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RA MB L E S

IN

SE

AR C H

OF

FLOWE RLE SS

PLANT S

BY

MARGARET PLUE S
AU T HO R

or

RAMB LE S

G E OLO G Y

I N SE

ARC H

FO R T H E

OF

WIL D

M I L LI QV ,

F LO W E R S ,

ETC

I I ON

T H I RD E D T

L O ND O N
H O U L S T O N
65,

A ND

PA T E RN O ST E R

MD

CCCLXV
'

III

R I G H

R OW

T O

ALL TRUE LOVERS OF NATURE,


T HE S E S I MPL E
I

NTO

T HE

L OW

EST

FO

RE S EARCHE S

RM S

OF

EGET

A B L

E A F F E C T I ONA T EL Y DEDI C A T E D B Y

AR

T HE I R

O B E DI

ENT S ERV ANT

T HE A U T H OR

L IF

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTE R
C lassication
tarac h
.

Pl ants

of

F erns

gramma

Gy m

no

PA C 2
.

Polypodiac ea

A spidiaceae

Polystichum

CHAPT ER

o tinued

A spidiaceze

c n

Ce

C HAPT ER H

Fossil Ferns

P olypodi um

Woodsia
III

15

Lastraea,

C HAPT ER

IV

21

CHAPT ER V

3O

CHAPT ER

VI

A spidiac ew c on tin ed
P teris
l ec hn m Adiant m Hymeno
Hym enophyllum
Tri chomanes
Os nda ceae
phyllac eee
.

mu

37

Fern Alli es

u is tum
q

CHAPT ER
.

Isoe te s

draea

Phascae

G u

Gro up

VIII

47

Summit and Side -fr ited Mosse s A n


Bog Moss
Sphag nac eae
U ses of Bog Moss

Weissia ro p
Gymnostomum
So l omon s

Fru oticat ion

G roup
.

Lyeo pod ium ,

C HAPT ER
Moss Order

VI I

57

C HAPT ER

IX

Mosses Pottia T richostomae Group Sc re w Mosses


Hed wigia Grimm ea
E xti ng uish er Mosses
Fr inge Mosses

Vitality

of

69

vi

O NT E NT S

PA G E

C HAPT ER

C HAPT ER

XI

Thread Mosses C ord Mosses Bladder Mosses Apple Mosses


C ollar Mosses C avern Moss Flat Fork Mosses E ssid ens
Mung o P ark

T hyme

C HAPT ER
Side -fruit ed
Nec kera,

Mosses

Leucod on

XII

C lim acium

Leskea

Omalia

1 03

C HAP TER X III


Hyp n

92

um Group

Feath er

Mosses

1 09

CHAPT ER

XIV

Moss Allies Hepaticae Order Jungermanniae


Frondose Liverworts Stipul es Marchantia
.

Fo liaceous

Ri cc ia

and

A n tho

1 18

C HAPT ER XV
Seaweed

C lassicat ion

Olive

Red ,

and

Green

ee s

Melano

127

C HAPT ER

ic tyotaceae Order

Peac ock

ee

XVI

Chord ariaceae

celaria,

Order

Meso
137

CHAPT ER

XV

II

1 45

C H APT ER XVIII

154

C O NT E N T S

CHAPTER XI X

s of Melanosperms

men

Rhod osperms,

Land

and

Chlorosperms,

and

CHAPT ER XX
Freshwater Algae

PA G E

Vau herias

Freshwate r

1 65

Bot ydium
r

1 74

CHAPTER XX I
Lichens
kin

on

A rth onia

Lich ens

Writi g Li h
n

ens

V ru aria
c

er

E nd oc ar

1 87

C HAPT ER

XXII

1 99

CHAPT ER XXIII
Jelly

Lichens

Dog L ic hen
Peltid ea
Collema
'
l ripe d e Roc h e
cel and Moss
.

Gyrop horas

Ramalina

Usn ea

ock

Socket

Lichens
Orchil Borrera

C HAPT ER
E vernia

XXIV

Hair

21 2

Co ral Lichens

Glob

25 2

C HAPT ER

XXV

23 9

CHAPT ER XXV I

Tremella group

E xidia

Jew

E ar

my s

Dacry

ce

260

viii

O N T E NT S

C H A PT ER

Phall us C lathr us
.

T richogastre

XXVII

group

PA G E
.

E art h

sta s P uff balls


r

273

CHAP T ER

Moulds

XXVIII

282

C HAPT ER XXIX
Asc omyc etes

Mitrula

T uf e

Spathularia

L eot ia

G oglossum
e

Pez iz a

B l garia
u

RA MB L E S

sf

rst ):

m
h
l
t
ss
m
l
r

CHA PT ER I
F E RN S

ants

abo u t in shady pla c es th e Fe rn s w er e b u sy un t ucki ng th e m


selve s fro m the ir grav ecloth e s u nrolling th eir myste rio u s c oils of life
addi ng c on tin u ally to th e hidd en growth as they unfold e d th e visibl e

I n this th ey w e re lik e th e oth er r e v elatio n s of G od th e I nnite

A ll

D a v m E L G I NB RO D

very side spring Fe rn s whose feathe ry l eav e s

See m waft e d by th e p e rp e t u al br eath of G od


On

A VING

carefully stu di ed owering plants and


collected spe c imens from all the orders of the
Two lobed (Dicotyledonous) and One lobed
Monocotyledonous
classes
we
are
now
free
ent
r
t
o
o n the
e
)
(
study of the third cl ass of plants the F L OWE RLE SS or L O B E
L E S S ( Acot ledonous) clas s
Here
we
lose
the
grand
dis
y
t inguishin g feat u re the owers and must direct double
attention to the seed n ow very min ute and termed sp or es
A s the Two lobed class are further characterised by the
,

I L

F E RN S

outwar d growth of the main ste m or trunk and are


therefore call ed E xogens and the One lobed c lass by the
inward growth expressed in the term Endogens so the
Lobeless have their d istinguishing feature in this respect
adding to their growt h by additions to the sum mi t and
thus c alled A cr ogens or Summit growers
The r st natural order in the Lobeless class is that of
the Ferns ( Filices ) In this order we still nd woody
bre though the great bulk of the plants of the class
are form ed entirely of cellular tissue But the Ferns are
highly organised approaching Monocotyledons in some of
their featur es and having their leaves or fronds beauti
full y veined

f
The parts o a Fern are 1 st the r oot which we can
e asily recognise being subj ect only to the vari ations
whic h we obser v e in the roots of other plants It h as a
r hiz om e
whi c h generally c reeps upon or under the
round
and
might
easily
be
m
istaken
for
the
root
and
g
t hen in tree Ferns there is the bole or stem whi c h is
c alled a sti e
of the Fern is c all ed a r on d
The
leaf
p
f
an d the frond is c omposed of a main stalk
and
r a chis
(
)
leaets (p innw) It has no owers and its seeds or spores
c k of the frond
row
abundantly
on
the
ba
The spores
g
are enclosed in c ases whi c h form masses called sar i or
spore masses From the form and position and cover
ing of the se spore masses the genera of Ferns are de c ided
T h e rs t d ivision of Ferns the Polypo di ace ae have the
seed c ases in round masses without any covering
,

F E RN S

POLY PODI U M

Our rst acquaintance with this gro u p was made in

o ne of the be au tiful
dales of Yorkshire
The river
Swale winds serpent lik e alon g the valley and w hen we
began our exploration the morning su n was t urning its
waters to gold On the hil l sides on
either hand are deep clefts worn by
mountain streams the steep banks
covered with Birch wood In these
wooded glades we began our eager
search for Ferns
For some time
each Fern that we gathered seemed
PO L Y PO D I U M
t oo complex i n i ts structure for our
zeal to cut its teeth upon ; but presently we recogn ised
the common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare P la te I
and
some
of
our party Se
ized
exclaimi
g
i
t
n
g
The seeds here are of a sensible size ; on e can discern

the little clusters of grain s without a glass


We were
however determined at once to ac c ustom o urselves to
the use of the pocket lens and by its aid we saw that

Fanny s grains were cases of spores


The spores
themselves looked like n e dust The entire absence of
indusi
u
m
proved
the
right
o
f
t
h
Fern
to
c ove ri ng
e
)
(
stand in the Polyp ody group
This is one of the
commonest Ferns that grow It is found on w alls or old
stumps ; its branching rhizome matted with moss
and its fronds assuming every graceful bend an d
curve
There is a Welsh variety of this plant (P c ambricum )

F ERN S

broader in growth and with the pinnae cleft b ut it is


ne v er found with Spores
The Irish variety ( P h ib ernic um) is doubly di vi ded
and
fertile
t
i

d
n
i
n
a
(p
)
The common Polyp ody is not very good for garden
ferneries because its fronds perish in the rst frost
ac c ording to Sowerby U nder shelter it is evergreen
A me di cine made from it used t o be given in whooping
c ough
Further on in the dell where the trees made a deep
shade a quantity of a beautiful small Fern was gro w ing
I t s foli age varied from dark
like a miniature forest
rs t spring foliage
reen
to
the
tender
tint
of
the
fi
The
g
rachi s was slender and brittle from half a foot t o a foot
high and term inating in three branches Here and there
one frond stood higher than the rest with its pinn ae
much cur led in On examining some of these we found
them plen tiqy spe ckled with spore clusters whil e the
more fragile undergrowth were destitute of fruit Our
lens Shewed these to be coverless so we concluded that
it must be a Polypody ; and its three bran ches and
ra c his colour ed with purplish brown indic ated it to be
the Oak Fern (P dryopteris P late
The only
obj ection to this conclusion was that it was growing in
a Bir ch wood and the Oak F e m is generally describe d as
inhabit ing Oak woods
We were relieved from this
d ii c ul ty by ndin g on e or two small Oaks in the
vi c inity ; but the leaf moul d in whi ch its rhiz ome w as
lightly r oote d b ranching in every dire c tion like the
underground ste m of the Wood Anemone was chi ey
c ompounded of Birch leaves
This fern is one of the
,

F E RN S

most easily cul tivated I have seen it growing upon the


ledges of roc k eric s like plantations of youn g Fir s
spreading fr eely and maintaining the e asy grace of its
native gr owth
On a spongy bank where the soil was more c lay like
was another miniature tree Fern The size was some
what larger than that of the Oak Fern and the rachis
more robust The fr ond was triangul ar in form the
upper pinn ae being short and lengthening gradual ly the
last two ben ding forward The naked groups of spore
cases Showed this to be also a Polypody and the forward
bend of the lowest pinn ae proved it to be the Beech Fern
P
l
a te I
This
is
or Polypodium phegop t eris
g
(
more di fficul t to cultivate than the Oak Polypody bein g
more dependent upon shade ; but when it gets once
established it continues to o urish though not incre asing
nearly so quickly as its more domesti c brother We
have since found both these Ferns in the Scotch high
lands
In a glen hi gher up the dale t h e Limestone Polypody
l
c areum
t
P
P
a
c
a
l
e I
ourishes
Its thr ee
(
g
branches resemble those of the Oak Fem but it is more
rigid in its manner of growt h attain s a larger stature
has a green ra chi s and a powdery appearance Fanny
has found it in abundance among the combes of Somerset
sh ire Limestone s eems ne c essary to its comfort We
see no habitats assigned to it where that is not the
prevailing rock ; indeed S owerby asserts that where
other rocks t op the limestone th e Fern avoids them
though growing ab un dantly in their near vicinity This
.

,_

F E RN S

F em is easily c ultivated ourishing hardily wherever the


so il is well drained
The Alpine Polypody ( P alpestre ) was sent to us by
a Shropshire ally In form it resembles the Lady Fern
The pinn ae are planted all along the ra c his v ery Short at
the summit long in the centre and becoming Short again
at the base they extend for more than three fourths of
the ra c his The spe c imen given to us was brought from
the Shropshir e hills It was b eginning to d ie away even
before the delicate fronds of the Lady Fern its neighbour
showed the least Sign of decay No cover was upon the
seed masses then but its neighbour had al so parted with
her s Our friend plac ed it in the fernery and watched
fo r next year s fruit
but alas ! before it was fairly
developed a greedy c o w trespassing into the garden
selected its fronds as its bon ne bou che The third year

m
was ore fortunate the fruc tic ation was formed and
no indusium was discernible So the Shropshire moun
t ain e er takes its pla c e among the Polypo d ies
The near ally of this family the Scaly Spleenwort
c h o ic in arum P la te I
Cetera
I
f
und
at
allis
o
V
(
Somersetshire growing on
walls
Afterwards I found it
abundantly in Devonshire and
about Congresbury and Yatton
in Somersetshire generally in
company with the Blac k stalked
Spleenwort and Wall Rue mak
C I E A CH
in g the walls into botanic gar
dens I t is a c ompact little plant the fronds thi c k and
c ut
into broad simple pinn ae They are lined with
,

CHA P T ER II

FE R NS

fe ath ery F e rn l th e feathery Fern


I t grow eth wid e an d it grow eth free
By th e rippling brook and th e w impling b urn
A nd th e tall an d stat e ly for e st tr e e
W h e re th e m e rl e and th e m avis sw eet l y si ng
A n d th e bl u e j ay m ak e s the woods to ri n g
A n d th e ph e asan t i e s on whirl ing wing

B en eath a v erd uro u s canopy


A NNE P R A TT

T he

OON

after our rst essay in the study of Ferns


I found an opportunity to steal a w ay quietly
into that sweet wood alone Making my way
along a tangled path to a much greater distance than we
had penetrated on the former occasion I passed under
s ome precipitous rocks and found myself in a shady part
o f the wood
Here
,

th er e w er e m any
Win ding through pal my Fern
A n d I vy b a
5
P aths

an d

u sh s f
e

e nn

and I chose one close by the margin of the brook Huge


masses of rock were strewn both in the narrow wood and
in the bed of the stream revealing the fact that peace
fully as its waters now gurgled on yet that winter storms
c ould make it rush and roar till the whole of the gorge
.

F E RN S

would be converted into a river s bed and the waters be


mighty enou gh to roll the huge boulders from the hills
beyond The ro c k on whi c h I seated myself w as covered
with stony pipes it was in fact a mass of fossil c oral
and in another of the boul ders I recognised remain s of
the long extinct animal lilies : while many had lain so
long among the trees there that they were covered with
moss and rock plants and the graceful Fern s wa v ed
proudly over them like Cypresses marking the tomb of
the corals and encrinites
I was geologi st enough to
kn ow that another member of the same rock formation
whi ch contains these is replete in fossil Ferns and their

l
al ies These early created plants these pa triarchs of

vegetation form the c hief part of the coal measures


Thus we may well regard Ferns asthe aristocracy of y ege

table life the oldest family in the country


T o date
from William the Conqueror they wo ul d consider fungus
gentility indeed ! Certai nl y as we see them in E n gland
they are very reduced and insigni c ant members of the
ancient and hono urable house but they may hold up their
heads prou dl y and Share with the Bruce the motto F a t

In the far back ages before the c oal _c ellars of the


m us
earth were furnished they were distributed in great
quantities over the northern hemisphere large areas being
c overed with a mul titude of Ferns or Horsetails of but
one or two species while in other extensive stretches a
few other species prevailed We are told that this is stil l
the case in the southern hemi sphere ; an d in Van Diem en s
Land and N ew Z ealand especially they grow in such
profusion as to choke the young trees and admit n o
undergrowth of smaller species thems elves attaining the
,

F E RN S

1O

size of forest trees In su c h cases Orr tell s us the cli


mate is damp and equable and the variety of Ferns
small Their c omeliness of form an d lightness of foliage

l l the hearts of behol d ers with adoring wonder these


stately foreign relations u phold the family grandeur in
the present age Thus the Ferns have their fa mily his
torylegends of obs cur e light c aused by vaporous atmo
sphere a grand c atastrophe and a universal tomb and
their past provides light warmth and comfort for our

present furnishing coal gas and even dyes Certainl y


they thr ow a glowing light upon God s fatherly c are in
turning the ruins o f imm ature nature in to a blessed pro
vision for the creature of His special favourman
.

so

h eart i n t en tly gleamin g


O e r e l d s of l e g e n dary lor e
M ay l ight u po n a holi e r m e an i ng
A m e ani ng n eve r fo un d b e fore

A nd

th e

I had come into the wood to searc h for one spec ial
family of Ferns the Polystichums which come next in
o rder ac c ord in
to
my
book
to
the
P
olypodia
These
c eae
g
Prickly Shield Ferns are of an elongated form ; the pinn ae
are divided again or bipinnate and the masses of seed
c ases have round c overs
attached by a thread in the
c entre
One Spe c ies is decidedly evergreen ; the others
are so in sheltered situations
They are of a rmer
tougher te xture than any other of our native Ferns and
shoul d be plac ed as the van guard of the fernery as they
bear wind and weather better than any others Beauti
ful Ferns were growin g in rich profusion aro und me but
these were triangular in form and their spore masses had
,

FE R N S

11

kidney shaped covers Some stones lying in the brook


t empted me to cross and I su c ceeded in doing so without
wett ing my feet Under the de e p bank on the other side
the fronds bowing so as nearly to dip into the stream I
espied so me Ferns of the long narrow form I was seekin g
The plant was about a foot and a half high eight fronds
springin g in a circle from the rhizome ea c h bending out
wards so as to form a basket or crown Shape They were
broad in the cen tre and tapered to each extremity In
some the pinn ae were placed alternately on the rachis in
others they were nearly opposite The leaets or p in
n ules were scolloped sharply and a kind of ear at the
base of each gave them somewhat of a crescent form
When I gathered a frond I found it very tough and re
q uiring a good deal of force to detach it
My len s
showed me the round c o v ers on the Spore masses with
their central attachmen t but I was at rst at a loss to
know whi c h Polystichum it was
It recurre d to my
mi nd ha v ing heard a great botanist explain the difference

between t wo of these Ferns


The angular one he said
when held up to the light Showed a c le ar line between
the pinn ae and the stems while in the acute spe c ies the
pinnules were so close at the base as to show no light b e
tween them
I held on e up against t he rich light of
the setting sun and the leaets seemed to run together

another the same this then was the common Prickly


Shield Fern (Polystichum aculeatum ) I found other
fronds w ith the leaets as n ely cut but somewhat broader
and more di stin c tly eared hol di ng it up I was gladdened
by t he sight of the clear line
Here then I had a
second member of the familythe An gular Prickly
-

'

F E RN S

12

Very near
angulare P la te I g
the brook further on I found a
Fern with similar c haracteristics
but the fronds were small er the
leaets larger more eared and
much less numerous and the
c olou r of a darker and more vivid
green In all these particulars it
P LY ST I C H U M
answered to the descript i on of the
Lobed Pri ckly Shield Fern (P lobatum)
My book
opined that it was a distinct species and its appearance
favours that Opinion though many high authorities con
sider it merely a variety of the common Polystichum
Returning by the fernery I ventur ed to take a frond
of
the Holly Fern whic h Fann y had brought from
Llanberis In this there were no branches The rachis
w as set with the large c rescent shaped pri c kly leaets
or pinnules
Its dark glossy hue and prickly edges
together with the fact of its being evergreen entitle it
fully to be named the Holly Fern ( P lonchitis) It is an
Alpine plant and the only time I ever saw it in its wil d
state was in a mountain wood near the Gemmi Pass
There the fronds were above a foot long springing in
the coronal form the clusters looking like verdant baskets
among the exquisite variety of Al pine owers ; while
snow c apped mountains rose on every side and a glacier
born torrent rolled down the steep descent laving the
little fern roots as it passed on in its mad career Here and
there a vast assemblage of tree stumps bore testimony to
an avalanche having swept over the spot and carr ied

Shield Fern

P
(

F E RN S

13

away the thousand mighty trunks as the scythe would


clear o a curve of grass upon the lawn
But hardy as the Holly Fern is upon its native hills
it seldom ourishes for many years in the fernery This
is partly for want of careful drainage ; but even where
that is attended to the mountaineer too often dwindles
away in its conned position
The Woodsias come in between the Po lypo dies and the
Polystichums ; but we none of us
found any speci mens then or Since
I have seen them in Fern cases
but cannot think of them w ith
anythi ng like the pleasure with
whi c h I remember w ild spe c imens
The Al pine Woodsia is covered
with brownish hairs especially
WOO D SI A
u nder the pinnules The spore masses are enclosed in a
cover which opens in the c entre and splits into thread

like segments which surround the seed clusters like a


fringe I made a careful Sketch to place in my collection
un til such time as I should succeed in getting a living
specimen ( P la te I V g
The Woodsia ilv ensis has been found in Teesdale a
valley not far from the pla ce of my then soj ournit
separates Yorkshire from Durham ; but for many years
the Fern has been sought there in vain
Both the Woodsias are rare inhabitants of Al pine situ
,

ation s

I laid my specimens large and smal l between sheets


of botanical paper
a big s t one and a packing case lid
forming a capital extempore press
,

F E RNS

14

We found our new collection a very congenial friend


We loved God for making the beautiful plants We
wondered at His adaptation of them to the ser v ice and
delight of man Marvellous that the vegetation of a past
age when man was yet the dust of the earth Should be
stored up for his use in the deep bowels of the rocks !
Surely each little Fern reminding us of this bountiful
c are teaches us a lesson of reliance upon God and puts
to Shame the unbelief of anxious alarmists as Martin
Tupper so plainl y points out
.

h e edless of a G od c o u nt eth u p vain r ecko nings


Fearing to b e j ostl e d an d starve d o ut by th e too prolic i nc re as e of
his ki n d
A nd ask eth in u n b eli evi ng dr e ad for how few y e ars to c o m e
Wil l the black c e llars of th e world yie l d unto him fu el for h is wi nte r
Fear not son of m an for thys elf n or thy s e ed With a mu ltit u d e
is p l enty
G od s bl e ssi ng giv eth i nc reas e an d with it larg er tha n eno ugh
Y e t man ,

CHAP T ER
FE RN S

II I

stately Fern t h e gold en B roo m


T h e Lily tall an d fair
A ll th e s e in ri c h s u cce ssio n bloo m
A n d s c e n t th e s umm e r air
I n s e c r e t d ell by mu rmu ri ng rill
I n gard e n s bright an d gay
W ithin th e va ll ey on th e hill
They ch ee r o u r toi l so m e way !

