Muscorum. Various specimens from 
Mexico, the West Indies, Venezuela, Florida, and 
Louisiana have been also called by the same 
name. Since my note on “ West Indian Mosses in 
Florida” was published (Bryologist, 6:4, 1903) it 
has become evident that the description of this 
species in the Manual is incomplete and misleading 
and that Leptodon trichomitrion has been and is 
liable to be mistaken for it. In fact the leaves are 
very much alike in shape and size, but the cells are 
different and those of Meteorium are papillose on 
both sides with three or four minute papillae on each 
cell. Add to this the fact that the description of the 
fruit in the Manual is taken from Schwaegrichen’s 
plate, as there are no fruiting specimens of this 
species in any herbarium that we have examined, 
and that all the species of this genus very rarely 
fruit, most of them being known only from sterile 
specimens, and we have an added reason for doubt- 
ing the correctness of referring specimens from 
Lake Huron to this species. It seems likely that 
the hairy calyptra in Leptodon trichomitrion , has 
been the misleading character for confusing it with 
the description in the Manual. 
