— 7 
the leaves are strongly concave and spread obliquely, and that the apical parts 
tend to spread more widely. This lends the shoot a distinctly squarrose appear- 
ance. 
In spite of the fact that N. subelliptica is normally paroicous, Schiffner noted 
the occasional presence of purely male branches in specimens which he collected 
near Hall in Tirol and distributed in his exsiccatae (Hep. Europ. Exsic. 376 ), 
and similar branches occur in some of the Cape Breton material (No. 1478). 
In normal cases three or four pairs of perigonial bracts are usually developed, 
followed by one or two pairs of perichaetial bracts. In N. obovata the number 
of perigonial bracts is usually reduced to two or three pairs. The bracts of 
N. subelliptica are at first imbricated (Fig. 9) but tend to become separated 
later (Fig. 8). They are saccate at the base, and the keel is strongly arched 
in the lower part. The dorsal indexed portion is usually nearly or quite as large 
as the rest of the leaf, so that the bracts present the appearance of being sub- 
equally complicate-bilobed. In the upper half the bracts often spread widely. 
The perichaetial bracts clasp the perianth (or perigynium) closely. They re- 
semble the perigonial bracts in most respects but are less saccate at the base. 
Usually the innermost bracts are suberect, and this will often serve to distinguish 
them from the widely spreading bracts of N. obovata; but sometimes, unfortu- 
nately, the innermost bracts (as in the Tyrolese specimens distributed by Schiff- 
ner under No. 377) are just as squarrose as in N. obovata, so that this distinction 
is not always available. 
Sub floral innovations have been observed with considerable frequency, 
not only in European material but also in the Nova Scotian. They are usually 
sterile for a while but sometimes give rise to inflorescences while still very short. 
It has already been noted (under N. fossombronioides ) that subfloral innovations 
are either very rare in N. obovata or absent altogether. The perigynium in N. 
subelliptica is unusually deep and often exceeds the perianth in length (Fig. 13). 
The latter organ, which projects slightly beyond the bracts, is delicate and com- 
posed throughout of elongated cells. It is plicate in the upper part, and the 
cells bounding the opening project as crenulations or short cilia (Fig. 15). Some- 
times small groups of marginal cells project as vague and irregular teeth, but 
this appearance is much less marked than in N. obovata. 
According to Muller the stalk of the capsule shows three concentric rows 
of cells in cross-section, the outermost composed of sixteen cells, the second of 
eight, and the innermost of four. This statement is confirmed by a section cut 
from Nova Scotia material (Fig. 14), but more sections would be necessary to 
prove that these numbers are constant. The cells of the capsule-wall are essen- 
tially like those of N. obovata. 
Another species which should be compared with N. subelliptica is the re- 
cently described N. obscura Evans, known at present only from New England 
and New York. This species is somewhat more robust and usually much more 
deeply pigmented than N. subelliptica and is distinguished at once by its dioicous 
inflorescence. The leaves, moreover, are relatively broader and the perianth 
is distinctly shorter than the bracts. In other respects the species are much alike. 
