Hedwigs Fringe Leaf Moss
Hedwig's Fringe-leaf Moss, Hedwigia ciliata, Ehrh.Habit and habitat.-In small or wide patches, loosely tufted, and hoary-green; common on rocks.
Name.-The specific name ciliata, referring to the fringed perichaetial leaves, is derived from the Latin cilium, an eyelash.
Plant (gametophyte).-Pale-green, stems slender, 1 to 4 inches long, at first erect, then procumbent, repeatedly twice-forked.
Leaves.-Spreading all round when moist, crowded and overlapping like shingles when dry, broadly lance-shaped; apex recurved, translucent by the absence of leaf-green; margins wavy, base growing down the stem and yellow at the point of attachment; cells with tiny projections.
Leaves at the base of he spore-case (perichaetial leaves).-Thin and transparent, taper-pointed, fringed on the margins.
Habit of flowering.-Male and female flowers on one plant (monoicous).
Veil (calyptra).-Small, covering the lid, conical, with or without hairs.
Spore-case.-Immersed, globular, light brown, red at the mouth.
Pedicel.-Almost none.
Lid (operculum).-Convex, with or with out an obtuse point in the centre.
Annulus.-None.
Teeth (peristome).-None.
Spores.-Mature in spring.
Distribution.-Universal.