T he

I L I MO N

A KI N G

way a c ross the d ell towards the


moo rs we gathered some tall Ferns by the
side of the path These resembled the Poly
st ic hum s in fo rm b u t grew more erect
still however in
the basket style of group The pinnules were bluntly
out not sharply like those of the Pri c kly Shield Ferns
The pinn ae were placed alternately on the rachis coverin g
three fourths of its length semi :
transparent brown scales c lustered
thickly on the stem where it was
free from pinn ae and thin narrow
ones were scattered along it
even where the p i nn ae w ere pre
sent Plentiful spore masses were
L A ST R A
spri nkled over the backs of the
pinnules ranged in a row on either side between the
our

F E RN S

16

midvein and the margi n and the lens showed that the
covers on these masses were kidney shaped This was
the comm on Male Fern the most frequent member of the

c
Lastrea group haracterized by the kidney Shaped cover
These
or ind usium ( L lix m as P la te
g
L astre as compose the third family of the se c ond group of
Fernsthe asp id ia ce ce the Polystichum and Woodsia
families preceding it in the group The E nglish name of
the L astre as is Shield Fern
The Spreading Shield Fern ( L dil atata P la te I I g
was there also Growing to the height of two feet
the lower pinnae becoming so elongated as to give a
triangular form to the frond the pinnules branched again
and beset with in d ependent leaets so as to be tr ip inna te
and each little leaet curled in at the edges the Fern has
Surely this
an appearance at once s tately and graceful
spe c ies must have suggested to the poet the expression

The palmy Fern s green elegance


The foliage is often
beautifully shaded becoming very p al e towards the ends
of the little bran c hlets I remember being greatly stru ck
with it s lo v eliness on seeing it bending over the margin
o f Sheerwater Lake i n Wil tsh ire where its verdant tint
and feathery form were mirrored in the limpid waters
Nor did it Show to less advantage beside the yellow
Broom on the wooded hills of Herefordshire Ev er as I
looked upon them I exclaimed
-

'

'

C ool

are

G old en

the

th e

Fern t u fts gree n th eir pl um e s


-

blosso m s

on

t he

B roo m s

Indeed they make the hill side itself golden as if a cloud


Here
of gilded butteries had settled on the brushwood
,

F E RNS

17

in the Yorkshire glen it looked fresh and graceful and


we were warm in our appreciation of our new acquisition
By a little gate we passed from the steep wood to the
yet steeper pastur e and as from time to time we paused
to take breath the V ie w became continually wider and
more beautiful The pre tty wood at our feet with here
and there a glimpse of the brawling stream the sloping
lawn around my cousin s house and the wild rocks and
woods topped by purple moors above itall this lay
t
o the left bounded by hills greyer
while
ri ht before us
g
and yet more grey stretched the widening valley of the
Swal e
E merging on the moor the air was laden with the
sweet perfume of the Ling The rich purple was varied
by patches of verdant green and upon approa c hing one
of these o ases I foun d two Ferns decidedl y di ere nt from
those I had yet become acquainted with though the
kidney shaped spore
covers testied to both belonging t o
the Lastrea family One closely resembled the Spreading
S hi eld Fern but its leaets were broader and not curled
in and its lower branches were less spreading The
leafy part of the frond was still triangul ar but the base
was narrower in proportion than in the former Fern and
the scales upon the rachis were b lun ter Its character
istic s answered to the description of the Spiny Shield
Fern ( L spinulosa P la te I I g
The other Fern was of the graceful ly sloping contour
but its more upright form
of the common Pri c kly Fern
indicated a c loser resemblance to the Male Fern as did
The spore m asses were
al so its bl untly notched pinnul es
arranged in a faultless line along the under margi n o f the
,

FE RNS

18

leaets Like the Male Fern it is bipinnate A sweet


odour emanated from the plant arising from n u merous
microscopic go lden glands which covered the under sur
face A ll these particulars proved it to be the Heath
Shield Fern ( L oreopteris P la te I L
It formed
the leading feature in a miniature lands c ape of exqu isite
beauty ; for as I knelt to gather some of the fragrant
fronds I espied the coral Lichen clusterin g beneath its
shade like a gay parterre shadowed by delicate lime trees
The white fronds of the Li c hen with its red tips and
beyond the horn like branches of the Reindeer Moss
c ontrasting with a soft purple cushion o f wi ld thyme
surely some such scene as this must have given rise to
Mrs Heman s description
-

ath th e s e pl um e s
O f wavi ng Fe rn look w h ere th e C up M oss holds
I n its p u re c ri m so n gobl e t fr e sh an d bright
T h e starry d ews of m ornin g
en e

was a lovely picture and I felt to grasp it more rest


fully and to love it better than the wide prospect o f
w ood and h ill and valley beyond
Truly it is a weakness
o f our mortal sense to imagine a thing triing because it
is small The vast peat mosses which furnish fuel for
thousands are formed of an insignicant plant ; whil e
mo untain ranges are composed of Skeletons of animal s
imperceptible to the naked eye T o lear n the val ue of
tri es we sho ul d study nat ure
In its lowest forms we
see the vast importance of mere atoms ; detecting in
microscopic Fungi causes of vast blessing and of un
utterable dread A tiny plant or insect testies to the

It

F E RN S

19

wisdom of its Creator and raises the heart of the ear


nest mi nded observer in adoring gratitude to Hi m
A Cheshire friend sent u s the Marsh Shield Fern ( L
from some of the swamps
thelyp teris P la te I L g
in her neighbourhood It is a smaller Fern than many
of its family and of a tender and succulent habit
Some
of its fronds are barren and some fruitful and the latter
gr ow taller and are more rigid in habit exhibiting the
proud consciousness of superiority w hich we had already
noticed in the fruitful fronds of the Oak Polypody and
Parsley Fern The spore masses are more distant from
o n e another than in the other species
The c over falls
o ff very early
The form of the frond is what we c all
linear lanceolate
narrow in comparison to its length
The pinn ae do not stand so thickly on the rachis as in the
other Shield Ferns and there are no scales It is d iicult
to keep it alive in a fernery where all its brethr en are
easily nat uralized it needs a moist shady nook but its
succulent habit makes it a tempting prey to snails whi c h
seldom neglect to attack it s fronds w hen in search of a
meal
A neighbour contributed a Fern from Ingleborough
the Rigid Shield Fern ( L rigida) another of the order
with a very decided predilection for limestone districts
Its form is generally upright and sturdy The stem is
thi ck and s caly and the general character resembles the
spreading Shield Fern b u t it does not attain nearly so
lofty a gro wth
uain
It was not t ill a later period that I made the ac q
tance of the Recurved Shield Fern ( L faenisecii) It
grew in a lane near Benenden in K ent and attained the
,

F ERN S

20

height of someth ing u nder a foot Its general appearance


might entitle it to be called the Parsley Shield Fern for
each pinnule is curled o utwards at the edges giving the
whole frond a crimpled appearance A fterwards I found
the same Fern in woods in Cornwall and there it was
more than a foot high But the most beautiful specimens
I ever beheld were in the Isle of A rran there the fronds
measured two feet and upwards They were triangular
as in the Spreadi ng species the upper part of the rachis
and the elongated pinn ae bending most gracefully It
was growing most luxuriantly at the entrance to some
damp caves in the old coast line to the left of Brodick
Bar
The Crested Shield Fern we got from a garden A
sanguine fernist belie ved to have found this rare plant
in the B ed geb ury woods in K ent and indeed the narrow
erect fronds with the broader and more distant pinn ae
ave
the
Fern
an
exact
resemblance
to
the
form
o f the
g
Crested species ( L cristata Pla te
But on
subj ecting the Spore covers to microscopic examination
it was found that their margins were notched and this
peculiarity attaches onl y to the Spreading and Spiny
species while those of the tru e cristata have plain margins
So the Fern was proved to be only a very marked variety
of d ilatata
.

CHAP T ER

Bu t op

IV

ye s m ay w ell di s cern
S a mp l e s of pre tty B rit ish Fe rn
Wall Rue Spl eenwort B lack M aid en hair
O n that old wall if s c an n e d with car e
en e

Th en hasten s e arch th e ro cks an d la n es


T h e m e adows brooks th e h e ath e r plains
T h e h e dg e th e din gl e c ops e an d all

Bu t don t forget th e old stone wall


,

H E large and very interesting family of the


Spleenworts comes next in botanical order
Here the spore masses are placed in lines situ
ated on the side veins and the covers are at and open
to wards the middl e of the leaet
The al ternate lea ved Spleenwort ( A splenium alterni
is
on e of the r a
r est in the
folium P late
g
family It has been found in the
south of Scotland in N orthumber
land Cumberland and N orth
Wales but never in abundance
It grows more freely upon the
black schist ro c ks between Conway
and Beddgelert than anywhere
KSP L E NI UM
else in Britain It is a slender
plant the leaets coverin g two
thirds of the rachis
.

F E RN S

22

which is coloured with purple in the naked part In a


greenh ouse it is evergreen
The Forked Spleenwort ( A septentrionale P la te I I I
has
its
fronds
divided
int
three
parts
and
then
o
g
forked We coul d not nd it among the Yorkshire rocks
and I afterwards sou ght it among the Braid and Black
ford hill s ne ar E dinburgh but stil l in vain It used t o
grow there but the n ursery gardeners have turned it t o
prot and in so doing have exterminated it from its old
haunts I did ge t sight of some of its tu fts growing
out of the basaltic columns call ed Samson s Ribs in
the Q ueen s Park ; but it owed its safety to its impreg
nable position whi c h deed the attempts even of Fern
dealers Despairing of a wild specimen I was obliged
to have recourse to the nurseryman The fronds are
from t w o to t hree in c hes high the rachis pur ple at the
base and the seed masses much elongated It is found
on rocks and walls in \Vales Westmoreland and York
shire as w ell as in Scotland
The Ro c k Spleenwort (A fontanum ) has never glad
d e n e d our eyes in a wild state
I have seen it growing
freely in fen eri es and a very pretty complete little
c luster its fronds make
A bout three inches high with
broad regularly indente d leaets pla c ed alte rnately
nearly the whole length of the rachis whi c h is brown and
a dark brown root
The seed masses here are rather oval
than elon gated but they have the family charac teri stic
of openin g towards the middl e of the leaet Its habitat
is the highl ands o f Scotland and Derbyshire
We started for a long excursion in search of more
specimens setting forward with hopeful hearts The ride
.

F E RN S

23

up that beautiful valley was enj oyable in the extreme


The hills on the opposite side were covered with purple
Ling across which cloud shadows it te d with gliding
motion K eeping in a li ne with the river we passed noisy
brooks whose waters were stained deep brown by the peat
through which they had owed; or were tinted with the
paler hue of the limestone from the lead mi nes where they
had already performed the important duty of washing
the ore Whoever espied anythin g Fern like w as t o cal l
a halt for the ponies were engaged to stop as often as w e
pleased and for any given time
We had passed through two villages and reached a
narrower part of the valley when I espied Fern tufts
thrusting themselves from the crevices of a loose w all
We dismoun ted and atta c ked the Fern with our knives
but though we quic kly got fronds enough for our coll ection
it deed our e orts to procure a plant for the fernery
The ground on the other side was much higher than the
road and the Ferns were rooted in it protrudin g o nl y their
long fronds thr ough the openings between the stones
The rac his was a foot long the pinn ae exte n din g onl y about
o n e thi rd of its length ; the lower ones so broad and
n
i
n
a ti d as to give a tri angular form t o the le afy part
p

o f the fron d
The colour was of 5 q green and glossy
The elongated Spore masses nearly c overed the backs of
the leaets and the rachis was of a dark purple The
elegantly tapering summi t gave great grace to the Fern
It was the Black Maiden hair Spleenwort ( A adiantum
nigrum P late I I I
This was the rst Fern
that had ever attra c ted my attention Many years ago
when visiting in Wiltshire a friend of my hostess s c ame
.

'

F E RN S

24

to see their g uest and brought a handf u l of this Fern


whi c h she had gathered on the way
She gave her
verdant bouquet to me saying kindly I don t know
whether you are a botani st or not but I feel eager to

introduce the treasures of our neighbourhood to you


She understood Ferns and directed my attention to their
beauties ; and I then came to the resolution to study them
whenever opportunity should offer
I have since
gathered this Fern in K ent and Herefordshire an d
very abundantly in Scotland both in the Highl ands and
about E dinburgh
In the same wall grew another Fern m u ch smaller and
famil iar to my eye as the cons tant compani on of the
Ceterach A rachis of from three to six inches in length
purple and very wiry and oval indented leaets ranged
o n either side bearing a row of elongate d seed masses on
either side of the mid vein characterizes the Black stalked
Spleenwort ( A tri cho manes Pla te I I I
E very
one who notices Ferns knows thi s on e the frequent
inhabitant of rocks and walls Here in S waledale it
o n walls and bridges
rew
in
quar
es
and
from
l
r
i
o
d
g
under gnarled roots in the rocky woo ds Sometimes its
tufts will spring from the lintel of an old barn ; we
found it in such a situation afterwards Every county
that I have visited has yielded me thi s pretty cheerful
Fern ; its very scent is dear in memory of woodl and
rambles
As we proceeded the vall ey became more wil d
We
passed through a very sequestered vil lage Gunnerside
and as c ended some risin g ground from whence we had a
splendid View of the wild hill country stretchi ng far
,

F E RN S

25

away t o the very borders of Westmoreland ; and by a


little divergence we caught sight of the pretty water
fall of Iv elet The road led along the edge of on e of the
hills We passed the mouth of a lead mine and the
miners whom we met greeted us with cordial goodwil l
al beit their manner as well as that o f all the country
people in that distri ct partakes more of Saxon bluntness
than of N orman courtesy Honest true hearted people we
can dispense with surface culture for the sake of your
staunch goodwill
A very rough road led down t h e hill
We crossed a romantic bridge which spann ed the waters
of the Swale : an d tying our ponies to a gate we
scrambled down a rocky wood and arrived in due time
at the foot of a deafening waterfall The narrow gorge
shut in with rocks and wood was wild and lovely in the
extreme
The h ill s on either side were high and the
river seemed to have washed a passage for itself of up
wards of a hundred feet deep : only a sturdy block of
mountain limestone seemed to resist the further encroach
ment of the insidious waters and so they were compell ed
to pour over it in the manner in which they were now
doing
They indemni ed themselves however for its
interruption by digging a deep hole immediately below

it into which they hoped some d ayto tumble it Seated


upon rocks there we ate our sand w iches drinking from
a spring which bubbled from a bank to the left of us
Af ter our refreshment we began our search and were
soon rewarded by nding several plants of the Green
stalked Spleenwort (A viride) Thi s varies from the
Black stalked species chiey in the colour of the said
stalk but the p al er tint 0 f the leaets and the less rigid
,

F E RN S

26

habit of the frond are also abi d ing marks of distinction


A few plants were found nestling in the crevices of
dripping rocks but the bes t local ity for procuring it in
that neighbourhood is the Butt ert ub s great qu antities
o f it growing about these c urious c hasms
In retur ning we took the other side of the vall ey
passing over broken ground plentifully adorned by the
fragrant Buttery Orchises and c oming out upon a road
opposite to the mine that we had passed N ear Gunner
side we crossed the river again by means of a c ur ious
sloping bridge u ni que in its style of ar chitecture ; and
here we found a Fern resembling the Forked Spleenwort
but with the segments of an oval form and toothed at
the summit Its dark green hue short stature and wiry
stems are very like its b roth er above named Gathering
some of this we c ontinued our ride asc ending the hill
and rea c hing the wide moor pastures now gay with
waving Cotton Grass and the orange spikes of the Bog
Asphodel
We came to a quarry or rather a series of quarries on
the steep hillside and found that the stone was a c on
glomerate of the shell s of the giant lima c alled in the
familiar language of the country cockle The stone was
in a very de c omposed state and we found no difcul ty
in disinterri ng some of the heavy shells the markings
o n whi c h
remained as perfect as when they were
li ving Smaller Shells closely allied were there and
stems of animal lilies in abundance The Cypress like
Ferns were not waving over these as they waved over
the corals in the wood but the little Spleenwort called
Wall Rue was resolved that their tomb should not be
,

F E RN S

28

green ; the leaets of an irregular egg shape lobed on


one side and toothed along the marg in in substance
thi c k and glossy A fterwards I saw some plants of it
among the rocks surroundin g Looe Island off the Cornish
c oast and some fronds were given t o me from the main
land I t is rarely if ever successfully cul tivated in a
fernery but does very well in a Wardi an case
One little plant of the Spear shaped Spleenwort ( A
lanceolatum) was given to me in the south of Cornwall
The fronds were onl y thr ee or four inches long ; but I
know that it often attains a much larger growth The
pinn ae extend for three four ths of the lengt h of the
rachis and taper to the base and summit in the style
that is called lan c eolate The leaets are triangula r in
form and bright green and the spore masses are less
elongated than in any other of the family except the
A fontanum T o my great grief my treasured plant died
and I had no chance of procuring another until when
staying in K ent an I ri sh hawker came to the door with
Ferns to sell He had selected this mode of gaining a
livelih ood for the love of its irregularity ; it was at any
rate better than work He was overj oyed at our appre
c iat ion of his Ferns of the nature and character of whi ch
he was thoroughly inf ormed and he eagerly assured us that
he woul d get us any Ferns that we wanted when he went
his rounds if we would give him the honour of a letter
o f commands
The address he gave for our expected com
m unic ation was the most amusing part of the transaction
-

P A T R CK
I

O L E AR Y

M o un t Z io n

Tunbridge

W ll
e

F E RN S

29

All the members of this very attractive family haunt


stony pla c es growing out of ssures in rocks and walls
from whence it is most di i cult to take their roots un
inj ured I t is a pretty sight to behold these graceful
plants lavishing their beauty upon the otherwise barren
roc k or adorning the crumbling wal l It proves that
God will leave no corner of His creation without its
appropriate and harmonious beauties The ancient rocks
with their entombed organisms rej oice in new life as the
stone
shale and bri ght inse c ts c ree p across t hem and the
v erdant fronds of the Spleenworts kiss their aged surfac e
at every motion of the air The smiling verdur e delights
the eye and brin gs to mind the words of sacred song
,

all ye gr een thin gs u po n e arth


B l ess ye th e L ord
P rais e H i m an d m agn ify Him for ev e r '
0

CHA PT E R

Wh r

wat er is po u rin g for e v e r sh e sits


A nd b e sid e h er th e o u se l an d ki n g sh e r its
There su pr em e in h er b eau ty be sid e th e full urn
I n th e shad e of th e ro ck sta n ds t h e ta ll Lady F er n
e e

th e

day t o foll ow the c ourse of


the mountain stream from its j unction wi th
the Swale to its source in the moors It was a
difcult undertaking Sometimes the rocks overhun g
the margin and were so steep and high that it was im
possible to climb over them ; then our only means of
progress was found by spri nging from boul der to boulder
ain in
the
other
side
of the stream and keeping
an d
g
g
along that bank until a patch of entangled brushwood
interlaced with briars again stopped up our road and
we must recross and pursue the side rst chosen until
again interrupted Presently we came to where an aecom
m od at ion road crossed the brook
by means of a bridge t hr own from
rock to rock The archway formed
the frame of a wild picture of rock
and waterfall and d rooping trees
with suc h a wealth of golden
itting lights and deep shadows
CYST O PT E Rl s
as might have formed a rare prize
for any artist
passed under it and from the sides
E set ourselves

on e

FE RN S

31

and t 0 p of the arch hun g tufts of the Black stalked Spleen


wort and of a li ght feathery Fern more like a mi niature
the pinn atid L astreas
E agerly gathering and
of
examining some of these fronds I found the spo re masses
covered by a bladder
like envelope These spore c lusters
were round and in many instances the white cover had
Th e fragile n ature of the plants the delicacy
di sappeared
of their texture and above all the pe culiar spore c over
pointed the Fern out as Cystopteris fragilis the Brittle
Bladder Fern ( Plat e I I I
In the specimen in
my hand the rachis was dark coloured and had a few
s c al es towards the base The frond was broadest in the
middle and tapering abo v e and below though o nl y
slightly decreasing in the latter direction E ach pinna
c o ntained several pinn ul es
which were toothed at t he
margin and the spore
masses were borne on the branchin g
veins The plants growing outside the bri dg e were laden
with spores those under the shade of the arch were but
scantily furnished with them
Afterwards we found a simil ar Fern of more elongated
form and the pinnules were more sharply and de c idedly
c ut
This was the plant by some considered a variety of
C fragilis and by others accounted a separate species C
angustata
Another variety rather toothed than cut ta with
the poin ts bl unt and ro un ded is also found among those
Yorkshire rocks and old w al ls C dentat a
As we progressed higher and higher up the stream
climbing upwards towards the hill c ountry we fo und one
or other of these Blad d er Ferns among the rocks and
boulders by the brookside T h e fernery supplied another
-

F E RN S

32

species the C Dickieana or Dickie s B ladder Fern Its


pinnul es are broader and the pinn ae p laced more closely
together Its form is more comp act than that of its
brethr en it is a pretty Fern and ourish es well under
c ul tivation
The A lpine Bladder Fern resembles the Brittle species
but it is small er and its pinnules more nely cut and
the middl e vein is straight As its nam e signies its
habitat is alpine
The Mountain Bladder Fern ( C montana) resembles
the Limestone Polypody in form but is small er and has
more numerous leaets eac h of which is toothed and the
teeth fringed It is a common Fern in hi gh latitudes
and is only found in Britain at very high ele v ations
After having passed the foot bridge and lost sight of
our usual path we came to a very wet bank where a
spring contributed its small amount of water to swe ll
the stream but without providing it with a channel so
that it di ffused itself over the low ground by the brook
side I tri ed in vain to step onl y upon stones ; 1 was
obliged to trust to a cushion of moss and my foot sank
ankle deep in water But I could give no attention to the
state of my boots for immediately before me rose a tall
group of Ferns li ght and feathery in form and bending
most gracefully in every direction their colour the most
delicate green The lance shaped contour resemblin g
that of the M al e Fern and the nely c ut foliage con
Shinin g
v in c e d me that it must be the Lady Fern
drops of morn ing dew hung heavily on its tapering pinn ae
The plant was ne arly two
an d weighed them down
feet high and the grace of its appearance was exquisite

FE RN S

33

The spore
covers were fastened at one side and the other
e dge was fri nged
the masses were nearly circular and
the covering circular or kidney Shaped The difference
between this Fern and the L astreas consists chiey in
their spore covers bein g attached at the indentation and
those of the Lady Fern ( Athyrium F ilix foemina P la te
III
at the Side
The plant and its position remin ded me forcibly of Sir
Wal te r Scott s descrip tion
,

Wh r
Wh r
Wh r

opsewood is th e green e st
e e th e fo un tai n glis te ns sh een est
e e th e m or n in g d ew li e s lo ng st

Th er e th e Lady Fer n grows stron gest


e e

th e

As we proceeded al ong the wood we found the Lady


Fern again and again In a very boggy p lace she was
growing in a narrower form and the pinn ae far ther from
o ne another
I afterwards found that this was the
variety named R hcetic um It has som etirries a red stem
and a Fern fancier of my acquaintance always call s it his

red
haired lady
There is a variety with the pinnules
broader which is called latifolium It has only been
foun d in the lake di strict One o f smaller statur e and
very delicate foliage frequentin g som e p art s o f the western
coast of Scotland is cal led marinum The Lady Fern
is as abundant in Ireland as the common Brake is here
and is used like it for packing fruit and sh
N ear an ascending path which we were compelled to
take failing the possibility of progress close beside the
stream grew the well k nown Hart s tongue Clusters of
the Pri c kly Shi eld Ferns were growing by its side and
the contrast of form and tint between the two plants was
,

F E RN S

34

perfect the feathery pinn ae of the one and the glossy


tongues of the other Long narrow
spore masses foll owing the course
of
the Side veins and bearing
coverings whi c h splitup the mi ddl e
are the characteristics of this Fern
l
at e
S
u
lgare
P
c olopendrium
v
(
,

The variety called c rt sp um has


S C O L O PE NDR I UM
the edges fri lled and is a very
pretty plant for ferneries The variety named Polyschid es
is also popul ar with Fern fanciers it is much narrower
than the common form and less graceful We found
so me plants in the w ood with the fron ds forked at the
ends
The common Hart s tongue used to be valued as a
medicine in England and is still so in France and Scot
land The Male Fern too and the Brake were on c e
used me di cinally In tropical climates the pith of Ferns
is a general arti c le of food and there is scarcely on e well
d e n e d group that does not boast an edible species
We presently reached the t op of the wood and c limb
ing over a wall found ourselves in a good footpath Fol
l o wing this and passing through gaps in the wall call ed
stiles and certainl y invented before crinoline we entered
a little copse bordering on the grounds Here under the
Birch trees grew Fern s of an entirely diff erent description
t o any I had ye t seen Three or four erect fronds of about
o n e foot to o n e and a h al f in height rose from the c entre
o f the plant
the pinn ae simple and narrow and bearing
a line of fruit on either side the midvein All these pinn a

'

FE RN S

36

plan of advancing step by step rather than of charging


a study full front is on e I woul d press upon all botanists
And it is the same in m atters touching the heart if the
path of l ife be thorny don t look beyond the next step
We can see the depth of gloom before us and yet catch
no glimpse of the sunlight dartin g through the trees To
keep the mind clear and the heart cheerful we must hold
fast by the cou nsel of the Omniscient Teacher
Suf

cient u nto the day is the evil thereo f


,

VI

CHA PT ER

ord ers th e w in d to sw eep ov er th e B rak e s


Whi c h ris e and recoil lik e th e billows of o cean ;
A t His br e ath th e l eaf of th e M aid e n hair shak es
W ith th e A sp en s t en de r and q
u ivering m otion
He dre ss es O s mun da in state ly array
T h e F il m y F em c ov e rs with war m l eafy shade
T he B ristl e Fe rn fro n d H e baptiz e s with Spray

F or o er all c re ation H is grace is display d


He

H E R E are very few loc alities where we need seek


the common Brake in vain (Pteris aq
uil ina
In our Yorksh ire rambles
P la te I V
we found it in wood and past ure and moor Sometimes
its fronds were scarcely a foot high at other times they
rose to four or ve feet The roots
grow very deep into the ground
whi ch makes it very d if t to
eradicate ; but frequent mo wing
will kill it in progress of time T he
rachis is only branched for about
PT E R I S
half it s length : it is very stron g
and tough The branches spread widely and are set with
p innae of a rm te xture The spore masses are placed in
a line upon the under margin of the leaets and covered
by the rolled in edge When the fronds decay they form
good man u re especially for potat oes
Sometimes thi s
,

F E RN S

38

Fern is b urned and its ashes used in the manufacture of


lass
and
in
some
places
it
is
burned
for
fuel
There
are
g
districts where it is greatly in vogue as the litter of cattle

I n a work on The Channel Island s by Professors A n s


ted and Latham there is an account of another mode of us
ing Ferns
E ach cottage and old farmho use h as in the
kitchen or principal sitting room a wooden frame spread
with dr ied Fern called the lit de fouaill e or Fern bed
This
o n which the inhabitan t s repose in the even ing
and very old It is con
c ustom is no doubt French
n e c t e d wi th all the habits and traditions of the people
and comes into use on such occasions as the Vraic harvest
an d on all festivals
The older people more especially
resort to it and though rough it is by no means an n u
sightly piece of fur niture It correspon ds with the
c hi mney corner in an old E ngli sh farmh o use where wood

is still burnt and where pit coal is an unheard of novelty


When the stalk is cut across there is a marking not
like a tiny picture of an Oak tree Cut slantin g the
same pith m ark resemble s a spread eagle Its specic
name aquilina is given on account of this fanciful re
semblance It was believed in old times that those
.

