63 — 
Coast region of North America. Both species grow on sandy or clayey banks, 
often along roadsides, and N. rubra is sometimes found on friable sandstone. 
The species was named by Gottsche many years ago and was based on 
specimens collected by Bolander “on metamorphic sandstone” at Mendocino 
City, California. It was not published by its author but remained a manuscript 
species, except for its inclusion in Bolander ’s catalogue of San Francisco plants, 
until 1888, when Underwood had Gottsche’s original figures reproduced, supply- 
ing them with a short diagnosis. He was able to add a second station, “cliffs 
by the sea, Santa Cruz, California, where the plant had been found by Farlow. 
In 1891 it was still listed as a valid California species by Underwood, 1 but in 
1899 it was included by Howe 2 among the synonyms of N. crenulata. In adopt- 
ing this course he states that “the Californian forms mostly agree with Gottsche’s 
Jungermannia rubra , founded on a specimen collected ... by Dr. Bolander, 
but Jungermannia rubra seems to us not to differ in any structural characters 
from the European conditions of Nardia crenulata which have at times been 
known as Jungermannia gracillinia and J. Genthiana .” Howe’s views have 
been accepted by subsequent writers, and N. crenulata has been recorded not 
only from California but also from Washington and British Columbia. 3 
In studying a large series of specimens from the Pacific Coast region, which 
had been determined as N. crenulata, the writer was impressed by certain fea- 
tures which seemed to distinguish them from authentic material of that species 
coming from Europe and eastern North America. The differences noted are 
slight and the most important of them attracted the attention of Howe. He 
regarded them, however, as insufficient to serve as a basis for specific separation, 
especially when the great variability of N. crenulata was taken into account. 
The Pacific Coast plants are likewise very variable, and certain forms occur 
which are distinguished with difficulty from certain forms of N. crenulata. At 
the same time the agreement is between poorly developed forms, rather than 
between robust forms, and the range of variability shown by the Pacific Coast 
series is different from that of the authentic N. crenulata. In view of these 
facts the writer suggests that Gottsche’s Jungermannia rubra be reinstated as a 
species, under the name Nardia rubra , even if many writers would regard it as 
nothing more than a “small” species. 
The numerous European forms of N. crenulata have been carefully studied 
by European botanists and especially by Schiffner, 4 but the views regarding 
them and their nomenclatorial status are still very much at variance. Schiffner 
recognizes the following varieties, in addition to the typical form of the species: 
gracillima (Sm.) Lindb., cristulata (Dum.) Schiffn., turfosa (Warnst.) Schiffn., 
subaquatica Schiffn., inundata (Husnot) Schiffn., and exundata (Husnot) Schiffn. 
The last four of these varieties are aquatic or subaquatic in habit. He regards 
1 Zoe 1 : 365. 1891. 
2 Mem. Torrey Club 7 : 94. 1899. 
3 See Miss Haynes, Bryologist 12 : 67. 1909; and Macoun, Cat. Canadian PI. 7: 13. 1902. 
4 Verhandl. der K. K. zool.-bot. Gesellsch. in Wien 53:410-418. 1904; Lotos 58 : 271. T 9io. 
