10 
355 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
March 30th, 1922. 
My dear Mr. Powell: 
In my last letter I forgot to 
answer your question about the specimen of Sphagnum 
collected in Chiriqui. Thera ara several species 
characterized by tropical distribution. Sphagnum 
platycladium is reported from Mexico, Guatemala and. 
Costa Rica. Perhaps your specimens belong to this 
species. If you are anxious to have a definitive 
determination let me know and I will submit your 
material to an authority on mosses. The genus is 
too difficult for the ordinary mortal, and oven for 
the experts the plants mu3t oe just right before a 
sure diagnosis £& can be made with reasonable con¬ 
fidence as to its correctness. I have no records of 
S^hagmui from Panama, but 3. platycladium gats farther 
south than that, although it is also a native of 
Yours sincerely, 
o-A-V 1- Lin .USs 
Mexico 