Who gath r d
e e

F r s ee d walk e d in visibl e
e n-

and people used to go out on St John s eve to collect it


wi th great ceremony as Leyden professes his intention of
doing
-

Bu t

s myste ri o u s n ight
S ac re d to m an y a wiz ard spe ll
T h e ti m e wh en rst to h um an sight
C o n fest th e m ysti c fe rn se e d fell
on

St J ohn

F E RNS

39

B sid th slo s b l k k ott d thor


W hat ho u r th B aptist st r was bor
That ho u r wh h av s br ath is still
e

ac

n,

e n

en

en

I ll

see k th e shaggy fer n clad hill


W here ti me has d elve d a dre ary dell
B e tt ing b e st a he r m it s ce ll
A n d watc h m id mu r mu rs m u tt e ri ng st ern
T h e s ee d d e partin g fro m th e fe r n
E re wak e ful d em o n s c an c o n v ey
T h e wo n d e r worki ng c harm away
A n d t e mpt th e blows fro m ar m u n s ee n
Sho u ld tho u ghts u nholy i nt e rv en e

The Maiden hair represents the last family of Ferns


in the A spid iac e ae group Here the spore masses are
narrow and curved into the
form of a crescent Our on e
native species Adiantum c a

u
s Veneris
l
I
V
ill
P
a
t
e
p
(
g
is very rare being only
found wild in Cornwall De
v on shire South Wales Ireland
and the Isle of A rran off Gal
way It is the most gra c eful
A DI A N T U M
o f all the Ferns
Its ste ms are dark purple slender
enough to suggest the idea of hair a nd quivering under
the weight of the fan shaped leaets My specimen
came from Ilfracombe ; but I had not the delight of
nding it The donkey women make a monopoly of it
and sell it to all Fern lovers It was in vain to coax
and wheedle to promise a larger sum for the pleasure o f
gathering it myself The woman who brought it at last
dilated largely on the diic ul ty of reachin g the spo t
-

F E RN S

40

where it grew she had to climb precipices creep through


holes in the rocks j ump over chasms and encounter
dangers equal to those of Arabian Nights heroes
And when making full allowan c e for her spirit of
romance it was argued that what woman had done

woman might do Sh e assumed a d ierent style of


defence and the other women would take her poor
dear life if she div ulged their secret
A deco ction of this plant is said to be good for pro
A fri end of mine
m oting the growth of the hair
soj ourning for some months at A m al near N aples found
her hair begin to fall off with the heat of the climate
At the same time She noticed the lux uriance of the hair
She asked the maid who
of the Italian girls around h er
waited upon her what she used to make her hair so
beautiful and She said only the leaves of a plant infused
in water With characteristic politeness she hastened in
search of the plant for her lady s use and t o my fri end s
great astonishment returned with a handful of the
Maiden
hair Fern A mixture called capillaire in whi ch
this Fern is a principal ingredient was formerly much
used in E ngland for this purpose Certainly it is a most
elegant plant for a house fe rnery and is the prettiest
possible addition to a bouquet more especi al ly if it be
destined for a bride
The order succeeding that of the A spidiac eae is called
Hymenophyll ace ae The Ferns belonging to this order
have the spores in a cup like receptacle sit uated on the
edge of the frond
We sought in the Sw al edale woo ds for the tiny Fil my
Ferns but in vain In a subsequent visit to Looe in
,

42

F E RN S

af rmative and asked her if she liked them


Na us

she replie d I v e reckoned nought 0 them ; but I d lik e

a wee bit to mind me 0 you leddy


I gave her a frond
of the large Fern which she stroked caressingly and then

added a bit of the Filmy Fcm


This is the least Fern of

all I said so you must have a bit of that too


That

a Fairn she exclaimed I shall ca it the Fairy Fairn


Since then I have called it the Fairy Fern also
A benevolent friend bestowed upon me a frond of the
Bristle Fern ( Trichomanes breviset um P late I V
It is the glory of the K illarney
Waterfalls growing freely in the
style of the Film y
Ferns but
onl y when withi n reach of the
spray The form of the frond
reminds on e of the Hare s foot
Fern of our greenh ouses the
leaets are deeply cut and lobed
T R ICH OMA NE S
and the ir membrane ex tends
along either side of the main stem The spore cups have
a bri stle growing from their base exte nding beyond the
margin : thi s gives the name to the plant
The Royal Fern ( Osmunda regalis P late I V
has an order to itself Osmundaceae
This noble Fern rises to a height
of from two
t o v e feet
The
leaets are of an elon gated heart
shape and bri ght green colour
The fruit is in a cluster at the
summit of the frond There are
generally only a few fertile fron ds
O SMU NDA

FE RN S

43

a greate r number of barren ones Marazion M ar sh


was the rst locality where I found this beautiful plant
in abundance We were seeking plants of any and every
sort in that rst rate botanic al eld Plots were there
c overed with the delicate pink bells of the Bog Anagall is
and here and there Spikes of the Musk Bartsia remained
Sud d enl y we beheld the compound spires and fresh green
foliage of the Osmunda In my eagerness I forgot the
swampy nature of the ground and plunged ankle deep
in water I heeded not any such tri ing inconvenience
for I had found the obj ect of my ambition the Royal
Fern or Osmund s Roy and it was not o nly one plant
h un dr eds were there growing under remnants of old
wall and hedge There on the site of the old Jewish
town behind what may have been the carefully planted
fence of those ancient inhabitants of Marazion those
early miners and traders in Cornish tin ourishes now
the noble head of the E nglish representatives of the still
more ancient familythe family which ourished when
rocks onl y a degree less ancient than those con taining the
ore were yet in course o f formation
Osmund the Water
G erard e Speaks of this Fern as

m an in all usion to an o ld tradition of a waterman li v ing


l
his
fami
y
amon
o n the banks of Loch Tyne and hidin
g
g
these tall Ferns during an incursion of the Danes I saw
the noble Fern again in a situation of more beauty and
scarcely less historical interest It was growing freely
o n the bank s of Lo c h Lomond about a mile from Tarbet
remin di ng me forcibly of Wordsworth s desc ription of it
to

F E RN S

44

To poin t o u t p er ch anc e so m e ow er or w ee d too fair


E ith e r to b e divid e d fro m th e plac e
O n whi c h it gre w or to b e l e ft alo n e
To its own be a uty M an y s uch th ere w e re
F air Fe rn s and ow ers an d c hi e y t h at tall Fern
So stat e ly of th e Q u ee n O s m u n da n a m e d
P lan t lov e li e r in its ow n r etire d abode
O n G rassmere s b each than N aiad by th e sid e
O f G recian brook or Lady of th e M ere
Sol e sitting by th e shore s of old ro m ance
,

"

Our Yorks hire rambles supplied u s wi th specimens of


the last order of Ferns the Ophioglossace ae
In the hilly eld beyond our favourit e wood we foun d
the curio us A dder s tongue ( Ophioglossum vulgatum
P la te I V g
It consists of a broad sheathi ng leaf
or frond and a tongue formed of a double row o f spores
shooting up from its centre somewhat in the style of
the wild Ar um I have seen this strange F em in Wilt
shire some years before ; an old woman a dealer in
simples had taken me with her to gather it It was
rowi
n
g
then
as
now
in
a
pasture
eld
but
she
knew
g
its situation perfectly and parted the long grass at
exa c tly the spot where the
sheath like frond was standin g
She concocted a kin d of oint
ment from the plant
In some other elds we found
the Moonwort ( Botrychium
lu
n aria
P
l
a te I V
1 O PH mG LO SSU M
2 B T R Y C H I UI
It has a double row of cres
c ent s haped dentated leaets each marked wi th a dark
.

F E RN S

45

sta in in the shape of a horse s Shoe This plant bears its


see d in a branched cluster like the Osmunda it is used
in me di cine by vil lage doctresses and there is a supersti
tion that it will open locks and cause horses to cast their
shoes
The Jersey A dder s tongu e ( 0 lusitani cum P late I V
ers from the common on e in being smaller
di
g
and having its fronds narrower more nu merous an d not
in a sheath
Thus our coll ection is furni shed with most of the
members of the Polyp o di ac e ae order charac terized by
naked seed masses and inclu din g the Polypodies proper
the Jersey Gymn ogramma Scaly Spleen w ort and
Par sley Fern
The A spidi ac eae order is also well represented all
its members having the seed masses covered ; Woodsia
with its fri nged covers Polystichum with round covers
Lastrea with kidney shaped covers attached at the
indentation ; Cystopteris with its bladder like covers ;
Asplenium with its elongated covers opening at the
inner e d ge ; Athyrium with its kidney shaped covers
attached at the side ; Scolopendrium wi th its narrow
covers opening in the middl e ; Blechnum with its
narrow covers opening al ong the inner side Pteris with
its marginal lin e o f seeds covered by the rolled in leaet
and A di antum with its crescent covers
The three members of the Hymenophyllace ae or

n
u
r
Urn bearing Ferns are i o
collection Hym eno
h
I
richom anes furnished
with
naked
c
ps
and
ll
u
m
u
;
p y
with a bristle

F E RN

46

A LL I

ES

with that plant whi c h in o u r dal e

l
t
W e cal S ag s h orn or F o x s tail
Th eir r usty hats they tri m
A nd th u s as happy as th e d ay
Those sh eph erds w ear th e tim e away
Or

W os nswos rrr

CHAPT E R
F E RN

VII

A LL ]E S

ROM our childhood we have been fami liar with


various members of the Horse tail family
E
quisetum
their
hollow
stems
being
ever
)
(
regarded as a prize in our j uvenile games because of
their capability of being disj ointed and j oined again and
thus formed into chains or upright wan ds Still they are
not an attractive group like their relations the ferns and
we need to look to their past history to learn the respec t
due to them
In p ast ages the stems of Horse tails rose not like
mere cr0 ps of reeds from the b og or river margin but like
huge forests of vegetable columns grooved like the
elaborate w ork of the stone cutter and supporting the
clo u ds on their lofty summits thus turning the wide
desolate waste into a vast cathedral
The Brora coal
says Hugh Miller on e of the most considerable oolitic
seams in E urope seems to have been formed alm ost ex

elusively of an equisetum E columnare


The Horse tail family are characte rized by a distinct
stem furrowed hollow and with whorls of narro w
pointed leaves forming sheaths protecting each j oint in
the stem w ithin wh ich bristle like branches are inser ted
the seeds or spores are placed in cones which grow on
-

F E RN

48

A LLI

ES

the summit of the stem each Spore be ing furnished with


four spiral threads attached to its base whi ch curl and
twist about in a very curious way and move the seed
al o
ng in various directions The seeds shaken on whi te
paper and damped will be seen with the aid of a lens to
be crawling about like as many minute spiders The
stru cture of the stem is very beautiful the hollow centre
is surrounded by a cir cle of pipes and another cir cle of
l ar ger pipes encompasses that the number of these larger
pipes varies in different spe c ies agreein g with the num
ber of leaves in a whorl t hese pipes run unin terrupte dl y
through the stem and you may suck water through them
A great deal of sil ex enters into the composition of the
ste m giving it a remarkable roughness The pl an ts grow
as weeds in watery places and in arable land
When setting forth in search of the various membe rs of
this family the Corn Horse tail
arvense) was the rst
to greet us The fertile stems had ri sen from the ground
b earing large cones on their summi ts ; their j oints f ur
It grew
nish e d wi th ample sheaths but no branches
among the young corn in elds where the ground was
heavy ripening its seeds in April The barren stems
were in course of development scul ptured with ten
grooves and bearing from eight to ten bran ches in each
whorl the branches becoming shorter as the whorls
neared the summi t According t o _Lightfoot th is plant
is troublesome in pastures and disagreeable to cows
never to u ched by them unl ess compelled by hunger and

then b ringing upon them an incurable di arrhoea


The
root stem of the Corn Horse tail extends underground
like that of the Brake Fern making it very difcult t o
,

F E RN A LL I E S

50
of tad poles

wriggle round the half sub m erged E quisetum


stems In ponds about Hawkhurst in K ent in ditches
in Durham an d on the margin of the lake at Longleat
Wil ts we have gathered fronds o f this Horse t ail between
two and three feet in len gth Haller informs us that in
Rome the lower classes used this species as food but cattle
al w ays avoid it
As the Great Horse tail claims superiority in size o v er
its fellows so does the Wood Horse tail
sylvatic u m
f
1
claim
the
superiority
o
beauty
Springing
in
g )
shady well w a tered nooks in subalpine situations this
plant form s a graceful obj ect in a beautiful landscape
In Swaledale we found this plant rst ; it abounds in
thickets along the hill sides between Melbecks and
Summ er Lo d ge Growing about a foot and a half in
height its whorls of bran c hes becom ing shorter towards
the base and summit ea c h branch bearing clusters of
branchlets and ben di ng downwards with a gra ceful cur ve
it resembles some elegant oriental tree a pal m or a cyc a d
much more than on e of our despised Horse tails In o ur
May ramble we found the plants in full beauty each
graceful stem surmounted by a small c one
The Smooth Horse tail ( E limosum g 3 ) freq
uents
similar situations as the Great Horse tail ; we have
gathered it in Swaledale Sowerby te lls us that it is
an active agent in the c onversion of pools into Swamps
which it abandons as the soil becomes
an d mor asses
ele vate d so as not to admit the rete ntion of water on the

s urface
We saw it performin g this part in a shallo w
pond at Hawkhurst which is now dried up altogether
-

F E R N A LL I E S

51

In t hi s species the stem is smooth the cone ripens in


Ju ly and then falls off
Swaledale furnished our specimens of the M arsh Horse
tail
palustr e ) its stems are deeply furrowed and it
has from four to eight branches in a whorl the branches
becoming much shorter as they near the summit It is
a slenderer plant than any of the others which we have
described its w h orls more distant its branches fewer and
slighter in form the cone dark coloured and small and
the tint of the whole plant a darker green There is a
variety bearing cones on the upper branches called Poly
st achion and on e with naked stems called N udum but
we have n ot foun d either of these
On the borders of mountain streams in the Yorkshire
dales we ha v e oc c asional ly met with the naked stems of
the Rough Horse tail or Shave grass The stems are of a
glaucous green very rou gh from the presence of a large
quantity of the silex crystals minutely striated and bear
ing a small cone
This plant is imported from Holland
for polishing wood ivory and metal it forms a nat ur al

Mr Baird in his Flora of Berwi c kshire tells us


l e
that the dairy women of Muiroick and Chipch ase where
the plant is plentiful use it for smooth ing their milk

vessels
The Q uill wort ( Isoetes lacustris
7 ) is a curious
plant and also ranked by most au th ors as a Fern A lly
Here t he seed is contained in vessels embedded at the
base of the leaves It always grows submerged Our
specimen came from the Westmoreland lakes
The Pill wort is an equall y curious plant bearing its
seeds in round hard balls at tached to the stem The
,

F E RN A LL I E S

52

habit of t he plant is creeping it bears clusters of awl


shaped leaves and covers the surface of mud u nder
shallow water We have n ot succeeded in nding it
The second great family of Fern A llies the Club
mosses ( Lycopodium) are mu c h more generally interest
ing than the Horse tails Here the seed cases are
borne amid leaf like scales either mingled w ith the leaves
or forming a cone We were making a charming excur
sion in Swaledale when we rst found the Common Club
We had crossed the Butter
moss ( L cla v atum g
tub Pass and were pro c eeding along Stag fell when the
trail ing ste ms and uplifted cones of that king of moss es
rst caught our eye We gathered long branches and
di d not wonder at the fancy of Wordsworth s shepherds
for c oiling it round their hats Mr Baird tells us that
the seeds of this plant are used in Germany for produc
ing articial lightning on the stage for when d ispersed
in the air they may be ignited in the same m anner as
powdered rosin
He also informs us that woollen
cloth boiled w ith this plant acquires the property of
becoming blue when passed throu gh a bath of Brazil

wood
This species is common in all our mountainous districts
The Interrupted Club moss ( L annotinum ) grows in
Wales and on the highest of the S c otch mountains but
we have found no specimens except in Switzerland In
this species the branches grow upright while the main
stem c ree ps and the c ones are thi c ker and shorter and
pla c ed singly in the stems not in twos and threes as in
t he c ommon spe c ies
F o r abundant specimens of the Savin leaved Club
mos s
,

F E RN ALLI E S

53

L
alpinum
6
we
have
to
thank
the
Swaledale
(
)
moors It was the twelfth of August a Si cil ian vespers
for the grouse and we had arranged to meet the sports
men at noon and carry them the refreshment whi ch they

so sorely needed Of course it rained when does it not


rain among the hills on t he day when out door entertain
ments are arranged
Of course it rained and of course
we deed the rain Such a collection of cloaks and hats
and such contrivances for keeping the paniers dry which
the patient hill pony was to c arry al ong w ith the worst
walker of our party ! The strong British resolution of
each was bent on keeping our tryst ; but our energies
were sufciently tasked in makin g our way up hil l and
down dale amid heath and moss or over rough stones
to preclude the possibility of conversation
On we
plodded in single l e no cloaked and hooded gu re at
tempting to entertain or be entertained Then it was
that the quadrangular stems of the Savin leaved Club
moss arrested my attention but I gathered its tufts of
branches admired its plent iful cones and proceeded on
my way too wet and weary to proclaim my good luck
But w hen we reached the rough shed on the moor and a
peat re had dri ed u s without quite choking us with
smoke the matter assumed a more cheerful aspect
Then I produced my Club moss sharing it among the
plant lovers and its four rows of blunt leaves its pale
glaucous tint and the abundance of its fru it received a
full measure of interest and approval
Mr Sowerby
quotes an interesting passage from Sir W J Hooker s

To ur in Iceland relative to this plant


A vast heap
of Lycopodium A lpinum lying before the priests hou se
.

F E RN

54

A LLI

ES

drew my attention and on inquiry I fou nd it was u sed


for the purpose of giving their wadmal a yellow dye
which is done by merely boiling the cloth in water with
a quantity of the Lycopo di um and some leaves of the
The colour imp ar ted by this
Vacc inicum uliginosum
process to j udge from some cloth shown me was a pale

and pleasant though n ot brill iant colour


The Fir Club moss is a very marked species growing
in sturdy little shrubs on bare ground like young r
trees This also ourishes upon the Yorkshire moors
There is a gloomy tarn upon the top of Summer Lodge
Bank its bed is formed of the d ebr is from an exhausted
lead mine and its shores for some distance i nl and are
heaped with the dark limestone refuse there is a lovely
prospect of grey hills in the distan c e but the near view
is gloomy enough But here among the grey shingle
beside those cold still waters numerous dwarf bushes live
and ourish brave little Fir Lycopods In this species
the seed vessels are situated among the leaves over the
whole length of the branches ( L selago ) Pliny mentions
that the Druids gathered the Selago with much ceremony
and used it as a cure for complaints of the eye and as a
charm to avert mi sfortune Mr Baird tells us that some
of the Highlanders u se the Fir Club moss instead of alum
in dyeing
The Marsh Club moss ( L inund atum ) is one of the
smallest of the family We have only once been in its
native home or rather in one of its native homes for it
is n ot a very uncommon plant It used to ourish on
Rudd Heath Cheshire an d still ourishes there in all
probability if the rage for drainage has left any part of
,

F E RN ALL I E S

55

that Splen di d botanical ground in its natu ral state The


leaves are long and pointed with two sharp shoulders
and a broad base the cone is very large in proportion to
the rest of the plant
O ur specimens of the Lesser Alpine Club moss ( L
Selaginoides ) were sent to us from Blair Athole we have
non e of us found it ourselves It is more slender than
the March species but much more branched and its general
aspect is more like that of a re al moss than on e of the
sturdy Lycopods But if it seems slight and frail c om
pared with the long tough stems of the Common species
and the sturdy bushes of the mimic r tree how much
more startling is the contrast with its giant ancestors of
the coal measures the L epid od en d ra which Hugh M ill er
describes as great plants of the Club moss type that

rose from fty to seventy feet in height


A valuable
homoeopathic m e di cm e i s prepared from the Lycopodium
The Spanish moss whi ch forms be ds of such intense
and exquisite greenness in the conservato ries at K ew is
a Lycopod and other species there to be seen d elic at elv
tinted with rose colour or blue belong to this family
This group of fern allies completes the rst section of
the great tribe of Flowerless Plants these together with
the mosses and their all ies the Scale mosses or Liver
worts belong to the rst or folia c eous di vision of Crypto
gams wh il e the Seaweeds Lichens and Fungi form the
Aphyllous or leaess division
.

RA MBL E S

S t at :

Inm
rrlrss
VIII

CHAPT E R

Iauts

MO SSE S

igh t is m other to th e day


T h e wi nt e r to th e S pri n g
A n d e v e r u po n o l d d e cay
T h e gr e en e st m oss e s c l in g
Behin d th e clo u d the starlight l urks
Through Show ers th e sunb e am s fal l
F or G od who loveth all his works
H ath l ef t his hop e with all

T he

H E next order of F low erless plants to the Ferns


is the Mosses a very large group freely di f
fused in all the c ountries of the World
There is no distinct ower l n th e moss though the
organs of fruc tic at ion are of two kinds that in which
the seeds are formed is the most conspicuous and is
called an am This urn is covered with a veil during
its immature period the veil falls off before the seed is
ripe and the u rn remain s c losed by a lid Wh en this
lid comes off the seeds are ripe and are found arranged
round a central c olumn within the urn The rim of the

MO SSE S

58

urn is bordered by sets of teeth one set appears to belong


to the outside and one to the inside The urn generally
grows from a eshy tubercle ( apophysis) the station o f
which is general ly at the base of the ow er stem
The secondary kind of fruc t ication is only present in
some mosses ; it is formed of membranous cylindrical
bodies clustered in the axils of the leaves ; they open
irregularly at the point and discharge a sticky uid
Mosses are among the rst plants that spring up on
the sur face of inorganic matter at rst they appear lik e
a green stain merely consisting of granulating seeds but
soon clothing themselves with leaves and then by their
decay producing the r st deposit of vegetable matter
with which the soil is fertilized
The large group of Mosses including several hun dred
species are divided into two great sections rst the
summ it r uited where the fruit stem rises from the end of
f
the bran c h secondly the sid e f r uited where it rises from
the side of the bran c h : but to these rul es there are so many
exceptions that we need rather to direct our at tention to
the particular distinctions of the several groups
The rst group of summit fruite d Mosses is the A n
d rae a group
It is characterized by on e great peculiarity
which has led scientic men to place it in an order by
itself Its urn splits into four valves These Mosses are
inhabitants of A lpine or sub Al pine di stricts They are
small plants with blackish red foliage which gives them
a burnt up appearance The leaves fold over one an
other in eight rows
Specimens of the A lpine Andres a have been given to
us from Ben N evis the leaves are oval and pointed
.

'

M O SSES

59

The Rock A n d raea we have from Blair Athole It is a


commoner species growing in short loose tufts the stems
a little branched and its leaves blunt (A r upestris P late
.

The Black A ndresa ( A rothii) is still darker in hue and


a little taller ; the leaves are awl shaped
The Tall A n draea ( A nivalis) is of slender growt h and
is onl y found on the margin of perpetual snow
We went to the moors above Summer Lodge Bank in
search of the second group of the order Bog Mosses
Spha
nace
We
rea
c hed the neighbourhood of the
ae
(
g
)
gloomy tarn and began our search
among verdant patches of swampy
groun d while all around and
amongst the ling the soil w as
covered with a thick carpet of
white moss varied with a pink
hue We soon coll ected several 1 A ND R E A 2 SPH A G NUM
specimens of Re g Mosses ( Sphagnum ) These Mosses are
characterized by having their branches arranged in clus
ters their roundish urns on very short footstalks and by
havin g no proper roots As this group seems to be de
signed by Providence to ll up water pools in bogs roots
are unnecessary The d en sely Erow d ed stems have little
threads attached to them by which they imbibe moisture
as the pl ant grows the under part decays and dep o sits
the u sed up portions while the acids set free by the de
composition of its parts uniting with that given out by
other bog plants similarly decaying forms a kind of
tann in which preserves the substances imbued with it
and renders them impervio u s to decomposition This
.

