Phascum acaulon. Common Phaschm. 
PHASCUM Lin. Gen. PL Cryptogamia Musci. 
Calyptra minima. Operculum nullum. 
Kan Syn. Gen. 3. Musci. 
PHAqrUM “ thera , r f' U Sp.PI.li70. FI. Suec. 960. 
1 u fp' a um caulefcens, foliis ovatis cufpidatis patulis: terminalibus eredis connivcntibus. 
ochreber. de Phafco. t. i. f. i, 2. 
cnSsSJH™ acaulon foliis ovatoJanceolatis, pilo ariftatis. Haller, llltl. 1,26. 
bPHAGNUM acaulon bulbiforme majus. Dill. Mufc. 351. t. 32. f. 11. Rail Syn. 105. Lightfoot FI. 
Scot, p.695. Hudjbn FI. Angl. p. 466. 0 «*r fiDa». t. 3+0. Y. 1. 
Phascum subula tum. Hea th 
Phascum. 
PHASCUM &bul.-«um acaule, anthera feffili, foliis fubulato-fetaceis patulis. Lin. Syjt. Vegetab. p. 794. 
ca “ lrfccns . foliis lanceolato-linearibus patulis. Scireicr dc Phafco. p. 80. 
SPHAGNUM acaulon trichodes. Haller. Hift. n. ,727. Dillcn. Hi/ 1 . Mufc. 1 jj. t. 33. f. 10. Older 
iv. £1«)/. t. 349. Lightfoot FI. Scot. p. 693. Hudfon. Ft. Angl. p. 466. 
ILLENIUS, who drew the figures of his incomparable work on moffes, without ufing glaflesofany confiderably 
magtufyang power, or, perhaps, without attending fo much to the minutia: of the parts of frufti'fication as the 
practice is at prelent, defcnbed thefe plants as having no Calyptra , and united them with the genus Sphagnum. 
L KH us .afterwards, made a thftmft genus of them, but without correffing the error of his predeceflor. The 
following IS the defcriptiou of the genus Phafcum, which he gives in th 6th edition of the Genera Plantarum. 
Mafic ulus flos fubfeffilis vel brevi pedunculo. 
Cal. Calyptra nulla. 
Anthera ovalis ore ciliato, teda operculo acuminato. 
Recept. Apophyjis nulla. 
Femineus flos. • 
Several Botaniits afterwards deferibhig and delineating the calyptra , Linnveus, in the 1 qth edition of his Sv/lema 
JNatui ee , publilhed by Murray under the title of Syjlema Vegetabilium , alters it thus : 
Anthera operculata : ore ciliata. Calyptra caduca, minuta. 
,, T v S fm er pA d . efcri P!i° n ' th " s Altered, is adopted by Mr. Hudson, without any remarks on its inapplicability to 
the Engliih Phafca He fhould have informed us, that, however well the charafter might accord with any foreien 
Phalcum, the Engl, Jh ones, at leal! both thefe here figured, which are the moft: common, have neither Operculum 
nor Ultra . Of this we are fully convinced from repeated examination ; and have the pleafure of having our 
experiments confirmed by the accurate and ingenious Schreber, who, in his moft excellent Monographia, Obfer- 
vatmnes de Phafco, has the following paffages : “ Suturam, qua plerorumque mufeorum vafcula infra apicem, ubi 
demde operculum abfcedit, cinguntur, in nulla hujus generis fpecie obfervare potui. Operculum enim Phafcis 
m umverium omnibus deeft, et vafculum undique in extremum apicem ufque clauditur, fine ullius determinata: 
“ quSermtur ” S1 °’ q ” amobrem com P re ffijm utcumque rumpi folet. Cilia igitur in quocumque Phafco fruftra 
Again, {peaking of the Capfule, he fays: “ Pedlen in ea nullus adeft nec ullam aperturae cujufdam determinata: 
aut foraminis, emifliom contentorum infervientis, veffigium reperire unquam potui. Non enim fponte aperitur, 
fed integra perfilht ; donec maxima foliorum pars putruerit, quod in Ph. pilifero fmpius obfervavi, aut e foliis 
“ apertis Integra elabitur. r 
This fiiwulardaficiency then, both of the Operculum and Cilia:, forms, in our opinion, the beft criterion by 
which to dilhnguilh this genus of plants, and we have altered the generic charafter accordingly. 
PHASCUM ACAULON. 
PHASCUM SUBULATUM. 
THERE is no mofs more common on the moift banks I THE Phafcum fabulatum is not fo frequently met with 
about London than the Phafcum acaulon ; but as ^ as the acaulon , yet is not uncommon on heaths 
it exhibits no appearance of fructification till | in the fand pits about Charlton . , and on dry 
in an advanced ftate, and then only to the| banks in a variety of places, They are both 
inqmiitive obferver, it generally pafles unno-| found in fructification from December to Ja- 
ticed. Mr. Lightfoot gives a ftort, but very | nuary. 
expreffive, defcriptiou of it, as follows : “ The fin this fpecies the capfule, though fmaller, is much 
“ leaves, when young, connive together, in| 
“ the form of a fmall oval bulb, about one- 1 
“ fixth of an inch long, and hide the caplule, ¥ 
“ which is oval and orange-coloured at firft, but | 
“ when ripe fufeous and fliining, and about the f 
“ fize of a millet feed.” We have reprefented| 
the plant at jig. i. as it ufually grows on they 
ground \fig. 2, 3. detached plants of their natural | 
lize ; Jig. 4. a plant magnified ; fig. 5. a fingle leaf | 
magnified ; fig. 6. the anthera or capfule mag - 1 
nified ; jig. 7. the calyptra alfo magnified. | 
1 
more diftindtly leen, and its calyptra is vifible 
even to the naked eye. Like the other, it varies 
much in fize, as alfo in the length, of its pe- 
duncle. Mr. lightfoot confiders it as the 
leaft of our Englijh plants ; but Mr. dickson, 
of Covent-Garden , who may juftly be called 
maximus in minimis , has difeovered a Phafcum, 
the ferratum of Schreber, which is certainly 
tea times fmaller. Fig. 1. reprefentsthe fubu- 
latum as it ufually grows ; jig. 2, 3. detached 
plants ; fig. 4. a plant magnified ; jig. 5. a fin- 
gle leaf magnified ; jig. 6. the capfule ; jig. 7. 
the calyptra magnified. 
