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The Cedar Mosses

HYPNUM: Sub-genus THUIDIUM, Schimp.

The species of this sub-genus are fern-like and grow in dense flat mats on decaying wood.

The generic name is derived from the Greek ??, or ??, an ancient name for some resinous-bearing evergreen. The moss was so called by Wm. Philipp Schimper, from its resemblance to a tiny cedar tree.

The primary stems are densely covered with rootlets, and the secondary are 1 to 3 times pinnately branching. The leaves on the stem are triangular heart-shaped with a strong vein, a more or less long-pointed apex, and a base extending down-ward on the stem; papillae are found on one or both faces; leaf-like organs (paraphyllia) on the stem between the true leaves are numerous and of many forms: The leaves on the branches are smaller, ovate, lance-shaped, concave and overlapping; the cells are small, round, six-sided, sometimes long, linear at the base and four-sided on the borders. The leaves at the base of the pedicel are long, and overlapping.

The spore-cases are narrowly ovate or cylindrical and arched, with conical or more or less long-beaked lids and long pedicels. The teeth are as in the genus Hypnum.

Two hundred and forty-four species are known at present, fifteen of them in North America.

Veil (calyptra) --Split up one side.

Spore-case.--Oblong-egg-shaped, nodding or horizontal, dark yellow-brown when old.

Pedicel (seta).--- Smooth and 3/4 to 1 inch long.

Lid (operculum).--- With a long awl-shaped beak.

Annulus.--- Large, of three rows of cells.

Teeth (peristome).-- Double, as in genus Hypnum.

Spores.-- Mature in autumn.

Distribution.-- North America, Europe, Africa.

The Tiny Cedar Moss, Hypnum (Thuidium) minutulum, Hedw.

Habit and habitat.--Tiny fern-like mosses growing in woods on decaying trees and stumps.

Name.-- Hedwig, a great German botanist, gave this dainty moss its specific Latin name, minutulum, tiny, on account of its small size.

Plant (gametophyte).-- Minute, twice pinnate; stem irregularly divided, densely covered with soft matted hairs; branches pinnately branching.

Leaves.-- Stem-leaves triangular, opaque; apex taper-pointed or with an abrupt short point; margins somewhat rolled back; vein stout, vanishing near the apex; branch-leaves oval, with taper point, concave; vein shorter; leaves covered with tiny protuberances.

Leaves at the base of the pedicel.-- Thin, nearly smooth, the inner lance-shaped with a taper point.

Leaf-like organs (paraphyllia).-- Numerous, and of various shapes covered with tiny projections.

Habit of flowering.-- Male and female flowers on the same plant; monoicous.

The Dainty Cedar Moss, Hypnum (Thuidium) delicatulum, Linn.-- See Plate XXIII.

Habit and habitat.-- Creeping fern-like plants on ground, roots of trees, and rocks. Common and exceedingly beautiful. The specimen photographed grew on a stone in a babbling brook.

Name.-- The Dainty Cedar Moss is most attractive; it was well known to the great Swedish botanist,Carolus Linnaeus, who gave it the specific name delicatulum, dainty.

Plant (gametophyte).-- Three times feather-branched, the primary stems densely rooting.

Leaves.-- The stem-leaves densely crowded, enlarged at the base; branch-leaves broadly oval; apex long-pointed; base concave; vein strong; margin serrate; cells small, the apical truncate and crowned with 2 to 3 acute papillae; paraphyllia of varied forms.

Leaves at the base of the pedicel.-- Long-ciliate.

Habit of flowering.-- Male and female flowers on separate plants (dioicous).

Veil (calyptra).-- Split up one side.

Spore-case.-- Cylindrical, arched.

Pedicel (seta).-- One to one-and-a-half inches long.

Lid(operculum).-- Conical.

Annulus.-- Double.

Teeth (peristome).-- Double as in Hypnum.

Spores.-- Mature in winter.

Distribution.-- Europe, North and South America.

HYPNUM: Sub-genus BRACHYTHECIUM, Schimp.

The plants of this sub-genus are generally large, prostrate or creeping, forming loosely matted tufts; the stems branch irregularly, the branchlets somewhat regularly branching again, and covered densely with leaves.

The leaves are broadly oval and oblong-lance-shaped, usually with folds lengthwise; the apex is acutely pointed, either broadly or narrowly so; the base is heart-shaped (cordate); the vein is single, continuous or vanishing half-way; the cells are usually smooth and much elongated, the alar enlarged. There are no small leaf-like organs (paraphyllia).

The spore-cases are oval or oblong, short, nodding, usually arched with a convex-conical, obtuse, or short-pointed lid; they are borne on smooth or rough pedicels.

The generic name Brachythecium is derived from two Greek words, ?? paxus, short, and ?? a case, relating to the short spore-case.

The peristome is double, the outer teeth being united at the base, slender, lance-shaped, closely and regularly cross-barred, with a distinct median line; the inner teeth are lance-shaped with 2 to 3 well-developed cilia all attached to a wide basal membrane.

There are one hundred and sixty-three species known at present, about forty being found in North America.

Brachythecium rivulare, Bruch, Ms.-- See Plate XXIV.

Habit and habitat.-- Growing in dark or yellow-green mats on rocks and stones about springs and in swamps of mountainous woods.