'

'

'

M O SSE S

6O

accounts for the perfect state in whi ch bog oak horns


and bones of animals & c have been found in the Irish
peat The Bog moss continues gro w ing till it rises far
ou t of the water other plants twine amongst it earth is
l
i
m
radua
ly
formed
and
the
barren
swamp
becomes
in
t
e
g
a verdant place where cattle may feed Who can tell
but that in centu ries to come yonder black tarn may be
?
c arpeted and covered by this u seful and redeemin
moss
g
,

MO SSE S

61

The red tinte d branch was the Blu nt leafed Bog moss
in
cut
its
ittle
clusteri
1
l
n
S
c m b ifolium g
;
)
g
(
y
branches are short and its leaves concave and blunt It
is on e of the largest of the famil y Another with pointed
leaves proved to be the equally common Slender Bog
moss ( S acutefolium
It is as tall as the former
but of a frailer form It is also white and tinged with
pink The Red Dwarf Bog moss ( S rubellum) I found
in great beauty on the hills above Oban The ground
was very marshy so much so as to be dangerous for ex
l
The
stems
of the moss were short
branched
orers
p
and closely matted ; the colour very red and the leaves
blu nt Another B og moss with paler foliage of a straw
c olour and with less crowded branches was intermi xed
with the Red Dwarf species and proved to be the Pale
Dwarf B ox moss
mollus c um ) The leaves in this
species are a broad oval The Compact Bog moss ( S
c ompa c tum
with
its
forked
stems
short
c rowded
)
branches and oval leaves was sen t to us by the most
patient and su ccessful o f Moss coll ectors Miss M Le eray
o f Jude
Blair A thole She also procured the fri nge
lea v ed species for u s
funbriat um ) resembling the
Slender Bog moss in general appearance but with t he
points of the branch leaves t urn ed back
From the margin of a peat pool we gathered a quan
tity of soft green moss its lon g branches mingling with
those of the Cranberry plant This was the Wavy lea v ed
Bog moss ( S c uspidatum F ig
when gro n on dry
ground it is generally white but has a bluish green tinge
at the tips instead of a pink or lilac one ; growing in
water it is very attenuated and of a brill iant green I ts
-

MO SSE S

62

lusters of little branches are always more Slender and


inclined to droop than those of t he others we have here
uarrosum ) is a very large
The Spreading Bog moss ( S sq
species rm robust and branched its leaves spreading
turned back and pointed We have not found a specimen
The group wh ich imm e di ately su c cee ds that of the
Bog moss is the E arth moss group ( Pasc ae) What
the Bog mosses are to mars hy places such are the earth
mosses to c lay banks covering them wi th a green crust
at rst which develops into tiny plants these atta in ma
t urity ve ry rapi dl y sow thi er seed and di e away in a
v ery short time thus scattering o v er the t en ac e ous so il
a deposit of organic matter which prepares it to nourish
p lants of a less min ute organization In the Earth moss
family the capsul es have little or no stalks the leaves are
generall y in eight rows and the whole plant is wonder
fully smal l T h e urn is roun dish with a poin ted veil
splitting up on e side and no proper lid We were too
late in the year to nd the Poin ted the Tall or the A w l
leaved E arth moss and the other species do n ot attain
matu ri ty till autumn or winter
The Straight necked E arth moss ( Phascum rect um )
we have from near Southport it is exceedin gly minute
with chestnut coloured urns and tiny crowded leaves
By far the most frequent member of this family is the
Awl leaved E arth moss ( P sublatum P late V
It has a tiny stern its leaves are lance shaped and c on
c ave and its urns pale brown
Great numbers of plan ts
grow crowded together in dense pat c hes their foliage of
a yellowi sh hue and the sharp points of their abundant
leaves giving a hairy aspect to the p lot It grows on
c

MO SSE S

64

it as growing on scattered tufts on the walls of Jeru


S alem
The Weissia family have an ov al erect u rn a lid with
a sloping beak and a S imple fri nge of sixteen teeth
They are small with leaves in eight rows and the stem s
ro
w
in
clusters
g
Upon hedge banks all about in Swaledal e we found
large patches of ne close fresh green moss A plant
whi c h we examined with a pocket lens showed its leaves
turned in at the edge the lower ones lance shaped the
upper narrower the little oval urn w as brown and
shrivelled for its fruit had been ripe two months before
This was the green tufted Weissia
controversa P late
VI g
A species with taller stems and crisped lea v es
proved to be the Be nt leaved W eissia
c irrhat a P la te
and on e with the edges plain was the Curly
V
lea v ed
crisp ul a)
The Whorled We issia ( W verticillata) grows on drip
ping rocks we found it afterwards half encrusted wi th
lime It is a larger species growing in a thi ck cl uster
and with foliage of a v i v id green
Some plants of the Bristle leaved Weissia ( Brachyod us
t ri c ho d es) were sent us from Castle Howard they are as
small as those of the E arth mosses and even more deli
c ate in stru c ture Don s Bristle mosses ( A n od us d o nian us
Pla te VI
3 ) is the r st member of the Bris t le
moss group the characteristics of whi c h are a wide
mouthed roun di sh urn a large beaked lid a small veil
and bristle shaped leave s Don s Bristle
S ingle fringe
moss vies with the Bristle leaved Weissia in minute ness
it d iers from all the other Bristle Mosses in havin g n o
.

MO SSE S

65

fringe at the mouth of the urn My specimens are from


Longleat Park Wilts where th ey are growin g upon a
sandsto ne ro c k
A n important group succeeds the B ri stle mosses
namely that of the Fork mosses : it in c ludes seven
families The rst famil y was discovered by the botanist
Blin d of Muns ter and is hence call ed B lind ia ( P la te
.

The N orthern moss family has but o ne British


representative (A r ctce a f ulvella ) The Dog s tooth moss
resembles the Bent leaved We issia but its urn is shorter
and its leaves are keeled at the base : it grows in hill y
The next three families though bearing
c ountries
different bo tanical names are all Fork mosses in honest
English so we will discuss them as one great family
The true F ork mosses (Dicrannui) are very numerous
The many fruited Fork moss ( D polycarpa) we have
from the Highl ands where it grows on roc ks It has
long stems spreading lance shaped leaves and ur ns not
muc h longer than broad
The transparent Fork moss (D pell ucidium ) grows in
a loose t uft and is of a light green c olour and more
S lender ur ns the fruitstalk a little bent at the neck
It
,
rows
in
wet
places
Our
specime
was
from
dripping
n
g
rocks near Richmond
The Drooping leaved spe c ies ( D sq
was
uarrosum
)
contributed by our fri end from Blair Athole its leaves
spread in every di rection and are turned back the ste ms
are forked and its loose tufts are of a bright green Wh en
it bears fruit the stems are only one or two inches high
but it grows mu c h taller when barren
E

MO SSE S

66

We found the L ily Fork Moss ( D heterom allum


Plate V g
abundantly on a moist bank in one of
the birch woods and we have found it in every county
that we have sin c e visited It grows in large patc hes
covering the earth with its yello w green silk y foliage
and chestnut urns When examined with a lens the
leaves are seen to be toothed towards the narrow poin t
the fruitstalk is bent where it j oins the um and the lid is
prolonged into a beak
The si c kle leaved Fork moss ( D falcatum ) we have
from the hi ghl ands the leaves are all t urned to one side
an d bent so as to give the form w hi ch characterises the
plant Its colour is dark green its stems branched an d
the lid beaked
The Swaledale woods aord e d abundance of the Broom
Fork moss (D Scoparium P la te V
rowing
in
g
extensive pat ches A large handsome moss with yellow
reen
glossy
foliage
broad
at
the
base
but
narro
i
ng to
w
g
a long ne point wi th saw like edges ; the urns nearly
erect chestnut coloured and with a beaked lid the veils
being beaked also
The Marsh Fork moss ( D p al ustre) closely resembles
this but the lea v es are less narrow at the point and the
fruit grows more abundantly several urns rising from
one pl ant
The Tall Fork moss ( D maj us ) was sent to us from
Blair A thole it resembles the two last but is still larger
it has clusterin g fruit stalks l ike the Marsh spe c ies and
the foliage turned to one side as is often seen in the
Broom Fork moss
.

MO SSE S

67

There are many other species in thi s family but they


have not rewarded our sear ch

The White leaved Fork Moss ( Leucobryu m glaucu m )


we did not nd till a later period When staying in
London I j oined a pic nic to Virginia waters Under
the trees there within sight of the lake I came upon a
carpet of soft whitish moss Its colour reminded me of
the Sphagnum upon our dear Yorkshire moors The
stems were shorttwo or at most three inches in height
slightly branched They were stiff in form and closely
covered with lance shaped channell ed blunt leaves
The urns were Short and the footstalks short also ; the
latter were withering their time of perfection bein g
March
The Purple Fork moss ( Ceratod on purpureum P late V
c
is
very
ommon on waste ground banks fallow
7
)
g
elds and su ch places E dward rst found it on heaps
of sand at Hawkhurst being attracted by its abundan c e
of shining purple urns
and fruit stalks of the same
c olour
The foliage is of a dull green the leaves spread
ing mu c h twisted w h en dry I have since found it both
in Yorkshire and Herefordshir e
The Swan neck Mosses are near allies of the Fork
mosses The Beaked species ( Dicran od ontium langirostre)
has very long narrow pointed curled leaves of a bright
dark green The fruitstalk bends when moist concealing
the urn among the foliage but becomes erect when
It is a rare moss very rare in fruit Our specimens came
from near Lennox
The Compact Swan neck Moss ( CampiIOpus b rev ipilus)
is a very attac tiv e species Its foliage is silky the
,

'

M O SSES

68

brown hairs on the lower part of the stem giving a dark


expression while at the tips of the branches the tint is of
rn
a
olden
ol
ve
The
leaves
clasp
the
ste
and
taper
i
g
t o a ne point
K incar di neshire is the only habitat of
this moss that I know
The Bristly species and the Rusty species ( C longipilus
and ex uosus) inhabit wet rocks in subalpine districts
T he Dwarf on e ( C t arfac eus) is slender and clustere d and
is found on d itch banks &c with small Fork mosses
,

MO SSE S

7O

rst exam inat ion The leaves were sprea din g oval and
pointed the u rn wide mouthed and the lid swollen and
slightly beaked The whole
plant measured less than a
quarter of an in c h Several
plants were c lustered together ;
the leaves in ve rows the
3
upper ones crowded the lower
more distant the rouhdish
and convex lid made me believe
1
g
m
al led from t he
it
a Pottia
so
c
gi ggomn s
mf

4 PE T RA PH I S
German professor Pott the
rst person who studied this family My cousin came in
and settled my doubts by assurin g me that it was the
Common Pottia (Pottia t run c ata P la te VI g
The book informed us that there are an Oval leaved
Pott ia and a Dwarf Pottia an Oval fruited Pott ia a
Bristly Pott ia and a Lance leaved Pottia all of whi c h
frequent mud sandy banks or fallow groun d A ll these
Po ttias are without fringe at th e mo uth of the urn
A spe cimen of Starke s Pott ia ( A n ac alypta St ark eana)
o n e o f the species gi fted with a fri nge was my re w ard
fo r Services on another occasion ; it much resembles the
Common Pott ia : its redder and more oval urn with the
blunt lid and the dark or yellowish green of the leaves
d istin guish it
The group T ri chostom ae or Hair mouthed mosses
c ontains four families
the TWO ran ked mosses the Twin
toothed mosses the Hair mouthed mosses and the Screw
moss es
The r st family have single fringes containing six teen
.

'

'

MO SSE S

71

teeth and the central column extends beyond the mouth


of the u rn
The broad leaved species is an Al pine moss whil e the
Thick ribbed prefers the sea coast
The Five leaved and Oblique fruited T w o ranked
mosses have their leaves distinctly in two rows : the
former is a delicate moss with a reddish u rn My cousin
had put a specimen of it into the book for me (Distichium
,

c apill ac eum,

P late V g

The Twin toothed mosses have many of the teeth


divided hence the name Their stems grow in cluste rs
their leaves are more or less lan c e shaped and have dots
o n the sur face
There are a reddish species gro w ing on
wall s and a dusky species favouring limestone and a
Slender frui ted species f requenting the neighbourhood of
waterfalls and a Bent leaved species growing on elevated
moors (Did ym od on P la te V
The true Hair
mou thed mosses have their leaves in
ve or eight rows and the nerve reaches to the point of
the leaf ; the oval fruit is generally straight and dull

and placed on a long fru it stalk


E dward found the (T rich ast omum Hom omallum P late
Curve leaved Hair mouthed Moss upon a
V g
sandy bank in K ent The e arth h ad been freshly thrown
up into a heap and this Moss was the denizen of the
new soil It has short clustered stems and leaves aw l
and dwin d ling to a silky point
Shaped at the base
There are sixteen pairs of teeth in the fringe and they
are sometimes oin ed together
On a sandy rock in the same dist rict he fou nd the
Twisting spec ies ( T tortile) with its half prostrate ste rn
-

MO SSE S

72

and spreading leaves broader than in the last mentioned


species
The Rigid leaved Hair
mouthed Moss has erect leaves
and lon ger fringe ( T rigid ulum ) and the Curly leaved
species grows near the sea The glau c ous one is pecul iar
to mountains
Rambling along the road up Swaledale we found
v arious Mosses growing u pon the curious bri dg e opposite
to Gunn erside Some of these had long narrow urns
growing on erect fruit stalks and upon examining
them wi th the lens we found that the teeth of the
fringe were long and slender and twisted round the
pillar in the centre of the urn ; the lid was long and
beaked These being the c haracteristi c s of the Screw
moss family ( Tortul a) we set our sel ves to determine
the Species One had oval leaves with lon g hair like
points the plants gr ew thi c kly together forming a little
cushion and the abund an t hairy points gave it a downy
appearance ; the leaves seemed to have a thickened
bo rder but this was onl y with the edges being turned
back This was the Wall Screw Moss ( T mural is P late
VI
c ommon o n ro c ks and w alls throughout the
kingdom
An other species with poin ted leaves spreading in a
starry shape and of a bright green colour w as rendered
remarkable by its very long Slightl y c urved urns Al to
gether it was a brighter cleaner look in g plant than his
brother it was the Awl
leaved Screw Moss ( T sub ul ata
-

P late

VI

Upon a bank near a quantity of the F all acious Screw


Moss was

rowing
seem
ng
to
enj
oy
the
i
g
,

limestone

M O SSES

73

rubbish It w as taller than the other Species and the


leaves were of a dull green twisted and tur ned back
There was no fruit on our specimens The ur ns are
redd ish and oval ( T F allax P late VI
E arly last spring when wandering in the beautiful
combes of Somersetshire I found lar ge cushi ons of the
The stems
t w iste d Screw M O SS (Tortula tortuosa g
were high and closely matted
t ogether and the lon g leaves
row
ng
in
dense
whorls
round
i
g
the stem were all curiously
twisted
The pale tint and
elastic feeling of the cushions
attracted my attention Af ter
wards I found the same Moss
upon rocks in Swal edale but in 1 DI CRA NU M 2 T O RTUL A
3 E NC L Y PT
both instances there was no
fructie at ion
I have recently received specimens from
Blair Athole with abundant urns both them and the
stal ks yellowish brown
A nother Screw Moss I have found abundantly on
trees and thatch The great Hairy Screw M O SS (T rural is
Plate VI
has tall stems leaves Sprea di ng turned
back with hairy points and long c urv e d urns In York
shire and Herefords hire it frequents trees as also in the
Bath neighbourhood but the nest specimens I ever
athered
were
off thatched cottages in Wilts and Somerset
g
It is said to be a great preservative to the thatch
M uller s Screw Moss ( T Miill eri P la te VI
is
size inte rme diate between the t w o rst of our
of a
c ollection and the Twisted species
It grows in red dish
,

'

MO SSE S

74

tufts bein g entwined with brown bres and having


upright leaves lapping over each other T he urn is
furni shed wi th a very long lid It is a rare Moss and
from our kin d fri end at Blair
o ur specimens came
Athole
There ar e a great number of these Screw Mosses ; but
those that we have here may serve as gu ides t o the whole
set The Al oe leaved species frequents clay banks as
does also the Bird s claw The Slender Scre w Moss
the Sprea ding leaved Screw Moss and the Hoar y Screw
Moss prefer chalk while the Revolute and Convolute
favour sandstone and the Great Hairy Screw Moss grows
o n thatch
The rough leaved and sm all er H airy Screw
Mosses are parasites on trees
A lmost too nearly allied to the Screw mosses to con
stit ut e a separate group is the Water Screw moss family
the fringe has the same win din g habit but there is no
stalk to the urn or so short a one as hardly to deserve the
name
D uring our trip in the Highl ands we had the pleas ure
o f nding the smaller species
Cinclidotus
F
ont in al oid es
(
P late V
in a rivu let near Oban It was grow
ing on a submerged stone and the stems were borne al ong
in the current Some of them were ve inches long
The leaves are crowded and spread ing except when
borne in on e direction by the current ; the urn is oval
and the fruit stalk extremely short the lid and the veil
are both cone shaped the latt er of a corky text ure
The Greater Water Screw moss is n ot found in Britain
e xcept in a d w arsh stunted form
ro
hi
h
and
g n
g
The Screw mosses are succeeded by the Ex tinguisher
,

75

MO SSE S

mosses (E uc alypt eae) They have oblong urns beaked l ids


and the veil is so large as to cover the w hole urn like an
extinguisher hence the name
Upon w alls about Richmond we found the Common
E xtingu isher moss
Vulgaris) its branches were clus
t ere d its ur n lance shaped and the veil whole at the
lower edge The leaves were spreading and oblong
The Fringed spe c ies was growing on w al ls on the road
to the race course it has its name from th e frin ged mar
i
n O f its veil C ciliaris
g
(
)
Both these species have a fringe at the mouth of the
urn though that of the former soon vani shes
The Sharp E xtin guisher moss
commutata) has no
frin ge and the Rib and Spiral fruited ones ( E rhabdo
carpa and strept oc arpa) have double fringes
Between the extinguisher mosses and the grimmias there
is a group of Al pine mosses call ed Hed w igias after a
botani st of that name or in E nglish Beardl ess mosses
their urns bein g destitute of fringe
The Hoary species ( H ciliata P late V g 1 2) I found
above Call ander and afterwards among the Pentland Hil ls
it was growing on rocks in large loose patches The
foliage was of a dark dull green and beset with hairy
points which ga v e it a hoary appearance The urn was
pale brown and seated on the stem and the mouth was
very open because the fruit was long past perfection
The green Beardless moss ( H imberbe ) is sometimes
fo und growing with this but is much more rare
T he large group of gri mmias s ucceed these
They are
tufted mosses growing on rocks erect when little pros
trate when attaining any length The lid is convex and
.

MO SSE S

76

lightly pointed and the fringe single The central col


umn falls away wit h the lid : the veil is small
This
group includes the grimmias and the Fringe mosses
The c lose tufted and sessile grimmias ( Sc histid ium Con
fe rt um and A pocarpum) have the base of the veil torn
and j agged
The Sea side sessile grimmia ( S maritimum ) Fanny
found o n Sla te rocks on the coast of Cornwall its dense
tuf ts of dull brownish green contrasting pleasantly with
the golden and white Lic hens Its leaves are long and
stiff and its urn is seated on the top of the stem Its
fruit is perfect in the mid dl e of winter
The grey cushioned grimmi a
pul v inata P lat e V g
1 4 ) grows abundantly o n rocks and walls in most locali
ties I t was thriving well upon the old bridge at Gun
n ersid e
It is densely tufted
E very leaf is terminated by a hair which gives an
appearance to the round c luster like velvet pile ; the
fruit stalks which are erect now are daintily arched in
youth so that the urn bends down again till it touches
the leaves
The round fruited Grimm ia has narrower leaves and
the Spir al Grimmia has striped urns Schultz s Grimmia
and the Tall Alpine Grimmia are mu c h larger plants ;
an d the Ov al fruited Hoary and Din gy Grimmias have
the base of the veil lobed ( Plate V
The Fringe moss famil y (Rac omit rium ) resembl e the
larger Grimmias they are tal l and branched the leaves
are Spreadi ng and often adorned with hairy points and
the veil is mitre shaped and often cloven at the base the
urn is oval the lid straight
S

78

MO SSE S

from their reverend gray hairs m ight


patriarchs of the family
We carried our Screw Mosses and
and
Fringe Moss home treading softly over the car pet of
Feather Moss in the low meadows
thinkin g of the green pastur es
in
the Lord leads his people
.

P rais e d b e th e

m oss s soft

I n th e

An

m o u tai pathways oft


d th thor s that m ak u s thi k
n

O f th e

thornl ess river s brin k


W here th e ranso med tread

M O SSES

FI G 1
.

U nd

u latum

10

Pallen s

P olytri ch

Al pi n

A fn e

16

um

B C apillar
17 B
um

C arn e

2 Sec o ndary fructicat ion

e.

ll

u p str
e

Al oid e s

C ern

C risp

Z ygod on Viri d issim a

B Arg t um 1 5
um
1 8 B Ros um

14

of ditto

O rth otrich um R

ne

U rn igerum

O Diaph anum

13

um Co mmu

79

en e

A trich um

um

12

Bry um

B C O Spiticium
.

CHA PT ER X
.

to sit by th e m ossy fo u ntain


Where a sw eet stream h as its birth
A n d l ook aro u n d with a dm irin g e ye
O n th e l ov e l y thi ngs of e arth
T h e li ch en th e m oss an d th e m o u n tain fe rn
A n d th e wi l d b ee r e v e l ling th e r e
A n d th e bo un ding re d d ee r swi ft of foot
A n d th e bird that ski m s th e air
F or the y li n k o u r so u ls to h e av e n
A nd w e fe e l th e bo un d l e ss l ov e
A n d th e won dro u s pow er an d th e m atc hl e ss skill
O f o u r F ath e r w h o dw e lls abov e
Or

A VING

occasion to spend a little time in


m e n d we rambled pleasantly in the rich woods
Skirt ing the river or c li mbed to the high moors
admiring the beautiful prospect stretching panorama like
around us One wood rej oicin g in the name of Billy
Bank was a favourite resort An old wall sep arated it
in one part from a meadow and the droppings from the
trees and near v icinity of the stream secur ed a perpetu al
damp very favourable to the growt h of mosses We seat
,

overing and exami ni ng them with our pocket lens


while yet in perfe c t freshness and beauty Some mem
bers of the Bristle moss group ( Orthot richum) are in our
c

M O SSES

82

surely if mosses were able to give u tterance t o any


thing it would be to a song of praise and love setting
forth God s care over all even the very least of His
works and telling how He decks and brightens un av oid
able de c ay by dr essing the leaess tree with extraneous
verdur e and how He smoothes the stony path softening
off the sharp edges by means of mossy cushions
Let us now examin e these other Bristle mosses Thi s
w ith the erect branches pear S haped urn and hairy veil
is the Rock Bristle moss ( Ort h otri ch um rupestre g 7 in
and
this
with
the
crowded
crisp
leaves
and
sma
er
ll
c ut
)
ur n {
is the Curled leaved Bristle moss ( Ort hotrichum
crispum
We must turn to the trees again
8 in out)
for the Tawny fru ited Bristle moss characterised by
its dark foliage and narrow urn and for the White tipped
Bristle moss distinguished from all other Spe cies by the
white points of its leav es ( Orth otrichum d iaph anum
There is a Straw coloured Bristle moss and
1 0 in c ut)
a Close
tufted Bristle moss and a Showy B ri stle moss
and a River Bristle moss gro wing on trees by m ountain
stream s ; all these have furrowed urns and hairy veil s
The E legant Bristle moss has a smooth veil Drummond s
Bristle moss is peculiar to birch trees and has creepin g
stems and the Frizzled Bristle moss grows ne ar the sea
and is al w ays barren
The group next to the Bristle mosses is a very small
one containing o nl y one famil y and four species The
Yoke mosses have upright urns small veils and scarcely
any beaks to the lids They are distinguished from the
Bristle mosses by the smoothness of the veils
I found a
piece of t h e G reen tu fted Yoke moss near Sheerwater in
No

MO SSE S

83

Wiltshir e ; it is rarely found in fruit so I accoun t my


specimen a great treasure (Z ygod on viridissimum
11
in
The Lapland and the Mougeot s Yoke mosses are
Alpine spe c ies and the Lesser Yoke moss is chiey an
inhabitant of Ireland
The Four tooth mosses are two
peculiar little plants The Pellucid one ( T e traphis pelin
cida P late VI
1 1 ) has the se c ondary f ruc t ic at ion in
Its leaves are broad and closely
l eaets formed in a cup
pressed to the stem and its stems are matted together by
rusty bres I found a quantity of it c losely cluste red
betwee n the d ecaying root of a tree and a mass of red
sandstone rock in the Chase wood near Ross It grew like
a mini ature forest on a mountain S ide and its full green
hue and glossy lustre attracted my attention Brown s
Four tooth moss ( T et rad ontium brow ni anum) has leaves of

two kinds the on e broad and pressed to the stem the


other mingled with them but narrow and spreading
Bux b aum s moss is entirely leaess at least it appears so
It resembles a fun gus its stem being
to the naked eye
nearly buried in the earth and o nl y the red di sh urn
appearin g above The leafy Buxbaumia rewarded our
perseverance in moss hunting on one rather remarkable
occasion We were passing two or three days at Cal
lander and the last day was de v oted to an excursion to
the Leny Pass It rained when we started but havi ng
once agreed not to remark on the weather during our
Highl an d trip we only hoisted umbrellas in silence On
we trudge d admiri ng the beautiful glimpses we got of
the mountain stream and examinin g the wet bank s in
the hOpe of nding some of our favourite plants A gentle
man w as bent ou seeing the co untry as well as we and he
,

