OCR Text |
Show The Hiflory ·of P L A N T . S. 2. Marchantia foliis longiori6us lacini~tis .. Long and jagged-leaved Marchantza. The leaves c:>f this fpecies 'are _often three or four inches long; th~y do ?Ot grow in imbricated tufts, as. '!Hofe of the1 former) · but (pread themfelves trre_g~larly. about ; they are from a third of an ·inch to an inch broad, and are d~eply divt~ed mto fegments. 'fhey are of a be~utiful green col01,1r, and ~ave .purple vems on thetr upper f~lrface, and are reticulated,; the fpaces between the re!tculatwns are of a figure, approachmg to rhomboidal, and are not punClated, but plam ; on the under part of ~he leaves there are lanuginous fib'res, *hicli faf1et1 it down to the earth, fiones, ~c. bt~t theft:: do not reach quite to- the extren~ities~ fo that the edges are loofe. Tne .ped1~l7s op. which the male flowers gt·ow are two inches or more in length; the pena.nthmm IS divided into ten or twelve fegments. The female flo~ers are of a funnel-hke ihape, finall at the bafe wide at the mouth, and dentated Irregularly at the edges; every Jenticulation ends,in a fine white hair. The-fe contain a nu~ber of feeds, cover~d at firfi with a membrane, but which foon difappears. It grows m damp places by dttcl:fides, and in wells. The male ftowers.1!1ppea: in May and June, the female ones m September; but t?ey re~ain . on the plant, till t~e male. flowers of the next ~ea: . ap-ear~ · The botam<fl "'"oters 1~ gener~l hav~ def~nbed this, u.nder t?e 14ame of Ltchen ~ulgaris, and Hepatic.a fontana. !vfic~eli call& It, Marchantla maJOr capfularum cre-nis in longiufculum ptlum definenttbus.' . . . . There are three other fpecies of the Marchanth1a dtfimgmilied by au t hor~: I. A broad roundiili-leaved one. 2. A .very narrow, undulated-leaved Marchant1a; and, 3• The dichotomo~s Marchanth~a, w,it~ very broad, rounded fegments. . Dillenius calls thts and the fwo followmg genera by the common name L1ch~n ; and Linnreus calls both thofe, as well as this, Marchantia: we thin~{ we fey fuffi:1cn t. reafons fo~r feparating them. Micheli an~ DiHenius do not at .all agree about their mJcroiDpical obfervations on this 'genus : this is no place t.o. enter u?tO ~uc~ a controvcrfy ; . but there might, perhaps, Be a way found of reconctlmg t.hecr .d1fferent acco,unts, 1tnce there is no doubt of their being both ingenuous and ~andtd wnters. Much mo_re than either of thefe authors have difcovenid, in regard to the other Moffes, a; well as to thefe, may be made out by good glaffes, but not enough perfeCtly to explal!'l them by has hitherto appeared. · . M 0 S S E S. Cltifi the Seventh. Genus the Seco11d., C 0 N I C E P H A L A. C 0 N I C E PH A L A is a genus of Moffes, con filling of a foliaceous matter, furniilied with fructifications, or male and female flowers, fometimes on th.e faJ.ne plants, fometimes on different plants of the fame fpecies. The male flower IS fupported on a long pedicle : it's calyx is a common peri~mhium, formed of .five fegrnehts, which do not feparate, but compofe together a kmd of head of a come figure, fometimes more acute, fometimes more obtufe; this perianthium contains five flowe r:. The corolla is monopetalous, turbinated, and ihorter than the cup: the fiamen IS fingle, undivided, and is longer than the flower : the anthera is tumid, and oval, and opens fi·om the top into five fegments; the farina is lodged on filaments. The female flower is compofed of a perianthium, confifting of one piece, green, and not raifed from the furface of the leav~s; it is rounded below and flattiili, and covered with little granules at the top, and is divided within into feveral cells, contai?ing _feeds of an elliptic figure. There is no corolla, nor any other vifible part of fruCltficauon. 1. Conicephala The Hijlory of P .L A N T S. I. Conicephala longifolia capitulo acutiore. :rhe long-leaved Conicephala, with a jharp-pointed head. This is a confiderably large fpecies ; it's leaves are three inches, or more, in length," and from a third of an inch to half an inch in breadth ; they creep on the ground, and are fixed to it by multitudes of fibrous roots. They are of a bright green colour, and of a flefhy firuClure; they are reticulated on the furface, and divided into a fort of rhomboidal figures, which are punClated in a beautiful manner. The male flowers grow on pedicles of an inch and half in length ; the perianthium forms a conic head, lharp-pointed, and moderately broad at the bafe. The female flowers grow like warts, on various parts of the leaves; in other plants they are of about a feventh of an inch in diameter. It grows in damp, lhady places, in great abundance.. It's male flowers appear in March, the female ones in June, or July, but they remain on the plants till that time the next year. Moft of the botanical writers have called this Lichen pileatus, and Hepatica pileata. Micheli calls it, H patica vulgaris major ; and Linnreus, Marchantia foliis dichotomis calyce communi quinquepartite. Dillenius defcribes it under the name of Lichen vulgaris major pileatus et verrucofus. 2. Conicephala brevifolia capitulo obtujiorl!. Short-leaved Conicephala, with obt-ufe heads. This is a much fmaller fpecies than the former. It's leaves feldom exceed an inch in length, and are not much divided, but finuated round the edges; they are of a dark green colour, and have no veins vifible on them : they are reticulated, as it were, or fcaly, but not divided in a rhomboidal form; when abundant moifture makes the leaves branch out, it is ufually in a dichotomous manner. The pedicl~s which fupport the .male flowers are about an inch in height, and of a brown colour; the perianthium forms a head of an obtufely conic figure; they are divided into five fegn:1ents u.fually, but fometimes into four or fix. The pedicle of thefe has no vagina at it's bafe. The female flowers are fmall and warty ; they are of a duik.ier green colour than the leaves, and rough on the furface, The male flowers appear in April, the female ones in July, or Auguft. It js not unfrequent with us on the damp banks of ditches. Dillenius defcribes this fpecies under the name of Lichen pileatus parvus foliis crenatis. Linnreus calls it, Marchantia calyce communi, quinquifido, hemifphrerico ; and Micheli, Hepatica media capitulo hemifphrerico. 3· Conicephala angujlijolia divaricata. Narrow-leaved, divaricated Conicephala. • I This is an extreamly fingular fpccics. The leaves are an inch or two in length, and about a fixth of an inch in breadth ; of a deep green colour, and marked with a middle rib, very vifible all the way : they are varioufly divaricfl,ted in a dichotomous manner, and are not crenated at th~ edges. Tqe extremities of them are cordated, or have a depreffion. or indenting in the middle, and from this .indenting rifes the ftalk which fi1pports the male flowers. This is about an inch high, moderately thick, and of a brownilh colour. The head, formed by the common perianthium, is fomewhat obtufc, though lefs fo than in the ]aft fpecies. The female flowers are large, oblong, thick, and rough at the top. It is a very rare fpecies with u~. I once found it on the boards behind a water·mill in Buckinghamiliire, and once near Mount-forrel in Leicefter£hire. Micheli has defcribed it under the name of Hepatica minor anguftifolia capitulo hemifphrerico. The female flowers, in this fpecies, are fometimes on the fame plants with the male, fometimes on different one~. Micheli does not allow the elliptical bodies contained in the female flowers of the Conicephala, or hepatica, as he calls it, to be feeds. We do not certainly know in- Geed, that what we call feeds .in any of the plants of this clafs are truly fo. ' MOSSES, |