M O SSES

84

stood to admire at every point of beauty b ut did n ot


seek mosses He was a foreigner forming one of a large
party at the principal hotel where our pursuit of

botany under difculties formed a subj ect of mirth at


that day s dinner table We saw and gloried in the grand
rocks and waterfalls and precipitous woo ds ; and on a
low earth topped wall we found nice plants less than a
quarter of an inch in height and seeming like naked
rains
striped
on
the
surf
ace
These
we
carried
home
in
g
triumph
The lens showed them like microscopic

cabbages surrounded by long narrow grass shaped


leaves the urn shaped like a cone and forming the heart
of the cabbage (Diphysc ium foliosum P la te V
Pursuing our path o n e day through the Billy Bank
wood we passed along a couple of elds and came upon
the hillock call ed the Round Howe There the rocks
and the ri v er form a kind of circ us and in the midst of
the area thus en closed the hill rises The legend of the
c ountry is that when the giants made the neighbouring
hill they had a spadeful of earth too mu c h and tossed it
down in this spot so forming the Round Howe Half of
the hillock is wooded and is an excell ent place for wild
owers But we did not linger there being bent on
n ding mosses In the thick wood whi c h we next
entered the ground was carpeted with ferns mosses and
li chens and we hastened to gather specimens of the
Wavy leaved Hair Moss
The large group of Hair Mosses is characterised by
the spreading of the point of the central column whic h
c onnects all the teeth of the fringe but there are ex c eptions
t o this habit where other points of agreement enti tle the
,

M O SSES

86

By the Side of the hi lly


an d grass plants, I found a

path among Feather Mosses


tall Hair Moss with branched
stems narrow leaves and oval u rns its stem was bent at
the base as if it had thought of adopting a creeping
habit These characteristi cs proved it to be the A lpine
Hair Moss (P alpinum
Passing by the verd ant patches of swamp and not
pau sing again to examine the thick white carpet of B og
moss I came to where the
ling n ow in full bloom was
surrounded by a miniature
pine forest each lil liputian
tree being crowned with a
slender st al k a couple of
inches in height bearing a
squ are urn at its summit
I H E DWI G I A
2 G RI M M E A
Many of these urns wer e
l
d
naked having lost both veil
:jgfgigjg
and lid but a few belated
plants still wore the veil which thickly covered with
hairs proved its w
earer to be one of the Hair mosses
Surely then this was the Common Hair Moss
of which I had he ard so
P
olytrichum
commune
(
g
much E ven in old Gerarde s time this was a familiar

moss ; for he says of it This kind of moss called


Muscas capillaris or Golden Maiden hair Moss is
seldom found but u pon bogs or moorish places and
also in some shad owie ditches where the sun doth

not come
This is the moss of which travell ers
speak as accompanying the Reindeer moss and formi ng
,

'

MO SSE S

87

along with it the food of that useful animal the


two constituting the sole verdure of the snowy regions
I placed some specimens in my box and proceeded on
my way
There is a N orthern Hair moss ( P sex angulare with
leaves turning inward at the point and six sided urns ;
and a Slender Hair moss ( P gracile) with densely tuf ted
stems and oval urn with indistinct angles ; and a Buff
fruited Hair moss ( P form osum ) scarcely at all branched
and w ith a thick buff urn We did not nd any specimens
The Bristle leaved Hair
o f these members of the family
moss we found on hill s in Shropshire (P piliferium ) it is
characterised by sharp hair like points at the end of the
The J un iper
leaves the ur ns are long and square
leaved species with its slightly squar ed urns and
glaucous foliage was sent us from Blair A thole ( P
,

uniperium

The T im m ia ( T austriaca) is a rare moss about an


inch high in form something lik e a Fox s b rush ; we
have found no spec imen
When wandering on e damp February day in the
beaut iful woods about Ross in Herefordshire I came
u pon a block of red sandstone forming a perfe c t nursery
ground for ow erless plants grotesque lic hens were there
in several varieties and infant ferns and delicate liver
worts ; but the plant most interesting to the subj ect
un der cons ideration was the Bud headed thr ead moss
whi ch covered large areas of the ro c k with soft green
crowded branches What especially rivetted my attention
was a quantity of tiny knobs like minute rounded pin s
heads stan ding on short stems all proceeding from the
.

MO SSE S

88

little moss The curious heads ( c apitul i) Show little


n the surface when examined
rains
with
a
lens
o
g
.

A
n
d
r
o
u
m
n
(
gy

P late

aul acom ni on ,

II

There is a Marsh species (A pausltre) resembling this


only larger
The Slender T hread m oss ( Orth od ontium gracile) is
a minute species with short slender stems branched and
tufted We have no specimen Our kin d Blair Athole
c ontributor sent us the Golden Thread moss
L
e t ob r um
( p
y
V
a te
r iform e
l
I
P
It
has
silky
thread
g
py

shaped leaves Its pear shaped urn and fruit st al k be nt


at the neck
Show its relationship to the true Thread
mosses ( Bryum)
These Bryum s form a l arge group They grow in
tuf ts on trees rocks and banks with pear Shaped urns
dr ooping elegantly and leaves clasping the stem
The Alpine bog Thread moss ( Bry um pseudo t ri que
trum) was sent to us from the Highlands It belongs to
a group of Bryums with ovate leaves it has long stems
and grows in patc hes of a blackish green colour the
diff erent styles of fruct ic at ion are on diff erent plants
From the same district came t h e Al pine Thread moss
B
alpinum
its
red
tinted
foliage
and
dense
t
t
mak
u
f
)
(
ing it remarkable o ur fri end coul d nd no urns upon it
In our pretty Swaled al e fern wood we found pat c hes of
pale reddish moss on the margin of the stream the stems
were about an in c h long and thinly clothed with ov al
pointed leaves The urn di d not droop so much as in
most of the spe c ies It proved to be the pale leaved
again in
Thread moss
We
found
it
all eus
p
.

MO SSE S

90

adorn ing the ends O f the branches proc ure its


The stems are from one t o four inches long
saw
Goblin Combe
it afterwards in a part O f the ancient forest of
wood in Wil tshire
.

M O SSES

um 3 M
u rrosa 5 Fu a i a H ygro m tri a 6 B t mid ul
4 P lud ll Sq
i ul
W il i 7 P hys o mitri um Py if m
8 P F
9 B ar
F o ta a 1 0 B P mif m i
B I th ph ylly I 2
t mi
11
1 3 Fi id u B y id
m
Spla h um A mpull
1 4 F issid ns
FI G

ac e u

T ax ifolius

15

H or n

n r

son

ra

M ni um Ligul atum

91

or

A diantoid es

or

ss

are

r o

ar ra

asc c

es

CHA P T ER XI

Fro m giant oaks that wave the ir bran ch es dark

dwarf m oss that c l ings u pon th eir bark


What b ea u x an d b eau ties crowd th e gau d y grove s
A n d woo and w in th e ir v eg e tabl e lov e s 2
To

th e

GRO UP of very hands ome mosses nearly alli ed


to t he Bryu ms su c ceeds that extensive famil y
They are distinguished from them in being call ed
Thyme Thread mosses ( mnium ) they have generally large
transparent leaves and they make their new shoots from
the lower part of the stem not from the summit With a
view to collecting some of these my friends dire c ted me to
a copse between the river and the road near G unnerside
Under some bushes upon a very moist bank I had the
delight O f di sc overing a very large moss its stems were
tall an d surrounded with long strap shaped transparent
leaves the vein along the centre being very pronoun ced
my pocket lens Showed me that these leaves were j agged
at the edge Little bran c hes grew from the tops of many
o f the stems in a cluster and there were lon
n
creepi
g
g
shoots also a number o f frui t stalks rose from the sum
mits of three or four of the plants and the ur ns were still
upon them though the frui t had evidently been ripe
months before It was a much larger plant than any of
the Thread mosses even than the Rose Thread moss
.

MO SSE S

94

the lower and arr anged in a starry form the plants grew
separate n ot in clusters The urns gave evidence of
hav ing been ripe early in the spring they were large and
oval the leaves were of a very dark green We at once
agreed that it was the Dotted Thyme Thread moss M ni u m
(
punctatum
In a wood behind my cousin s house in Swaled al e
where ro c ks abound and birch and will ow trees droop
over oozy places I found another of these Thyme
Thread mosses It was covering the perpendicul ar
surface of shady rocks often spreading over their tops
t ooits rounded leaves termi nated in a sudden sharp
point procuring for it the name of Pointed Thym e
Thread moss
cuspidatum ) The stems were numerous
each bearing a footstalk and urn the latter much in ate d
egg shaped and with a blunt lid There were a number
o f long barren bran c hes trailing on the rocks giving the
plant a likeness to a Liverwort Here t oo I foun d the
Long beaked species ( M rostratum) resembling its ne igh
bour in habit but with broader l eaves and more Slender
urns The serrated spe cies
serratum) I have got
more recently from shady banks in the Herefordshir e
woods Here the leaves are narrower than in either of
the preceding mosses and the lid of the urn larger and
more pointe d The plants were growing in a scattered
fashion O ur kind ally from Blair Athole has supplied
us with the Ro u nd fruited Thym e Thread moss ( M
the
denizen
of
marshes
Its
leaves
are
sub l ob ossum
)
g
large and broadly ovate and the urn small and roun d
The many frui ted species
afne) beari ng two or
more urns on a stem I have fou nd in woods in Swale
,

MO SSE S

95

There is a Short beaked a Large leaved and a


d ale
Star leaved species but they are all rare in Britain and
we have none of us met with them
The Cupola moss ( Cin clidium stygium ) group succeeds
that of the Thyme Thread moss ; there is onl y on e
species and it closely resembles the Dotted Thyme
Thread moss only the stems are matt ed together with
purple threads whi ch give a sooty appearance to the
plant and its urns are pear shaped It grows in bogs
A kind friend sent me a specimen of the Droopin g
whi c h had
l eaved Thread moss ( Pal ud ella squarrosa
been sent to her from K nutsford Moor Cheshir e It had no
fruit she said and the long stems were c losely clustered
together the leaves being turned back She had a
drawing of the fruit upon a foreign specimen of which
she favoured me with a copy The group of mosses
called after Mees the botanist has onl y two British
The Long stalked Me esia grows scantily in
m embers
Ireland and the Dwarf M e esia is occasionally found
among the Scotch and Welsh hills along with the Le sser
Pale Thread moss ( Am blyo d on d ealb at us)
Whil e rambling in the Ri c hmond w oods we came to a
place where dead leaves an d branches had been burned
A quantity of moss had sprung up among the ashes
resemblin g a Screw moss only the fruit st al k was
twiste d in every direction the urns were bent and the
dry ones furrowed the veil was inated below and
ended in an awl shaped beak The twisting of the fruit
stalk shews it to be a Cord moss and its u pper leaves
dr awn close together its red bordered lid and notched
border to the mouth ident ied it as th e Common Co rd
-

M O SSES

96

This moss always


moss ( F unaria hygrometrica g
ourishes upon wood ashes though it is obligi ng enough
oft en to exist withou t them I never saw it so abundant or so
luxuriant as in Herefordshire where they regularly level a
portion of the extensive woods annuall y usin g the trunks for
timber or mine props ac cording t o the size and burn ing
These old ch arcoal pits are like
t he refuse for c harcoal
fairy g ardens carpeted with Cord moss and Liverwort
and hedged round by Arabis Thaliana Myosotis Arv ensis
and several other pretty eld plants
There are two other British Cord mosses but both
very rare The I rish Cord moss has been found near
Cork ; and Muhlenberg s Cord moss has no di stinct
British habitat
The next famil y form a group call ed Bladder mosses
P
hyscomitrium
the
characteristics
whi
h
are
a
pear
o
f
c
(
)
or club shaped ur n
upon an
erect or slightly curved fruit
stalk a convex lid and an
inated veil
The bladder
lik e veil gives the name
to the group The N arrow
leaved Bladder moss has the
urn
erect
and
the
leaves
2 F U NAR I A
1 B Y UM
3 B ART RA M I A
lance shaped and serrrat e d
4 S P H L C H N UM
P
hyscomitrium
eric eto rum )
(
It inhabits heathy districts and was sent t o me from
Teesdal e
E dward found another Bladder moss It was growmg in
pat ches had Oblong leaves and a pear shaped urn It was
the Com mon species (P pyrif orm e
Another in
.

'

'

MO SSE S

98

undoubtedly the Fountain A pple Moss ( Bartramia


fontana
Upon a bank crowned by ro c ks I fou nd the Straight
leaved Apple Moss ( Bartramia ithophyll a
Its
leaves are broadish at the bottom but become very
narrow and awl shaped ; they are of a light yell owish
green and their clustered st ems make pretty little
cushions
These were all the Apple mosses that Sw al edale
furnished us wi th Subsequently I had the pleasu re of
nding two of them in the Highlands Large elastic
row m
c ushions of bright green
among
rocks
in
the
g
g
vicinity of Call ander the ste ms being two or thr ee inches
long and the long slender leaves spreadi ng in every
direction and bearing round urns on short u pright stems
answered Hooker s description of Haller s Apple Moss ( B
The still tal ler stems of
Hall erian a P la te VI g
the Curved stalk Species ( B arcuata P la te VI g 1 5 )
I found in wet places in the same district but without
fruit here the branches grow in bun dl es and the fruit
stalks are beautif
arched We have since received speci
mens of this moss in full fruct ication al ong with some
o f C eder s A pple M O SS ( B Oe d eri) of smaller size and
dar ker hue from our Blair A thole fri end The Rigid
spec i es i s very minute w ith slen d er branches in bundles
and the u rn large in comparison to the other parts of
the plant it is an Irish moss The Thick nerved Apple
Moss ( B calcarea) frequents limestone districts its foliage
is of a fresh gr een and the long slender footstalk bears a
v ery large urn The leaves are broader than in most of
th e species

w as

M O SSES

99

The Cone Fringe Moss ( Con ost omum bore al e) is all ied
to the A pple mosses by its round urn but has a beaked
lid and a longer veil than they The leaves are lance
shaped overlappin g one another in v e rows and the
stems grow in a den se cluster It grow s on the sum mit
o f mountains
The Lurid A pple Moss ( Catosc Opium nigrit um P la te
VI
1 6 ) has the fruit stal k suddenl y bent at the neck
it is two or three inches hi gh and grows in soft green
tufts The N aked A pple Moss (Disc elium nudum) is
di stinguished by a large conical lid and long aw l Shaped
,

But to return to our ramble on Summer Lodge Bank


The beauty of that September day tempted me to wander
aiml essly hi ther and thither upon the moor N ow an d
then a distant gun bore evi dence that the partridges had
not entir ely drawn away the foe from the grouse and
still as I roamed the bird rose from among the ling and
ed uttering noisy cries The h ills basked in broad
sunshine across whi c h cloud shadows sa iled like ships
along a golden sea and not a sound was heard from the
valley though a number of hea v y wagons laden with
ore
were descen ding into it from the opposite hills
While thus lingerin g my eyes su ddenl y fell on a c lump
of moss thickly set with cylinder shaped urns Upon
stooping to gather it I foun d it was growin g upon sheep
manur e the oval pointed leaves were spreading and the
stems less than half an inch long The fruit s talk w as
very long rather waved and red the urn was Situ ated
upon a large t ubercl e ; t h e veil had fallen off I now
hastened home in good earnest for I wanted to study
.

MO SSE S

1 00

the Collar moss group to which I su spec te d t h at my


new treasu re belong The tubercle decided the qu estion
that being the lea din g feature of the Ce llar mosses
Accordi ng to Hooker the veil in this group is small
cone shaped and torn at the base and the lid convex
I could not j udge of either of these particul ars for the
fruit of my species was over ri pe and the veil and the
lid had perished ( Splachnum sphaericum
There
is a Large fruited Collar moss growing by sp rin gs in
mountainous places and a Flagon fruited Collar moss
ourishin g on manure in low Sit uations
Unf ortunately it was not a cavernous neighbourhood SO
I had no chance of nding the Cavern moss ( Schistost ega
osmundacea P late VI g
Thi s moss is of a p al e
lauco
u
s
green
very
slender
and
not
reviv
ng
in
wa
t
er
i
g
after it has b een once dried The urn is very small and
o val
it has no fri nge and its tiny veil soon perishes The
delicate young shoots have often been taken for a Con
ferva ; they have a refractive power and on this account
are said to ill umine the gloo my caverns with a golden

green light
The plant is most fr equently foun d on
sandstone ( P late VI I
Several alli es of the Coll ar mosses as T etraplad on
Tayloria Dissod on and Od ipodium succeed them but
they are all rare A lpine species and did not reward o ur
search at that time or since
T h e Flat fork mosses ( Fissidens) follow the Ca v ern
mo ss in natural order They are very small plants with
the leaves placed alternately on either side the stem so as to
be at before and behind something like minute ferns The
urn is oval sometimes erect but more often with its head
,

M O SSES

1 02

It is supposed that he referred to one


of those plants when he relates that in a moment of
despair having abandoned himself to death and believing
that the c ar e of God s providence was no longer extended
over him the extraordinary beauty of a very small moss
caught his eye He looked at its exquisite workm anship
wondered at its adaptation to the barren home where it
was placed and a train of softening thought swept over him
analogous to the reasoning of the A ll wise teacher : If
God so clothe the grass of the eld how mu ch more w ill

l
The voice O f God
he clothe you 0 ye of little faith
reached the traveller s heart by means of this diminu tive
plant and he arose armed with fresh courage and went
on his way relying on his Lord
E nglis h

sp ec i m en s of Mungo Park are a vari ety of


of Wi lson (D icranum bryoid es of old er botanists)
The

F issid ens bryoid es

Pl a

10

MO SSE S

1 04

ame is a good in dex to the plant The Hare s tail


L euc od on ( L lagarus) is very rare being o nl y kn own
to exist in the Hebrides
The Wing mosses have cur v ed fruit stalks are branche d
and have oval ur ns The Pendulous species (A ntitrich ea
c urt i en d ul a
on ro c ks or trees
g
r
ows
either
three
r
o
p
)
more inches high straggling in habit and with hairy
leaves
The Curled species ( Lept od on smithii) is a
Devonshire moss its lid is beaked and the veil hairy
The tall A nom od on ( A v eticul osus Pla te VI I
3)
is common at the roots of trees an d on rocks It has
long branches interlacing on e another so as to form a
thick cushi on The leaves are tongu e shaped and closely
planted ar oun d the stem When moist they are spread
widely but when dr y they cling close to the stem I
found it with abundance of oval urns upon it near
Brixton Dev eril in Wilts
One of the last days of my soj ourn in this lovely
Yorkshire dale was spent in seeing a lead min e and smelt
mill varieties with which these hills abound As we
left the harsh looking neighbourhood of the mines our
eyes rested w ith delight upon a verdant plot of swampy
ground On inspecting this more closely I found a
uant
ty
i
of yellowish moss bearing clustered branches
q
intermingled with fruit stalks : the urns were erect and
o v al The strikin g resemblance of its form to that of a
tree rendered it probable that this was the Mar sh t ree
and all its charac
moss ( Climacium d en droid es g
t erist ic s agreed with Hooker s description
The next time that my cousin went to Richmond
Fanny and I accompani ed him and alighting from the

MO SSE S

1 O5

carri age a couple of miles before reaching the town we


followed a footpath leading through the woods by the
river s side In the lowest and most shady part of the
wood we found the Fox tail Frond moss ( I sothecium
both
carpeting
the
round
alo ec ur um P la te VI I I
2
g
p
g )
and han ging tapestry
like from the rocks its short o v al
urns were already developed though the we ak yo ung
stalks were variously bent and not as upright as they would
be later in the season This moss also has a tree like
habit b u t it varies from the true Tree moss in bein g
t w ice branched Surely this must have been the sug
geste r of the fri endship between the moss and the poet
in Dana s Plea
,

prais e d m y vari e d h ueS th e green


T h e silv e r hoar th e gold en brow n
S aid love li e r h u e s w er e n e ve r s e en
Then g ently pressed m y t en der dow n
He

wh en I s en t u p little shoots
He c all e d th e m tre e s in fo n d c o nce it
L ik e Silly lov e rs in th eir s u its
He talk e d his c are awhil e to c h eat

A nd

sai d I d d eck m e in th e d ews


C o u ld I b u t chas e away his c are
A n d c loth e m e in a tho u san d h u e s
To bring hi m j oys that I might share

The Leskeas are pretty feathery creeping mosses w ith


o v al u rns on erect stalks distin guished from Hypnum s
which they much resemble by t his peculiarity The
Many ow ered Leskea ( L polyantha) forms a pretty
covering for rocks or tree stumps bearing its myriad urns
,

M O SSES

1 O6

like ears O f corn over the surface of a eld The S il ky


Leskea ( L sericea P la te VI I I
1 ) is a beautiful
and common species We found it abundantly at E asby
The branches are crowded along the stem gen erall y
c ur ved
inwards ; the lance shaped pointed leaves are
pressed closely to the ste rn lapping over on e another ;
and the colour varies from deep olive green near to the
root to sheeny gold at the tips of the branches The
Reddish Leskea is still more beautiful its branches
broader and beautiful ly tinged with red Our specimen
is from Blair A thole ( L rufe scens)
The I ri sh Dalt onia ( D splachn oid es) is a minu te moss
with a roundish urn and beaked lid Like the Leskeas

it has the fruit stalk erect The Lateral cryphaea ( C


h et erom alla) a rare Scotch moss grows in a creepin g
manner and has the urns seated on the branches without
stalks There is a larger variety which grows submersed
in run ni ng water N either of these mosses grace our
collection
To procure t h e greater Water moss ( Fontinalis anti
l
a te
VI
r e tic a
we
sought
the
suitable
P
I
g
py
habitat a running stream Being then at Richmond we
thought Skeeby Beck a likely place and faced the tedium
o f a long walk on a d usty road to reach it
We were
well rewarded for our pains A large handsome moss
attached to stones its long stems borne forward by the
c urrent its dark
reen
leaves
broad
and
pointe
an d its
d
g
urns seated o n the stem half b uried in sepal like leaves
proved to be the species we sough t We drew handfuls
o f it from the str eam ndin g it beset with fresh water
mollusks and insects Af terwards we fo und it in streams
.

MO SSE S

I08

N eckera growing
,

trees

on

b ut

we have not found

either
The following spring when searchi ng those lovely
Swaledale woods we found a creeping moss with large
pale green glossy leaves and stems rooting every few
lines and so tender that it resem
bled a liverwort rather than a
moss In due time the branches
grew to an inch or two in length
and fruit stalks rose bearing
thick u rns with mitre shaped
4
veils ( Hook eria luceus P late
VI I I g
The deep green
1 A N O MO D ON 2 H OO KE RI A
3 g y p s um
4 F om mr ms Ho ok eria is generally fo un d in
drooping caves in warm climates as Ireland and Corn
wall
.

D rip ,

drip drip
I n that c ool an d shady c av e
F ro m th e basin in which th e m oss and fer n
Th eir cr um ple d e dge s lave
R oofe d by th e livi ng ro c k
That ar ch e s ov erhead
E v e r by n ight and ev er by day
Tri ckl e s that c rystal thr ead
E v e r in S umm er s h e at
E v er in Wi n te r s c old
E ver in Sprin g s yo u ng v erd u re
E v er in A u t umn s gold
rn
Wellin g u p fro m its secret u
P urlin g its wre ath of m oss an d fern
,

MO SSE S

11O

another made a beautiful carpet The common


Polyb o d y thrust its fronds through this cushi on and
luxuriated in its protection for its creeping roots It
reminded me of the old legend of the ferns and mosses
being at warfare when
one

fern love d th e m o un tain th e m oss lov e d th e m oor


F or th e fern s w ere th e ric h an d t h e m oss e s th e poor

T he

At this period each kept to its own local ity and the su n
scorched the mosses and dried the roots of the ferns
while the wind beat pitilessly u pon them but afi ction
brought both to their senses and they agreed to help one
another ; SO the tall ferns shielded the mosses from the
sun and t h e mosses protected the roots of the ferns from
the wind and kept them moist The Striated Feather
moss
striatum P la te VI I I
resembles)these
It is a very common moss covering tree roots and stumps
and twini ng among short grass giving a downy mat t o
e very rough woo dl and spot I have found it in Wiltshire
K en t Yorkshire and Herefordshire bearing abundant
urns in the winter months
We found the Wall Feather Moss ( H mur al e) growing
o n some rou h stones in an exposed part of the wood
i
t
g
is a delicate little moss with short roundish branches ;
its leaves are broad and pointed and the patches of it
were p al e green and shining
A still more deli c ate species the Creeping Feather
moss ( H serpens) grew on that same heap of stone ; it
has tiny spreading leaves and Oblong curved urns Our
attention was next arrested by a cushion of large bran ched
moss every leaf of wh ich seem ed as clean and bright
,

MO SSE S

11l

and glossy as if newly washed ; the erect stems were


simply branched the branches curved Slightly and th e
roundish closely overlapping leaves so arranged as to
make the branches round whil e the turned back points
the ur ns
of the leaves gave them a bristly appearance
were oval and placed at right angles with the foot stal k
There was such a puritanical appearance of propriety
about the whole plant or rather congregation of plants
that I rej oiced to know its name t o be the N eat Feather
moss ( H purum P late VI I g
Although it is a
very comm
on moss it is rarely found in fruit so that we
j ustly regarded it as a treasure
From early childhood I have lo v ed one moss in par
t ic ular and I be lieve that my taste in this respect is shared
by very many both of old and young I loved the
Tamarisk Feather moss ( H t am ariscinum P late VI I I g
while yet wholly ignorant of the nature of any plant
when I could not better describe my preference than by

saying There is on e moss I like and on e I don t like


The var ying colo ur of its foliage Shading from yellow
the rich luxuriance of its branches laid
t o myrtle green
on e over another like the feathers on the breast of a
bird the delicate arrangemen t of its myriad of tiny
leaves won my love then and keep it still whe n
hundr eds of moss beau ties might divide my allegiance
I fancy that this moss or some member of its family
closely resembling it is the on e of which G erard e speaks

as the Mosse ferne He says : There is likewise found


in the sh ad owie places of high mountains and at the
foote of old and rotten trees a certain kind of mosse in
face and Show not unl ike to that kind O f O ke ( oak) ferne
,

MO SSE S

1 12

alled Dryopteris It creepeth upon the ground having


divers long branches consistin g of many s mall leaves
e v ery particul ar leaf made up of sun dry little leaves set
upon a mid dl e rib one opposite to the other This moss
is very frequent in our woods but it is rare in fr uit I
ha v e found it with urns near Ross and beautiful specimens
from the neighbourhood of Carlisle
The Triangular leaved Feather moss was there too ( H
triquetrum P la te VI I I g it is famili ar to most people
as the moss generally used in packing Yo u buy it
in London dyed a coarse colo u r and you see it fastened
to paper owers to represent the calyx leaves
It is a
handsome moss its stems grow ve or six inch es high
and its triangular lea v es t urn back ; this moss also is
but rarely found in fruit our Silkwood plants however
bore abundant urns
Closely allied to this and nearly as abundant is the
Rambling Mountain Feather moss ( H loreum ) it is less
rigid in its habit and more slender its branches are
pinnate the branc hl ets drooping and the leaves are
small er and more crowded It is al so frequent in the
Swaledal e woods
We were about to leave the wood when I observed a
mat of what I imagined to be a dead moss the leave s
were arranged o n each side the stem so as to present a
at surface they were large and oval and much waved
and crisped in colour it resembled a Bog moss A great
number of chestnut coloured urns garnished the spare
interlacing branches these were dry havin g been ripe
in May and were furrowed
Marian assured me that
the whitish colour was as much a mark of the Waved
c

114

O SS ES

upon it ! The stems were several inches long and


i rregul arly branched and the foliage was dark coloured
oval and somewhat complanate The urns were thick
and had lids with long beaks
Upon the wet rocks
watered by the spray from the cascade another Hyperum
was grow ing and displaying its urns whi ch had als o
beaked lids The leaves were spreading the ste ms several
inches long beset with numerous slender branches it
was the Curled Feather moss ( H commutatum )
Afterwards w e foun d it on dripping rocks in the Clink
Bank wood near Richmon d and there it was coated with
lime which ltered from the rock In the higher p art
of the wood was a wide mat of a branched moss evidently
a Feather moss The stems were four or ve inches
long twice pinnate and closely beset with oval pointed
lossy
leaves
it
was
the
Shining
Feather
moss
g
splendens) and had urns upon it oval and with a beaked
lid It is n ot common in fruit
The Plumy Crested Feather moss I found afterwards
in a thi cket on the border of the Wil tshire Downs The
leaves are heart shaped en di ng in long points which
curl round the stems are pinnate the branches tapering
elegantly It is remarkably soft a velvety looking moss
its foliage a yell o w green ( H molluscum)
We have the Scorpion Feather moss ( H scorpioides)
with its long stems but slightly branched its lurid
twisted foliage and bent urn the N eat Mountain Feather
with its minute
moss ( H pul chella P la te VI I g
fresh green branchlets and nearly erect urn ; the Hook
l e aved species ( H hamulosum ) yellow in tint and
bran ched an d clusters and the Ostri ch Pl um e Feath er
,

'

O SS E S

115

moss ( H crista c astrensis) with its tru ly feather lik e


fronds from Blair Athole
There are a great number of species in thi s genus
but these serve for examples : new specimens will give
zest to new explorations
It is one of the great advantages in this group of
plants that they are in perfection when owers and
ferns have retired for the winter
As long as the
weather remains open mosses increase in beauty ; and
after a snow storm and many a cruel frost the relenting
breezes and soft rains of February soon succeed in reviving
them
A ll moss collectors should preserve several
specimens of each species which they are fortunat e
e nough to nd as now that the study of these plants is
so greatly on the increase they are sure ere long to
meet other collectors w ho are very glad to accept or
to exchange
No wonder that the study of mosses is becoming
pop ul ar for it is an insensible mind indeed which has
not taken pleasure in them from childhood To step
upon moss covered ground sends a thrill of delight to
many a heart the attention of which has never been
iven
for
a
moment
to
Monocotyledons
r Dicotyledo n s
o
g
o r Acotyledons ; and who is there that cannot call t o
mind the refreshment of t hr owmg themselves down
upon a moss bank such as Wordsworth describes 7
.

H ere

v ll e

t ra

And th ou

r, re st

h ee

for th e

sun

is

high

y I t is sw eet
T o nd at n oon a moorl and b ank lik e thi s
T o p ress its l u x u ry of moss an d bid
T h e h ou rs e et by on b u rni ng wing
art old an d

w ear

l 16

M O SS

ES

I remember n di ng a famous mathematician standing


rapt in delight while beholding a group of rocks covered
with moss and li chens and I have often seen
children dance for j oy at sight of a mossy hillock
,

Why h uld g nn ch
S u ch i G d g d w ill !
s

ree

oo

ess

arm

th e

eye

Surely while we a d mire this exquisite portion of God s


handiwork our hearts must break forth in the holy
song : Oh all ye green things upon earth bless ye the

Lord praise him and magnify him for ever


,

CHAP T E R XIV

M O SS

ALLI ES

Ah life I breathe th ee in th e breez e


I fee l thee b ou nding in m y ve in s
I see th ee in th ese stretching tre es
Th ese ow ers th ese stil l rocks m ossy
,

in s

sta

BR Y N T
A

HE RE

is a group of plants closely connected


with the mosses and often mistaken for them
called Liverworts ( Hepatic ae ) These plants
have either leafy branches or fronds seeds afx ed to
spiral threads and are propagated by buds as well as by
the seed One large family and four small ones are con
t ain e d in this Hepatic ae order
The true Liverworts
(Jungerm anniae) bear their seed in round or oval capsules
which burst into four valves when the seed is ripe t he
empty capsul es remaining like brown star s or crosses
upon the plant These capsules aresituated upon longer
or shorter footstalk s of such fair and delicate structure
as closely to resemble spun glass During the early stage
of formation the capsule is contained in a transparent
veil or wrapper situated on the stem and surrounded
by calyx leaves ; this veil opens after awhile and the
round head rises from it the footstalk lengthening day by
day till the val ves O pen and the see ds are emitted
,

O SS AL LI E S

ll9

The Liverworts are divided into two great families


l st Foliaceous Liverworts 2d Frondose Liverworts
The leafy or foliaceous Liverworts are again divided int o
those without stipul es and those with stipul es : the stipul e s
are rudimentary leaves situated between the true leave s
The rst time that my
o n the under part of the stem
attention was attr acted to the Liverworts I was wander
ing in Longleat Park and its adj acent woods It w as
early spring moist warm February weather
T he

mosses lay thi ck and verdan t at my feet the Swan


necked Thym e Thread moss with its forest of half formed
urns and the Tama risk Feather moss with its luxuriant
plume lik e foliage Among these entwined long deli cat e
branches with roundish transparen t leaves in exact rows
o n either side ; the stems were brittle
and I found it
needed great care to disentangle them from the c ompan
ion moss without snapping them off in short pieces the
leaves were pale green and shining and a pocket lens
showed them to be formed of a net work of cells ; an d
there w as no mid vein I felt sure that this could not
be a moss still less a fern ; but as I could nd no fruit
I had to wait to determine its order It was not till
after w ards that l ascertained it to be th e Asplenium lik e
Liverwort ( J aSplenoid es c ut 4
the largest and
commonest of the Leafy Jungerm anni ae In those sam e
woods but late r in the season I foun d a similar plant
studded with capsules some entire and puffed out with
the ripening seed and others already empty and standing
star like on the transparent footstalks I then recogni sed
in both the characteristics of the Liverworts
Winte r and early spring is the time for nding Liv e r
,

mo ss AL LI E S

20

worts their delicate structure shrivels up before the


heat of summer and the growing plants and grass e s hide
them from sight before the heat makes them invisible
In the Chase Wood near Ross these plants ourish in
perfection luxuriating alike on the red sands tone rock s
the moist banks or the tree roots In some parts of the
wood the ground is so st e ep that one is glad to st 0 p and
rest before climbing higher and then to examine the
treasures of the rocks at one s elbow is a natural recrea
tion Whil e thus engaged my eye fell on a number of
I gathered some
e xtremely slender dark green stems
and applied the lens My rst impression was that it
was a land Al ga but minute leafy pro mi nences on either
side the stems were rendered evident by the lens The
microscope showed them to be heart shap e d leaves
entirely clasping the stem w ith their broad leaves and
clin ging so close to it as almost to se e m one with it It
was the Heart leaved live rwort ( J cordifolia)
Other rocks offered a great variety of minute ow erless
plants for inspection the crop being so abundant that but
little of the warm colouring of the rock could be seen
beyond here and there a quartz pebble cropping out of
the red sand like plums from a cake The Asplenium
like species was there in its glory embracing mosses and
infant ferns ; and un der shelter of those comparative ly
large plants tiny Lichens lik e minikin pins and Liver
worts no taller than velvet pile grew in microscopic beauty
My lens reve al ed starry capsules and glassy threads upon
the green velvet so my kni fe was put in requisition to
procure a minute sod of the plant With the aid of a
small microscope I found my Liverwort fully branched
,

moss ALLI E S

1 22

anthus) Here the foliage is very pale and transparent


the leaves are roundish and placed close to one another
o n either side the stem
whi ch is roo ted at every few
lines to the moist bank Under the stem between each
pair of leaves is a fork shaped stipul e indicating its
position in the stipul e group The Double toothed liver
wort ( J bidentata
1 0 ) is nearly as common as the
Asplenium like species Its foliage is transpar e nt like the
o n e j ust described and its stems soft an d brittle but its
branches grow to a length of several inches interlacin g
among moss and its leaves are cut into two teeth The
veil and calyx are large and the footstalks long and
showy \Ve have found it in Wiltshire Yorkshire Kent
and Herefordshire The same rock which nourished the
Crescent Liverwort gave a home al so t o the Creeping
species (J reptans) To the naked eye this looks like a
starry cluster de licat ely branch e d but the lens reveals
e ve ry tiny leaf to be cut into thr ee po ints and arranged
side by side along the pinnate branches Here al so the
capsules were abundant
Above upon the rock hung large branches with
crumpled leaves overlapping one another, two lobed
and the smaller lobes turned inwards round stipules oc cu
i
n
i
the
space
between
the
lobes
and
mak
ng
the
py g
branches look like green chenill e T hese branches were
placed on e over another like tiles and gave refuge to
numerous spiders wood lice and sparrow shells
This
species is a very common on e ( J platyphylla ) Am ong
scattered trees borderin g one of our Yorkshire moors
upon ground oozy to the tread we gathered the fringed
so call e d be cause of the
Live rwort (J ciliaris
hair like segments into which the leaf was cut
The
.

M O SS

ALLI E S

1 23

verdure of the mossy cushion attracted me and it was


not till I had it in my hand that we saw it was a liver
wort There also forming soft green cushions at t he
tre e roots was the Thyme leaved liverwort (J serpyll i
foli a
its leaves placed in two even rows and its
general habit resembling the Asplenium like species but
much smaller and unmistakeably distinguished by the
small indented stipules under the stem The neigh
b ourhood of Hawkhurs t in Kent rst furni sh e d us with
the Spreading Liverwort (J dilatata) ; E dward found it
growing in crimson patches on the bark of trees and
co ul d only secure specimens by tak ing off a slice of the
bark It resembles the Complanate species in its broad
overlapping leaves but is distinguished by its toothed
stipules The colour of the foliage is not a sufcient
distinction for that of J complanata is sometimes
tinged wi th crimson Upon clay banks in that di strict
he also found two mi nute species the Downy (J pusilla
d
s
ng
u
i
hed
by
its
very
large
veils
and
bluntly
i
t
i
s
g
toothed foliage ; and the Inated (J in ata
1 1)
with short branches and doubly toothed leaves
N either of these have stip ules so they belong to the
former group
2) stands rst in
T he E arth Liverwort ( J pin gui s
the Frondosa famil y We found it growing freely in the
A s ke Wood s and on the Clink Bank near Richmond
The fronds are cut into lobes often shaded wi th purpl e
to wards the centre The leaf
lik e Liverwort ( J epiphyll a
i
n g on damp garden walks
is
very
common
grow
3
g )
and pots as well as in moist woods and lanes I have
,

mo ss ALLI E S

1 24

athered
it
with
i
t
s
round
capsu
es
in
abundance
in
York
l
g
s hir e Kent and Herefordshire
The Many ngere d
species (J multid a) is also found in the Chase wood
along with the pre ceding on e It is distinguish e d by
having the frond deeply and frequently cut Bil ly Bank
wood fur nished us o ur rst specimens of the Forked and
In
Dow ny Liver w orts (J furc ata and pubescens g
eneral
form
they
their
fronds
strap
are nearly alike
g
shaped and branched their capsules small standing on a
short thick footstalk and proceeding from a hairy veil
The princip al d iff erence is in the one species bein g smooth
and the other covered w ith down They grow in dense
m asses at the roots of trees the fron d s being then nearly
upright and interlacing or upon the bole of trees when
the fronds adh ere closely to the bark and the whole
plant looks like a sil ky covering
Such is the natural arrangement of the true liverworts
simple and easy of observation and attractive from the
e xquisit e neness and delicacy of the members
Another family in the Hepatica order is that of the
M erchantia
Here the foliag e is frondose and p al pably
c ellul ar the fr o
nds attaching themselves by roots to the
ground
The fructication is contained in vessels
placed under a round covering whi ch is raised on a
long footstalk and cut into numerous segments
Children c al l these heads of fructicat ion
little

umbrellas
The Variable Marchantia I rst found in
fruit by the side of a mill dam at Vallis in Somerset
shire but I have since seen it in much greater beauty
in the charcoal pits in Herefordshire The year after the
-

1 26

O SS ALLI E S

su mm er These capsules occur in


they furni sh an article of food
Macpherson and Lyons lived for some time upon a pint
It is prepared by po unding and then
o f N ardoo a day
making into dough cakes The plants of this group are
not kn own in E urope
.

S E AWEE DS

1 28

With this end in view we gave our selves up to the


enj oyment of the beautiful scenery along the Lakes
Katrine and Lomond and through the magni cent
Pass of Glencoe and we only began the business of our
tour when we were quietly ensconced in lodgings at
Oban
It was low tide when we took our rst ramble on the
shore the sea was as still as an inland lak e which indeed
it there very clos ely resembles the two horns of the bay
seeming also to touch the extreme p oints of the long
island of Kerrera which lies opposite to the town Heaps
o f waste of every shade of olive lay upon the sands and
,

I t w as our

A s w e stroll e d

S u ch bj ct
o

cc u p ation

s as

to

l ng

a o

b serve

ves h ad

th e w a

t osse

hore

as

Tangl e or w eed s of vari ou s h u es an d forms


E ach o n th e oth er h e ap e d al ong th e lin e
O f th e d ry w rack
,

The curled fronds of the Tangle w hi ch fringed the


margin of the water rose and fell lazily as the slight
motion of the wave s stirred them and the Star sh lay at
ease among the stones to whi ch the weeds were attach e d

I pointed to the heaps of rub bish


There lies our

rst lesson I said


let us sit down on the shi ngle and
carefully examine each weed in that black ridge
The whole mass was of an olive colo ur though the
branches that composed it were of varied form and shade
By this I knew that all the w e eds belonged to the rst
r
e at di vision on e of the charact e ristics of which is the
g
olive colour In the Algae colour forms a permanent
-

S E AWEE DS

1 29

distinction and the whole family including both t he


denizens of the sea and of fresh water are ranged in
three divisions : the r st olive in colour with seeds or
s or es also olive and a secondary f orm of fruc t ic at ion
p
called a ntherzd za containing orange bodies which when
seen under the microscope exhibit lively motion as if of
animal life The second di vision are r ed weeds They
have fruit of t wo kin ds each on e on di ff erent plants ;
the one called sp or es is contained in cases dispersed
thr ough the substances of the weed ; the other call ed
tetraspores is often external The third division c on
tains as a rule gr een weeds though there are som e
e xceptions in favo ur of p ur ple
The sp or es are often
e ndowed with motion and the vesic les or second a
r y form
o f fruit are external
Some of these green weeds belong
to the sea,but many inhabit freshwater In size Al gae
vary from simple microscopic cells to branched woody
plants many fathoms in length The structure of them
all is very si m
ple consisting of roundish cells either
adhering rml y to each other or connected by transparent
gelatine
The rst heap we exami ned was in a great measure
compo sed of the blackish strap
shaped fronds of the Sea oak
These were branched and thick
ened at intervals of less than an
inch with bladder like air vessels
The whole plant looked like
strips of thick dark leather This
is the rst British member of the
2 S A R G A SS U M
1 H A LI DR Y S
Ohv e fam i ly or M e lanosp erm ce
,

'

S E AW EE DS

13O

I ts

botanical name is Halidrys sili quosa ( P late

The
wee ds ( Sargassum
8 ) precede the Sea
oak in ord er but although they are occasionally washed
upon our shores they are not really natives They are
well known to sail ors as oating in enormous masses in
the N orth Atlantic Ocean Columbus was in d e spair
when he encountered one of these banks of weed and
se e ing the ship so seriously obstructed by it he believed
for a time that G od had frustrated his undertakin g
The Gulf weed is branched and leafy and beset with
stalk e d air vessels which look like berries
E dward described a weed which he had found in
abundance on the coast of Cornwall It had air vess els
like b erries only th e y occur re d in the subst anc e s of th e
stalk which was thus made to res e mble stri ngs of beads
and little branches springing from t h e sid e of these
vessels and bearing narrow at spin es not unlik e j uniper
leaves in form T he disposition of the air vessels proved
it to belong to the famil y of Cysto seira the name of
which is tak e n from t w o Greek words signifying bla dd er
and c ha in and the at pointed pinn ul e s or br es di s
t inguish it as the species F ibr osa ( P la te
g
Harvey stat e s that this species is not found in Scotland
Indeed it is rare to meet with any Cyst oseira there
We were lucky therefore to have a specim e n from Corn
wall for our collection
There is a Heath like Cysto se ira found on the south
coast of E ngland which bears a great resemblance t o t he

plant from which it is named a Granulated species and


a F enn el like sp ecies
Gulf

S E AWEE DS

132

land The duty has since been taken off foreign barilla
which is better adapted than kelp for glass making & c
and now the principal use of the sea weed ashes is for t he
production of iodin e The properties of iodine were rst
ascertained by Gay Lussac and Davy about 1 8 1 5
Iodine exists in sea water and in sea mollusks and weeds
In the chemi cal process for obtaining it it is discharged
from t h e kelp in a v iolet vapour which is received into
glass bal e e ns placed for the purpose where it becomes
condensed into a solid black crystalli ne body It is a
most valuable medicine in scrofula and all swellings and
is of great use in photography Martin Tupp er alludes
to the medicinal property when he says
.

oating on th e w aves or roll e d u p high al ong th e shore


Y e c ou nte d vil e an d u se l e ss h eaping on it n am es of c o ntem p t
Y et h at h it gl ori o u sly t ri um ph e d and man b ee n h umbl e d in his
ign oranc e
F or h eal t h is in th e fre shn e ss of its sav our and it c um b ereth th e
b each w i th wealth
C om forting th e tossing s of p ain w ith its viol et ting e d essenc e
And by its h umbl e ash es enriching many p rou d

T he

sea- w ort

'

T he

waste left by the io di ne is excellent for manure


an d
the w eeds are gathered in quantiti e s to stre w
upon the land in th e ir simple state
Their valu e
is so well understood in the Isle of Arran that the factor
of the Duke of Hamilton allots a portion of the shore to
e ach person farm ing the adj acent land and they carry
the weed inl and for manure ; and also in seasons of
scarcity for food for the sheep and cattle The F vesi
c ulosus is called Swine tang in G ot hlan d and pigs are
,

S EAW EE DS

133

fed principally upon it


Inglis in his work on the

Channel Islands gives a most interesting picture of


the sea weed harvest in Jersey On the l 0 th of March
and on the 2oth of July all the inhabitants repair to the
shore with such vehicles as they can press into their ser
vice and they gather the weed in great quantities Some
they dry and use for fuel and the remainder is laid upon
the land as man ure It suits potatoe land remarkably
well and on this account is eagerly seized upon in Ire
lan d where it is carried at least fteen miles inland The
Icelanders cook several of these olive weeds as food and in
Borneo there are some species entirely soluble from which
a strong j elly is formed and exported to China The
Fuci grow with wonderful rapidity : the Carr rock in the
Frith of Forth was clear in N ovember and in the May
following there was a dense crop of Fuci upon it some of
the plants six feet in length !
The Fucus order contains one more family the sole
British representative of which the Sea thong was not
present in the heaps we were examining Its peculiarity
is that it grows rst in the form of a top and from that
long strap shaped fork fronds shoot out which merely
live to ripen the seed and then fall off E dward got a
ne specimen last February on the Coast of Cornwall
.

n
i
orea P late I
H
i
m
t
h
a
l
a
L
a
(

g
Leavin g the dry weed on the shore we repaired to the
margin of the water and disregarding the danger of wet
feet we took our station on some low rocks covered with
Fuci at the foot of which noble fronds of the Sweet
Tangle were idly waving in the calm tide Here were
specimens of the second order of Algae the Laminariae
,

S E AW EE DS

134

olive weeds bearing the spores in patch es upon the


fronds
A frond with a mid rib which w e dr e w from the
water proved to be the E di ble Alaria (A esculenta P la te
I g
it grew upon a stem the main frond be ing a
c ontinuation of t he short stem w h ile smaller fronds grew
like;wings from eith e r sid e of the stem it was formerly
much us e d as an article of food Gigantic tongue shaped
fronds six fe et in length with curled edges and the middle
puckered were oating in e very direction These w e re
Sweet Tangl e s ( Laminaria Sac c harin a P la te I I g
sometim e s called Sugar Sea belt This and many other
sp e ci e s contains M a zm ite a sweet nutritious substance
resembling sugar it is constantly eaten in Iceland and in
Jap an it is reckon e d a great d e licacy
The nger Laminaria ( L di gitata P late I g 6 ) w as
also th e re
its fronds are divided into segm e nts lik e
i
antic
ngers
the
substance
is
so
tough
that
we
tried
gg
in vain to tear it and after pul ling with our u nite d
s t rength
at on e enormous frond for some time it
suddenly came from its moorings but brought with it a
large stone which the bres of its root had rml y clasped
T h e st e m w as ornamented with delicate white zoophytes
and glazed patches of red brown which pro ved to be a
minute sea weed The white net work spreading over
both stem and frond was but t he forsaken home of a
zo ophyte but living zoophytes of ir idescent hues
often found on such weeds as d e scribed by Crabbe
.

Whil th u
e

i h ple asing w onder yo u in sp e c t


v ulg ar in t h e i r sc orn re e c t
j

w t

T reasure s th e

S E AWE E DS

136

E dward found a member of this order in Cornwall which


,

is call ed after Desm arest the French botanist ; it is a


pretty slender plant with tufts of green hairs along its
taperi ng fronds ( D e smarestia Aculeata) There are two
other species of the same family but we found neither
In the same order there is a Sporochnus and
o f them
a Carpomitra but both are rare even in the south of
E ngland
.

S E AW EE DS

138

The Sea E ndive ( Haliseris) was once:giv en to me from


the coast of Devon it resembles the Dictyota but has a
distinctly marked mid rib
The Cutleria a southern species named after Mrs
Cutl e r var i e s from these by the tips of the branches
bein g repeatedly torn
The most attracti v e member of the order is the Pea
cock we e d ( Padina pavonea P late I I
it is an
annu al peculiar t o Jersey and t he south of E ngland
Wh e n my co usin was staying at Lyme Regis th e re were
some rock pools which she call e d her gard e n and here
the Peacock weed grew in abundance The fronds are
fan shaped from on e and a half to four inches hi gh
cove red with do w n and zoned with shades of brown and
r e en
g
The Ta e nia als o named in allusion to a peacock has
a frond torn into ngers whi ch grow broad e r towards
t he end so that the whole frond has a som e what fan
shaped form
It is marked with waved lines which
have a r elationship to the zones of the last named species
T
The
fr
t
is
i
n
clusters
upon
the
surface
at o m aria
u
i
(
)
o f the frond
The Pun c tarias have tongue shaped fronds and the
fruit is scattered all over them like dot s hen ce the nam e
The P latifolia is olive green and grows be tw e en tide
marks on the south coast The P plantaginea is more
on stones
enerally
used
it
is
dark
brown
and
rows
d
i
f
f
g
g
or on larger alg ae The P t e n nissim a is d elicate and
pale very transpar ent and living as a parasite on zostera
I have had specimens sent to me from Jers ey
The next family that of the A speroc oc cus differs in the
,

S E AW EE DS

139

fronds being tubular instead of at T he clusters of


spore cases are mixed with l aments hen ce the nam e
which means r ough seed The Compr e ssed A speroc oc c us
is occ as ionall y thro wn upon the coast of D e von Turn er s
As pe rococ c us is found on stones on muddy shor e s and
the Prickl y species is also native to the Devonshir e rocks
The order of Chord ariac e ae contains but a few humbl e
weeds some parasitical some m e re incrustations We
found one of the most important members of t he ord e r
growing
the Chord aria Flagelliformis ( P la te I I g
o n stones on the shore at Oban ; it resembles the Dic
t yosipho n F oenicul ac c us when its bres are worn O H
The Chord aria Divaricata has v e ry irregularly divid e d
branches sometim e s two feet long ; it lives in deep
.

vvat er

T h e M esogloias

have also much divided thread shaped


fronds M vermicularis is pretty frequ e nt on our shor e s
in su mmer the branches are thicker in proportion to
their length th an in the allie d we e ds and are slimy to
the touch
The L e athe sia tub eriformis we di d n ot n d till after
wards like an empty grape sk in ; it was lying amon g
rocks at Ar ran its globular form
makes
a
strong
contrast

with its a lli es It is named after Mr L e at hes a dis


t in guishe d naturalist
The Ralfsia is a mere incrustation a mari ne lichen
named after Ralfs the botanist dark brown in colour
and tough in texture
A quantity of coars e olive we e d w hi ch we dre w from
the sea at low water furnished us with specimens of the
minute E lachist cas The fronds in this family consist
-

S E AW EE DS

1 40

a tuft of simple threads growing from a little knob


The Fucus Vesc icularus was covered for inches with such
tufts they are called from the plant that nourishes them
E lachist e a F ucic ola the generic nam e meaning least
Other species are found on the Cyst oseira Fibrosa and
He mant halia Sorea etc
The Myrionem as the last family of the order are
formed of numerous erect threads so small as to need a
microscope to distinguish them The whole plant forms
a mere dot and is found on red and green weeds
The last order of the olive weeds the E ctocarp ace ae
contains a number of elegant plants some simply
branched and some most copiously divided and coloured
in every shade of olive and green : but it was n ot at
Oban that we made the acquaintance of this family
We had passed on to Arran and achieved what we
had been assured was an impossibility viz the procur ing
o f lodgings at Bro di ck Bay
The Duke of Hamil ton
whose castle stands on the left of the said bay dis
cour ages summer v isitors and will not allow his tenants
to enlarge their houses for the ir reception But we cared
for no luxuries and were well contented with mere
cottage accommodation cleanliness being our onl y sine
o

'

ua n on

How exquisite w as the moonlight view over the frown


ing mountains peaceful bay and silver sea beyond ! It

was just the scene to suggest the Seaweed dream


,

lk e d one night in dr eam s on th e shore


And h eard th e m ighty b reak ers roar
Y et am id th e din t h ere w as b orn e al ong
A sy re n sou nd th e sea w ee d s song
I

wa

S E AWEE DS

1 42

sea uttered its solemn response appealing most touch

ingly to all that have breath to Praise the Lord


The rst forenoon after our arrival found us on the
rocks below the castle d iligently seeking weeds At
rst we but pi c ked up an occasional n e w on e o ut of the
clear pools but after a time we came upon a little plain
o f sand among the red rocks where e bbing wav e s had
d eposit e d a p erfect carpet of sea waste These were

surely t he weeds that had call ed themselves lost in


their son g and so the gre ater part of them remained for
it was but a small portion that we could re scue from

?
oblivi on Yet what is lost
It is a good saying
That is n ot lost which a frie nd gets ; and so the weeds
which went to enrich the neighbourin g corn elds were
but little to be pitied
First w e seized upon a stiff shrubby we e d which gave

us great trouble in drying ; oating out it wholly


disregarded and we only overcame it at l as t by putting
it between strong p aper with a large stone on the t op of
it The branches w e re dark olive brown and woody
and adorned at each line with a little tuft or whorl of
forked threads T h is was the Whorled Clad ost ephus
l
a
I
I
P
t
e
(
g
N ear it lay a similar weed with more clumsy but
softer branches the thread like foliage being longer and
crowded all over the bran ch e s On closely examining it
the threads seemed quite simple ; its appearance agre e d
with Harv ey s description of the Spongy Clad ostephus
Thus w e w e re in poss e ssion of both the British m e mbers
o f the rst family o f E c t o c ar ac eoe
p
A n other dark weed lay among that mass of w reck its
,

S E AWE E DS

1 43

numerous to the unassisted eye simple branches were


straight and arose from the same point in the mai n
stem thus forming a large tuft an inch long and nearly
as broad ; and lowe r down on the stem other such tufts
were planted this peculiari ty of form enabled 11 s t o
identify our little we e d as the Broom like Sph ac e laria
P
a
member
of
the
family
succeeding
t
e
l
a
(
that of Clad ostephus and distinguished from it by t he
little branches or threads b e ing pinnate as the lens re
vealed those on our weed to be in a doubl e degree
Pretty tufts of dark brown were lying there with
feathered branches about an inch in l ength which made
beautiful pictures when oated out these were plants of
the Feathery Splac elaria ( P la te I I
E dward had found the Desmar e stia Aculeata in Corn
wall the prec e ding F ebruary beset with delicate olive
tufts but a fe w lin es long the minute branches simpl e in
form but r evealed to be pin nate that is with a row o f
threads on e ach side when seen through a magnifyin g
l e nse These we re plants of the hairy Sphacelaria
S Sertularia Fusca Radicans and Racemosa did not
come in our way
One more weed reward e d our search that day It was
olive brown and much entangl e d The sl e nd e r branches
were so interwove n that we could not dis e ntangle them
even when th ey were oated in luk ewarm water This was
surely the Woolly E ctocarpus ( E t om ent osus) and it had a
decided similarity to the d e li c ate slend e r branches which
we had gathere d off the tangles at Oban These we
now oated out and found that we had two spe 0 1 es both
ve ry el e gant in form the on e a little more robust more
,

l 44

S E AWEE DS

ntangled and less green than the other


The long
slender branches looked l ike a l my cloud in the water
but made a beautiful obj ect on paper The greener one
we fancied was E silicul osus but as the lens revealed
none of the pod like fr uit we coul d not be sure whether
it w as that species or the E litoralis ( P late I I g
Fortunately Dr Landsborough gives an ordeal by which
these closely all ied species may be di stinguished not
that of re nor of red hot ploughshares but of boiling
water a plunge into which turns the E litorali s bright
green Thus we decided that the coarser plant was the
E litoralis and the frail elegant olive green branches
w e re E sil iculosus There are many other species in
this family some w ith more simple branches paler and of
small e r size but we were content with our representati ves
for a beginning Of the Myriotrichias with their densely
crowded branched hairs we did not meet with a singl e
specimen they both are mere parasites living on Chorda
and are but a few lines in size
e

CHAPT E R XVII
S E AW EE DS

oor is of sand lik e th e moun tain d rift


And th e p earl shells sp angl e th e in ty snow
From c oral rock s th e sea plan ts lift
Th e i r b ou gh s w h ere th e tides and bil l ow s ow
T he

T h e w ate r is

calm an d st ill b elow

F or th e w inds

an d

ves are abse nt th

th e w a

ere

And th e sand s are bright as th e stars th at gl ow


I n th e motionl ess el d s of t h e u pp e r air
.

Th ere w i th

its w aving

bl ad e of gree n
T h e sea ag stream s thro th e sil en t w at er
And th e c ri mson leaf of th e d ulse is seen
T o bl u sh lik e a b an n er b ath e d in sl au gh te r
,

PE RC I VA L

E A UT IFU L as

are many of the delicately formed


olive sea weeds they bec ome tame in our eyes
when contrasted with the succeeding class that
Al though red is their prevailing colour
o f the red weeds
yet they vary to black purplish or brown and their
form and t e xture present en dl ess variety N ow we have
branches of the most complex and delicate workmanship
and now simple expanded fronds or perfect crimson
leaves Sometimes the texture is so delicate as to tear
with the touch o f a cam el hair pencil ; sometimes it is
-

S E AW EE DS

1 46

tough and leathery and sometim e s quite stony with a


coat of lime
In search of any members of this group which t he
waves m ight wash to our feet we set o early one morn
ing to walk from Brodick to Corri e a shin g hamlet on
the shore som e thre e miles to the north We passed
quickly by the red rocks in the Castle Bay because w e
had previously examined them ; and we di d not begin
our se arch till we reached some similar rocks of red sand
stone midway to Corrie where a vast congre gation of
gulls s e emed to be taking their mornin g meal ; and at
They
t h e same time di scussing the a airs of t h e nation
took to the water at our approach still uttering their
sharp cries as they rod e indol e ntly upon the white crested
waves They had cause for annoyance for the rocks
from whence we had scare d th e m were covered with peri
winkl e s musse ls and other small sh ell sh ; and the
heaps of empty and broken shells showed that the gulls
were adepts at op e ning their ow n bivalves they had no
need of an oyster knif e
Amongst these rocks also we found a great quantity
o f sea waste
coveri n g the mini ature plains as w ith a
thick carpet and we coul d have lled our vascul um with
Sphac elari a and Clad ost ephus We di d stow away some
pretty gre e n weed for future examination ; but we re
ec t e d the olive and k e pt our att e ntion for the re d
j
Leafy fron ds not v e ry unlike a Fucus only bluntly
toothed at the margin and o f a dark re d inste ad of olive
green were there and we recognized in th e m specimens
o f that ess e ntially north e rn w e e d
Od e nt halia d e ntata
,

S EAWEE DS

1 48

from t wo Gre e k words signi fying ma ny tubes the


branches of the genus being tubular ( P e longata P late
,

g
An all ied species of small e r size harder texture and
darker hue lying among the rubbish prove d t o be P
nigrescens ; and we found the w i ry branches of P
fastigiata growing in abundant tufts on the stems and air
vessels of Fucus nodosus This last species was of a
blackish brown colour
There are numerous species of Polysiphoni a but these
were all we met with on thi s occasion
One little morsel of the beautiful Dasya coc cinea
Its name
( P la te I I g 4 ) crowned our search
means ha iry and r ed and the main stem thread lik e
and clothed with hair like branches fringed with the
slenderest points j ustify the name There are thre e other
Dasyas on e the D venusta very rare ; the oth e rs fre
quently found Thi s family is the last in the order of

II

Rhod om elac ae e

In the next order that of the Lauren ciac eae the


colour is bright red occasionally varying to pink or
purpl e The rst family is named after the French
natur alist B ournem aison and contains onl y one British
species a beautiful plant with regularly arranged taper
ing asparagus like branches
The true Laurencias have thickish fronds some round
some attened the L pinn atid a we found un d er larger
sea weeds growin g as min ute brushwood on th e sides of
the rock they were of a d ark pur plish crimson pinnate
and toothed ; we did not nd the Tufted or the Blunt
L aure n c ia
,

S E AW EE DS

1 49

N either had we the good fortune to nd specimens

of

either of the Clav ellosas pretty weeds of a delicate pink


hue and watery textur e Their nam e is in allusion to
the golden hue the plants assume when steeped in fr esh
water

Of the weed whi ch we used to call Crab s claws we


found plenty both washed on to the shore and growing
in tide pools ( Chylocladia artic ul ata P late I I g
It has a thick round branched frond drawn in to a very
small size every few lin es so as to represent j oints or art icu
lat ions
It was v e ry d ifcul t to press for it woul d not
lie as we wished it and if we pressed it too much we
crushed it E dward found very large specimens of this
on the Cornish coast last February and al so of the oval
species ( C oval is ) where oval l e aves are attached to a
thi ckened ste m
He got the C k aliform is al so ; it is
e
e
elatinous
and

shy
lik
the
ar
iculated
species
but
t
the
g
stem is not tied in as if j ointed
There are two other
species which we have neither of us found
Leaving these rocks we pursued our way towards Corrie
by the road which lay between the shore and a strip of
mars hy ground bord ered inland by anoth er line of rocks
Upon this marsh belated owers of the Pale Butterwort
were still blooming amid masses of the Slender Bog
,

'

me ss

The rocks forming the shore at Corrie are higher than


those at Brodick and the rock pools are larger and
de eper Many of these were carpete d with the common
Coralline which was viol et coloured in the deepest pools
and varying from pale lilac to cream white in the
shallow one s The stony coati ng of these Corallin es
,

S E A W EE DS

150

induced naturalists to plac e th e m among zoophytes for a


long time and it has been only re c e ntly discovered that
when the lim e is cleared away by acid a vegetable strue
tur e is found beneath
The delicate thread
like fronds of the red Jania ( P late
parasite on a withered mors el o f Rhod om ela
I I g
were lyin g high and dry among waste slender as these
much forked branches are they are coat e d with lime
and of rm texture ( Jani a rubens)
We were not astonished to nd N ull ipores on that
coast but it is always difcult to me to realiz e that the
clumsy coral like branches of the Melob esia polymorpha
belong to the vegetable kingdom Such is how e ver the
cas e and we were glad to place the N ullipore in question
among our collection of Algae There are other species
of M e lob esia some growing o n rocks in deep wat e r oth e rs
incrusting sh ell s etc and some so small as to form mere
lichen like patch es on sea we e ds The importance of this
group is considerable w e are told by Dr Landsborough
that t h e mortar used in the building of the Cathedral
of Iona was formed o f c al cined shells an d a great quantity
o f th e fragm e nts of the white cor al which abounds upon

the shore of the island he fur th e r adds that it is e asier to


break the stones than the cement He al so give s a very
intere sting account of the bivalve Lima who havin g the
same taste as St Col umba builds himself a hous e binding
togeth er morsels of N ullipore with a cordage of his own
manuf act uri ng and h ere he live s in safety among neigh
bours from whose v e racity his slende r shell would afford
but scant protection
The Hild e nb rentia is a crustaceo us weed like a dull
,

S E A W EE DS

1 52

which are di vided into forked lobe s and often edged


with a fringe of tiny notches N pun ctatum grows to
a large size in Ireland being sometim e s three feet bro ad
Dr Landsborough proposes it as a mantle for mermaids
O nl y the pretty and familiar Plocamium coccineum
was
now
P
l
ate
I
I
(
wanting to complete our D eles
seria order and the coast of
Arran a ord ed ius a nice speci
men and others were added
afterwards at Ardr ossan This
weed is the onl y one of the
order with a thre ad shaped
frond and it is plentift
T WO x m ns or F R U I T or
PL O C A M I U M
branched and e ach branch is se t
with abundance of alternate threads The branches and
threads are attened which makes this plant very easy
to spread and its beautiful rosy hue and elegant form
m ake it ve ry desirable for collections and sea wee d
pictures
Its name signies inter twined hair suitable
because of the interlacing branches Form erly this weed
used to be so eagerly sought for as article of sal e for the
above mentioned pictures that many poor people on t he
coast gained their living by collecting it Certainl y this
family might appropriately use the lin e s of the poet
,

'

Oh

c all us n ot w ee d s w e are ow ers of th e sea


F or l ove ly an d gay and b righ t
tinte d are w e
O ur bl u sh is as b righ t as th e rose of thy b ow e rs
So call us n ot w eed s w e are o c ean s gay ow e rs
And gay are our h omes n eath th e d eep rolling w aves
Whe re w e bl oom m id th e rock s and the c oral forme d c aves
,

S EAWEE DS

1 53

id e d by cul ture su ch b right forms h ave bi rth


A s vainly yo u d see k mid th e g ard e n s of e arth
N0 t n u rsed lik e t h e pl ants of a summ er p arterre
Wh ere th e w inds are b ut sighs of th e evening air
O ur e x q
u isite fragile and d e licate form s
A re reare d by th e oc ean an d rock ed by th e storms
There

una

CHAPTE R XVIII
S E AW EE DS

vi l

nd s b e neat h
H ow th e gl ori ou s sh ell s d o glid e !
se a ! old se a ! w h o yet kn o ws h alf
O f thy w ond rs and t hy p rid e

Se e

on

th e

o e t sa

plants tre mbling oat


All lik e a m ermaid s lock s
Waving in thread o f ru by re d
Over t h ose n eth er rock s

L kh
oo

ow

th e

sea

H eaving and sinking soft an d fai r


H e re hy acin th the re g re e n
,

W i th

m ny

grow th
And starry ow e rs b et w e e n
a

a st e

of

go ld e n

H EN we began our Highland tour we agre e d


not to mind the rain a wetting in the High
lands do e s no on e any harm We had found
great peace of min d in this assurance Thus when w e
set out at Arran for a coast rambl e and found that the
clouds which had hung all the form er day over the hills
had d e termin e d to e mpty themselves to
day we still
were re solved not to mind
But surely th ere is no
rain lik e Arran rain ! A steady breeze was blowing and

the rain cam e with it not gradually but all at once a


trem e ndous pour ! We sh elte red behind rocks but the
,

S E AW EE DS

155

w i nd took t he troubl e to s w eep round t h e m and bring


rain enough to dre nch us in a quart e r of an ho ur We
w e re thoroughly beaten and obliged to drag our drippin g
pe rsons hom e where we were met by o ur kin d helpful
hoste ss with much friendl y sympathy In answer to
my explanation of we staid awhil e hoping the rain

would cease sh e repli e d wit h the usual Arran rej oinder

and then assured us that vie must


Just that Mem
make up o ur mind to stay within doors for that when once
it began to rain in Arran it seld om e d faired that d ay
So we were compell ed to resign ourselves to our fate
and after exchanging the wet sui t on our b acks for the
dry suit in our carpet bags we applied ourselves to
S preadi ng and arrangin g the weeds in our possession
Al as the morrow was little more promising but in the
afternoon we made another attempt t o get to t h e rocks
The rain had al most ceased and the high wind was fast
d rying t he roads This time w e turned southwards tak ing
the coast towards Lamlash We each devoted ourselves to
favou rit e pools and were far s eparated when a sudde n gust
whisked off my hat at the same mom e nt tearing away
the comb round whi ch my hair w as coil e d and blinding
me with my o wn mermaid locks ; b e fore I could even
call to my companions my c onfusion was augmente d by
another freak of the wind whi ch lifted up my cloak and
wrapped it round my head blowing hard enough the
while to threaten m e with an entire ove rturn As a
caution against this impending danger I sat down then
n der the hood
unf olded the head imprisoning my hair u
of my cloak after a long s e arch I found that my comb
had re t urned to its native el e ment and was nestlin g
,

l 56

S EAWEE DS

among branching we e ds in a tide pool I reclaimed it


and once more conquered by Arran weather I signall e d
to E dward to come to h elp me home this was no e asy
matter for the wind was becoming unmanageable and
my companions were so convuls ed with laughter at the
plight I had been in that they were no assistance to
me at all This was o ur last excursion in that lovely
island and its reward w as but a green weed or two of
which more anon
The sands between Ardrossan and Saltcoats and even
the rocks fertile as they were looked very dull and
prosaic aft e r the ever varying beauty of Arran but our
tim e was up ; a day at A rdrossan and a few days in
E dinburgh and our tour must end
U pon stretches of sand among these rocks we found
heaps of sea we e d lying blown thither by the breeze o f
esterd a fw hich might have blown me thi ther also
We
y
y
eagerly [
seized some large red le afy fronds of strong
leathery texture and very variable form
It was
m
i
n
l
f
enera
ly
gro
ing
tufts
on
uproot
d
stems
La
w
i
n
e
o
g
aria Digitata and was sometimes club
shaped and some
tim e s split into forks or ngers This is what the Scotch
call D ul se ( P late XI I
and as such was formerly
sold in the markets and eaten either raw or cooked
Cattle are very fond of it and seek it out eagerly wh e n
they can get to the shore ; indeed I have read that shee p
have often be en lost by going to o far out to seek it and
it was h ence calle d Sheep s Dulse Dulse in Ga elic means
leaf of the w a ter
it was formerly dried and chewed as
tobacco ( Rhodymeni a palmata) This plant belongs to
the fa mily which gives the nam e to the eleventh orde r of
-

S E AW EE DS

158

The rare G ratelo upia named after a French naturalist


I have never found
T he Gelidium c art ilagin eum w as sent to me from
Jersey It is pal e and much branched I ts branch e s are
too strong and rm to b e come e ntangled : and the at
1 nn at e branches of the very similar
l
e
idium
corneum
p
g
were h e re upon th e Ardrossan shore
A sp e ci e s of G eli dium is said to be the plant chosen by
the swallows of Japan for building their famous edibl e

nests which form an extensiv e article of commerce with


China B urnett tells us that in his tim e 23 0 to 29 0
worth of these n e sts were commonl y e xporte d from t he
Indian Arc h ipelago and w e re sold in China at t he rate of
The collecting of th e se plants according
5 1 8 s per lb
to Mr Crawford is as p e ril ous as our samphire gath e ring
used to be they are found in damp caves and are more
esteemed if taken before the b irds hav e laid their e ggs
Th ey are collected twice in t he year
Some of the
caverns can only b e approached by a perpendicul ar
descent of many hundred fe et by ladd e rs of bambo o and
rattan ov er a sea rolling violently When the mouth of
the cavern i s attained t he perilous ofce of seeking the
nests must ofte n be performed by torchlight and as you
penetrate far into the caverns the slighte st trip would b e
instantly fatal
In the rock pools at Ardrossan there was abundance
of a red leathery forked we e d with littl e pi m ples all over
it It w as very tough so that it was not e asy to detach
it fr om the rock and still less easy to press it for the
herbarium This was the Gigartina m am mill osa ( P la te
,

S E AW EE DS
XI I g

l 59

common to all our coasts The other species


o f the genus are rare
In the same pools the Chondr us crispus or Carrage en
moss ( P late XI I g 3 ) was growing in great luxur iance
its tough forked fronds of a ne crimson hue bearing
iri descent tints under the water so that I plunged my
arm in again and again hoping to bring out a frond
tipped with blue but the lo vely hue disappeared as soon
as the weed l e ft th e water Its name of Carrage e n moss
arises from the fact that its edible properties were rst
d e monstrated at Carrage en in Ireland It has lon g been
much este emed as an articl e o f food in the sister isle ;
and when bl e ached in the sun ste w e d down to a j elly
and mixed with wine or cream and any av ouring it
makes a most nutritious and palatable dish It is ofte n
sold by chemists as a substitute for Iceland moss and
is well worthy the attention o f invalids
Specimens of the Phyll ophora rubens had been given
to me by a Sc arborough collector but we found none on
the Scotch coast It is a pretty weed with a variously
shaped leafy frond which throws out young fro n
ds from
the margin There are two oth r sp e cies of Phylloph ora
e
The P m emb ran ifolia is not uncommon
The G ymn ogongrus grifthse a is a native of D evon :
its name m e ans na ked war t in allusion t o the form of
its fructic at ion The Polyoid es Rotundus is also r e mark
able for bearing large warts on its surface in which the
frui t is contained ; it was s e nt t o me from J e rsey It
has a narrow frond repeatedly forked and broadest at
,

'

T he

Furcellaria fasti gi ata ( P late XI I g


,

4 ) grow s

in

S EAW EE DS

1 60

bunches ; each frond as thick as Whipcord ; forked once


and again and tapering at the tips there was plenty of
it among the Fuci on the Ardrossan rocks
The Dumontia liform is with its thread shaped frond
and simple branches and the ros e coloured palmat e
Hal ym enia L egul ata we did not nd
The Kallym enia reniform is is a lovely weed its name
signie s bea utif ul me m br ane the expanded frond is
roundish and stretched at the margin the specimen
given to me was about three inches in h eight The tide
pools furnished us with the T rid oea E d ulis or Sweet
D ulse the frond is egg shaped but tapering to w ard
the base it is dark red and of a leathery texture This
species used to be much eaten both by human beings and
cattle ; and Harvey says it is still used as an article of
food by the poor either raw or fri ed
In some of the shallow pools the little Catenalla
opun ita was growing under the shelter of large weeds ;
it looked like young plant s of Chyloclad ia artic ul ata
the branches being contracted at the b ase ; the whole
height of the fronds was but half an inch and the
colour was a brownish purple
Its name means little
,

T he Cruoria

or Blood stain

succeeds the Cate


nella in order the glazed bro wn ish stains upon the
stems of the Lami naria digitata which we had found at
Oban were plants of this w e ed
N o specimens of Nac caria G loioisphonia Dudresnaia
or Crouania came in our w ay most of these weeds are
rar e or conn e d t o the south coast
ellit a,
p

S E AWEE DS

1 62

Another species that freighted those waves was th e


Ceramium Rubrum a pretty bright red weed with taper
ing branches the tips a little curled
It is a common we e d and very
variable our specimens were four
o r ve inches in length
We found
a lovely sm all Ceramium afterwards
on rocks at Granton in the Firth
of Forth at nearly low tide mark
The fronds were about an inch and
T WO K I N DS O F F U I T
0 1 C ER A M I U M
a half high t h e articulations v e ry
cl ear giving the principal stem the appearance of a
string of minute oval beads ruby and white alternating
the tips were daintily curled in ( C ac anthon ot um) ;
under a magnifying lens you could see three thorns
planted o utside each tin y branch There are a great
number of species of Ceramium all very int e resting ;
some as n e as hair with hooked tips and delicately
marked articulations
The family of G rifthseas is equally beautiful ; more
robust in form but very perishable in t e xture The
articulation sare very plainly m arked in thi s family also
The y are named in honour of Mrs Grifths of Torquay
who did much to facilitate the study of Algology they
are all inhabitants of the south coast of En gland and
w est of I r eland
The last family of red weeds is that of the Callitham
nion They are delicately formed and feathery ; with
stems either cellular or j ointed ; and sometim e s trans
parent T h e C p l umula we found in the Firth of Forth
t he tiny stems were m uch branched each branchlet re
,

S EAW EE DS

1 63

sembling the end of an ostrich feather There too was


the C arbuscul a the thi cker opaque stem naked in t he
lower part and then bearing crowded branches gives it
a striking similarity to a miniature tree The C spon
osus retains water like a sponge
it
grows
paras
tic
on
i
i
g
other algae on the north coast of Devon The C roseum
prefers muddy shores its fronds are fan shaped C
t ur n eri grows as a creeping parasite ; and C polysper
mum is to be found on the coarser algae C brodiasi is
only found on the coast of N orthumberland and the south
whilst C pedi c ell atum is dredged from deep
of E ngland
water N one of these species favoured our collection
A wet day at Ar d rossan was well spent in spreading our
beautiful re d weeds and very cre ditable our collection
looked we had green weeds too but we were n ot quite
ready to study them Our love for the seaweeds had so
increased that we had not cared to cast a look inl and at
Ardr ossan we saw no beauty but in al gae
.

Oh I

love

c n ow er
G e m of th e u nb ou nd e d d ee p
A n d th rou gh m any a fu t u re h ou r
W ill th e fond mem ori al k eep
I t te ll s th at in th e m yst ic w orld
D eep w he re resi stl ess w aters ow
W h ere th e w reck ed b arq
u e is w ildly
U n tro dd en eld s an d forests g row
A s fro m th e g ree n an d su n ny l and
G em s of richest b eau ty sp ring
Form d by th e sam e u n erring han d
C om e s forth th e oc ean offering
,

th e

o ea

h url d

T h e tuft e d

d sl enderly
H ang s fro m its pl ace of birth
And th e bl u e w aves le ft it t end erly
T o kiss th e gre e n lip s of e arth
seaw e e

S E A WEE DS

1 66

M erry bill ow s ru nning l and w ard w i th a Sp arkl e an d a song


C ry stal g ree n w i th foam e nw oven b ursting b rightly spil t al o n
,

Th ou sand sh ap e s of living w ond er in th e cl ear p ool s of th e rock


Le ngt h s of strand and sea fow l armi es ri sing lik e a p uff of sm ok e
Drift and tangl e on th e lim it w h ere th e w and erin g w ate r fail s
Leve l faintly cl ear h oriz on tou ch ed w i th clou ds an d ph antom sails
,

A sp ri ng tide was rolli ng in ever and anon depositing


heaps of wreck which lads were gathering eage rly and
carrying away in donkey carts I too claimed a share
o f ocean s bount
and
carrying
a
good
bundle
to
a
;
y
rocky platform out of reach of the spray but in the
midst of the musical roar I examined my treasures
There were large sprays of the Oak Delesseria all be
set with colonies of young fronds and masses of the
Jointed Chylocladi a looking like branching strings of
glossy beads The Rose D elesseria was there to o and
abundance of the Dul se and many another old fri end
but the prize specimen was a frond of th e Downy Codium
a foot in length ! ( C t om ent acum Out I g
T he
branches were forked and cylindri cal about the thickness
o f a common cedar pencil and covered with soft down
The colour was myrtle green and the texture of the
weed was spongy I have se e n specimens from many
places on our shores but never any so large as my Cor
nish treasure The pur se
lik e Codium is a great contrast
to its t all brother
It is a perfect hollow ball a little
draw n out where attaching to a rock ; its te xture t oo is
It is very rare ; my
spongy ( C bursa Out I g
specimen came from Jersey There are two other Co
d ium s but they are little more than incrustations and
are also very rare
,

S E AWE E DS

167

We sought in vain for the Bryopsis on the shore s of


Scotlan d The feathery sp e cies is found at Portobello
but we were too late for it it being a summer w e ed
Subsequently however I had occasion to sp e nd a d ay at
Hastings and secured an hour or two for the rocks b e
tw e e n that place and St L e onard s The sun was shin
ing brightly and the marin e gardens in the rock pools
w e re their most attractiv e colouring
Heavy masses of
the Rock Cladophora clothed the upper part of the rock
basins ; but b en e ath their sturdy foliage I noted transparent
green branch e s waving to and fro as some minute crab or
sh distur bed the waters Securing som e of these I found
I had gained posse ssion of the much desir ed F e athery
B ryopsis ( B plumosa C ut
The
fronds
wer
e
g
thr ee or four inches in length branches issuing from e ach
side the st e m at regul ar intervals and beset in th e ir
turn by little branchlets The weed was yellow green
and transpar e nt and looked quite glossy when dried
Profe ssor Harv e y states that if the point of on e o f
the branchlets be wounded the colouring matter of the
whole frond may b e pressed out at the aperture thus
proving by a simple method that the whole frond is
form e d of one tube I found this experiment succeed
entirely There is a Hypnum
like Bryopsis but we have
It is more sl e nder more compound in its
n ot found it
branches and smaller a more moss like weed
Vauc h e r s s e aweeds come next ( Vaucheria ) ; their
fronds are thread shaped and tubular and they have
spores attached outside the frond There is a marin e
species with forked fronds two or three inch e s high
found at Weym outh ; and a submarine one with longer
,

S E AW EE DS

168

fronds parasitic on red seaweed ; and a velvet


like
species growing as a c oating on muddy shores but w e
have found no specim e ns of th e se
The Conferva order comes next taking its name from
a Latin word meaning to consoli d ate
because some of
the old practitioners made use of the true Confervae to
bind up broken limbs a use to which their softness and
power of retaining moisture well adapted them T he
plants in this order are formed of simple or branched
threads green in colour and articulated
The fronds of the rst family ( Cladophora) are much
branched The Rock speci e s ( C rupestris Out I g 4 )
was growing abundantly in the tide pools at Hastin gs
and we had also found it in similar places at Ar ran and
o n the Firth of Forth
The colour varies from dark
reen
to
olive
or
pal
sage
The
fronds
are
bushy
w
ith
e
g
numerous ri gid branches these again clothed with branch
lets pressed close to the stem It is a pretty w e ed for
ornamental work forming with zooph yt e cases shells
and other weeds pretty groups to plac e under a glass
shade
The Ang ular Cladophora ( C rect angularis Out I
h
e
is
a
very
rare
species
only
thrown
up
during
t
g
summer months in southern shor e s The specimen in
The more
o ur collection was fou n d by Mrs Grifths
slender fronds of C diffusa we found at Arran but
slightly branched and onl y tufted towards t h e tips C
gracilis we also found there in rock pools growing in
dense tufts the thread like branches wa ving in the water
and looking like a lm of yellow green T he colour
faded somewhat in dr ying but the Sp e cimens continued
,

S E AW EE DS

1 70

E clathrat a forming an entangled silky tuft of narrowest


threads and E ramul osa as intri cately tufte d but
.

rough to the touch were both adorning the rock poo ls


at Arran Of the other species we have no e xamples
The Ulvas have at outspread fronds The common
is bright gr een and
Ulva ( Lattissim a Out I g
much waved ; it grew plentifully on rocks at Granton
m aking them dangerously slippery
The U lactea is
smaller and paler The narrow U linza we did not nd
The Porphyras were th ere also the P laciniata with its
div ided fronds and the P v ulgaris with its large simple
on e s both which are purple and glossy and are called by

children sea silk These plants make a wholesome dish


when cooked and are sold for that purpose by the name
According to Lightfoot
o f Laver in various districts
Ulva latissim a is e mployed in the Scottish Highl ands to
bind about the templ e s in fe vers and is thought to
induce sle ep and in the West ern Isles it is stewed with
pepper vinegar and onions as a dinner dish
These Ulvas are most ornamental plants in tide pools
and shall ows their bright green hue setting off the
crimson of the Callith amnion and the lilac the Cor
alline to the greatest advantage
,

hu e s of m arin e veg etati on


Throw n h ere th e rou gh ints and sea p ebbl e s am ong
T h e fe ath ere d Plocamium of d ee p est c arn at i on

T h e d ark p urpl e S l ok e an d th e olive Sea t h ong


How vari e d th e

The Bangias are minute weeds ; they vary as the


Porphyras do from the established green of the class to
bright purple they are little more than encrustations
,

S E A W EE DS

1 71

The last family of the Clad osperm eae that of t he


O syillatoriae is composed of very minute members They
are formed of sm al l j oint e d threads each composed of a
simple tube The nam e O sc ill at oriae is given to t h e
order be cause of the constant mov e ment of the fronds
The rst famil y in t he order is call e d Rivularia becaus e
many of its m e mbers inh abit rivers of which more anon
We found on e of the marine species the S hi ning Rivul aria
n
i
rock
s at Arran which it
R
tida
u
t
I
o
n
C
(
g
re ndered terribly slippery It grew upon the at part
o f the rocks l ling every tiny crevice
and plentifuh y
T he
sprinkling the fronds of the Rock Cladophora
fron d s are roun d black gre en and glossy seldom as large
as a good siz ed pea All the speci e s in thi s family are
.
more or less globose th e t hread s composing th e m being
woven together into that form
When we came to examine some of the red weeds w e
had gathered in such abundance at Ardrossan we found
them beset with little tufts of green threads The simpl e
form of the thr e ad like fronds and their vein s devoid of
motion point e d out the little parasite as belonging to the
Callothix famil y its glaucous hue xing the sp e ci e s as
Oth e r
the Co nferva lik e ( C c onfervic olor Out I g
members of this family gr ow upon rocks near high water
mark or are par as itic on di eren t algae
Lyngb yc s se a w e eds are green with thread shaped
fronds mark e d with rings more or less cl e arly They
reatly
resemble
Conferv
ae and their fronds are di spos e d
g
in layers upon rocks mud sea we ed or oating timber
Thus in a comparatively short season we gathered
together a fair number of seawee ds We had Oli ve w eeds
,

S EAWEE DS

1 72

M
l
an os erm s
e
(
p
)

of

every marked family ; Red weeds


( Rho d osperm s) in abundance and Green weeds ( Chloro
sperms) in plenty We had se en them in the ir homes
gazing with glad admiration into many a fairy conserva
tory blooming in a tide pool or peering into the forest
depths of ocean from a boat ; or we had waited amid
r e ar an d
spray for the crested waves to land their
merchan dise and seized the dripping treasures as thev
were thrown upon the shore Often did we ask
the poet
.

u i t w ld th t li b n th
q
T h m ight f w t
u nding m ving v
O
u gh w i th t m
th u nd ing
h
th
W ith d f ning l m u l Y
ui t w ld
q
I s t h e re

es

a ers, so

r ro

or

s, or

s or

ea e

c a

er

es, a

ea

er,

on

e s

ore

or

b en e ath w it h groved and vales an d stre am s


And living creatu res each w it h h au n t an d h om e
A s b est b et it
D oth

l ie

But we m ust not overlook that seaweeds have a past


history a record grav e n in the rocks In the oldest
system of fossil iferous rocks the Silurian black marks of
seaweeds are found and more distinct traces of an Algae
allied to the Sea Whipcord not a dangerous weed in those
days when all breathing creatures had their home in the
waters The Carrageen and the Fuci had also their re
resent at iv es in t he se ancient seas ; so that Alg ae can
p
trace back their family lineage further even than the
Ferns and their all ies

The earth is full of God s goodness this we heartil y


assent to because we see it with Our eyes and have
daily experience thereof But though less patent to our

ken yet j ust as surely So is this great and wide sea


.

CHAPT ER XX

FR E SHWAT E R W EE DS

And th ere to ch arm th e c uri ous e ye


A h ost of hid d e n t re asu res lie
A m ic rosc opic w orld that tell s
T h at n ot al one in trees and w ers
T h e spi rit b righ t of B e au ty d w e lls
Th at n ot al on e in l ofty b ow ers
T h e m y stic h and of G od is s e n
m ore trium phant still in things men c ou nt
,

B ut

as

m n
ea

G A R D ENER

H E green Algae seem a much smaller group than


the red and the olive but this is not re ally th e
case
A large proportion o f them inhabit
freshwater and damp ground and are therefore s eparated
from th e sea we e ds though nearly allied to th e m in
nature and a vast numb e r again belong to the entirely
m icrosc0 pic ord e rs Desmidiace ae and Diatomace ae
In the same group with our marine friends Codium
and Bryopsis we nd the extensive fami ly of the Vau
cherias so called from th e ir hist orian Vauch er The
thre e salt water sp eci e s are very inconspicuous
T he
Fork e d Vaucheri a ( V di c h otoma) is a much larger
,

FR E SHWA T E R WEE DS

1 75

plant Its thread like branch e s attain a foot in len gth


th e y are of a blackis h green and oat in stagnant
wate r My specim e ns are from the neighbourhood of
E dinburgh and w e re gathered in the summer Dill wyn s
Vaucheria is very common
I rs t saw it at Hawkhurst
in Kent Heavy rains had fal len continuously for s e veral
weeks and the hop growers were on t he verge of despair
the clay soil h eld the wate r and t he lawn became a
morass After awhile I saw dark green thr eads growing
in tufts at t he foot of the grass plants and gradual ly
formin g little mats around them Their tiny stems were
irregul arly branched It w as the rst Vaucheria I had
found and greatly did I rej oic e over it The Budded
Vaucheria (V ge mmata) so called
from the buds growing on the sides
o f the branches and pr e s e nt in a less
degree in the other species is to be
s e en frequently in dense oating
masses It is of a light gre e n ; its
1
long branches are very much e n
1 V U C H ER I
tangled
Ponds about Hawkhurst
2 C O N F ER V
furnish abundant spec imens The Bird s eye Vaucheria
V
rn it ho c e h al a
of
o
is
a
br
ownish
colour
much
(
)
p
branched and forming elega n t tufts It grows in pools
and ditches in autumn My specimen came from
E c cleseld
Ditch banks in Kent and Wilts have
furnished me with the ground Vaucheria (V terrestris )
It lies lik e green coating on the earth and is rough to
t he touch bein g b e set with bristles
The Grai n like Botrydium is a n e ar relative of t he
-

F R E SHWAT E R W EE DS

1 76

Vaucherias

It resembles little green seeds these b eing


vesicles with tiny roots I found it in a turnip eld at
Hawkhurst that same wet summer Some of the vesicles
seemed to have opened and discharged their contents ;
for th ey were cup
shaped All these plants b elong to the
Siph oniace ae order
T wo curious plants ran k early in that of Confervace ae
though at rst sight they seem to b e ar little resemblance to

any other in that thr e ad shaped colony The two Chaeto


phoras are gelatinous looking plants but the character
ist ic thr e ads are pr e s e nt nevertheless b ut embodied in
j elly The E ndive l eafed sp e ci e s is found in streams It
grows to th e height of two or three inches with forked
The Elegant Ch aetophora grows in
o r indent e d fronds
ponds or slow stre ams attach ed to stones or st em s It is
of a ful l gre en round
and varies in size from that of a
pea to a haz el nut
The Draparnaldias are pretty little plants green
elegantly branch e d and about an inch high
The
Globular species has a beaded appearance from the con
traction of the stems The Dwarf one is feathery in its
form I have not found either of them but have received
specimens
It was in a wood near Richmond that we rst saw the
orange Chroolepus a moss covered wall under the shade
was gaily painted with it the patches
o f thick trees
resembling pieces of loose felt of a full orange colour
The naked eye can di scern the thr e ads of which the mass
is composed but we had t o use a microscope to see t h e
branches
Of co urse we pressed specime ns for our
.

FR E SHWATE R WEE DS

1 78

same weed was oating freely its long green branches


twisted like hair and attaining a l e ngth of nearly half a
yard This was the River Confe rva It grew in c om
pany with the Common Chara the Water Thym e and
the Greater Water moss T he dingy Conferva ( C sordi da )
is equally common It is of a dirty green and forms a
cloud round the stems of pondweeds It grows in great
ab undance in some sh ponds at E lfords near Hawkhurst
In t he same neighbour hood I found the E ntangled species
oating in a yellowish gr e en mass on h alf dried ponds
durin g the summer months ( C tracta) Its laments are
branched
I have frequently found the Che tnut Conferva
entwinin g among mosses or forming a coating on a
bank side There is a black species and a viol e t one
w ith very ne branches but these I have not even seen
The Ulvace ae order has also its fresh water members
o n e which oats lik e green bubbles upon stagnant ditches
is familiar to every one o nly it n e ver struck most observers
to c all the noisome coating an Ulva
The order succeeding that of Ul vace ae is entirely
c omposed
of freshwater Algae
Being very minut e
plants they are of cours e described
by an extra long name B atr a
The name means
c hosp er m ece
Frog Spawn and all the members
are slimy to the touch
T he
River Lem ania is a sturdy look
ing little plant of an olive colour
1 B O T R YD I U M
and with the branches circularly
2 B T R A C H O S P ER M U M
3 P R O TO C O CC U S
bent
,

FR E SHWAT E R WEE DS

1 79

There are many deep muddy ponds about Hawkhurst


but there is one very small one famed for its clearness
Searching for mosses one day I repaired to this pond
Having noticed the fronds of the greater Water moss w av
ing in its limpid waters I secured my prize little
suspecting that a far rarer treasure was growing by its
side Peering once more into the depth before rising
from my knees I espied what I believed to be a n e
l my moss and I plunged my arm in ag ain to secure it
I grasped cautiously and felt the stems snap but the
branches slipped through my ngers as if they had been
live sh and o nl y one frond was coiled round my ngers
w h en I drew my hand from the water ; but that frond
was of such excessive beauty that I was overj oyed by
its acquisition It resembl e d a stri ng or rather a series
of strings of the most delicate beads branching in a
pinnate form the thick part of the stem was composed
o f beads as large as rape seed and olive in colour but
the tips of the branches were delicately ne and their
beads purple I soon perceived that many of the fronds
that I had detached were oating about in the pond
some of these I caught on the end of my umbrella but I
could not hold them they were so Slippery
After
str uggling for some time to circumvent the plant I
allowed it to circumvent me and left it victor o f t he
eld or rather of the pond but returned with a sea sid e
tin on the morrow and secured abundance of my pretty
Alga This was t he common Bat rac hasperm um ( B
vagam ) If I admired its beauty when see n with t he
naked eye I did so much more when examini n g it with
,

F R E S HWAT E R WEE DS

1 8O

the microscope where every bead appeared as a lovely


round cluster of delicate branches There is a black
species and a green sp e cies both delicately beautiful
and resembling th is on e in structure
Flood left pools by t he side of the Wye furnished m e
w ith specimens of the Z ygnema Q uin in um
Its fronds
are thread shaped and entangled and the masses were
so slippery t o the touch that I thought they shoul d have
belonged to the family named after the frog Spawn
The Dotted species has the same slippery texture indeed
it is the characteri stic of the family The Bent Z ygnema
Z
n
u

x um ) is n e ly branched mud colour ed and onl y


e
e
( g
about an inch high ; it is scarcely po ssible to clear it
from t h e mud among which it grows A very ren e d
lady was on e day gre atly amazed to see some of these
mud dwellers washed and o ated out She loved all
created things but a num erous family of young childr e n
l e ft her no time to study minute h erbs Speakin g of a
w ell known naturalist she said when she tak e s up a
bit of mud shakes it in the water and puts a bit of
paper under it a beautiful Alga appears but if I pick
up a bit of mud and do the same there is only a bit o f

mud on the paper


Upon stones in streams in Swaledal e I have found
dark green bodies like small peas thes e we re plants o f
the Freshwater Rivul aria a genus belon ging to t he
Oscillatoriac e ae group
The E c hinellae succeed t he
Rivularias they are minute weeds growing in fre shwater
T he
and parasitic in Conferv ae and other water plants
Circul ar species grows round the stem radiating like t he
,

FR E SHWAT E R WEE DS

1 82

ascertained my plant to be a Tremella and consequently


a fugus and I placed it accordingly But Grevill e and
Hassak and Harvey now place it among Algae so my
plant is removed to another volume (Nost oc Commune)
Its cousin the River N od ularia is a pretty plant Directed
by Dr Greville I sought it in the stream traversing the
glen between the Blackford and Braid hills A charming
hunting ground for o w erless plants is that vall ey
Seclud e d even fr om the sun s rays funguses large and
small luxuriating in the woods and Al gae crowding both
the land and the water while the mosses outdo the foliage
in luxuriance
There are weird stories too of the glen
and its long deserted Hermitage and ghost and oth er

legends hover cloudlike over the puddock s tools and


m e ssy encrustations The N odularia grows in dark green
loose tufts the stems are as thick as horse hair every here
and there swelling into knots
The Palmellaceae group are composed of solid globul es
nestling in elly The Bloody Pal mella ( P cruenta )
grows on damp walls and rocks I rst noticed it on a
wall at Kingston Dev eril in Wiltshire It looks like
fresh blood when wet but losses its brilliancy and turns
powdery when dry T h e green Palmella t also found in
Wiltshire like deep green j elly among moss in thickets
on the high Downs
The masses were shapeless and
from on e to two inches broad ( P protuberans) The
rose Palm ella grows in minute globul e s as a parasite
upon tree Lichens I have it from the Braid vall ey near
E dinburgh T h e Red Snow ( Protococcus nivalis ) is t he
nea r relation of the Palmella it is formed of myri ads of
,

FR E SHWAT E R W EE DS

1 83

tiny grains every grain a plant and spreads over large


surfaces so that it used to be taken for a shower of
bloody sno w and regarded as a phenomenon big with
terror The great speed of its reproduction was on e
cause of the m arve l attending its appearance E ach
grain contains numerous other grains ; and bur st ing
produces a large number of plants which in their turn
throw forth a crowd of o ffspring in an incredibly short
period ; thus in some few generations each grain has
literal ly become the mother of millions
Snow seems
to favour the increase of this Alga and if a few plants
have l ain on the surface before the snow nurse arrived
we can easily imagine how rapidly the minute grains
might mingle with t he light crystals and give their ow n
brill iant colouring to the mass Sir John Ross describes
the striking appearance produced by thi s snow plant in
B afn s Bay where he saw it cove rin g miles in extent
and often penetrating to the depth of ten or twelv e
,

The succeeding group the Diat om ac ae are microscopic


plants with in ty coats they are to the vegetabl e
creation what zoophytes are to the anim al ; each weed
consists of a group of cells every cell a perfect plant of
a geometrical shape but oin ed t o its neighbour by one
corner ; independent yet sharing the sap of the other
subj ects in its little kingdom
A large family of plants still remain unplaced because
their position is hardl y yet pronounced upon by the law
of
ivers
These
are
the
Charas
By
right
of botany
g
their brick red male organs situated singly on the st e m
,

FR E SHW A T E R W EE DS

184

Linn aeus placed them in the rst class of Flowerin g


Plants Others have since counted them as fern allies ;
and their whorls of leaves have a certain resemblance to
Horse tails Then again their immersed habit and en
t irely cellul ar structure seems to in di cate Al gae as their
natur al companions ; so let us place them here for the
present at any rate These plants are formed of simpl e
or compound articul ated threads ; they bear spores as
well as the brick red globul es mentioned above ; these
c ell above the centre of
erminate
by
the
formation
of
a
g
the spore A s the plant grows it assumes the form of
a branch ing stem with whorls of leaves at certain dis
tances ; the fructic ation appears in the axils of the
whorls The outside of these whorls is coated with car
bonate of lime in most species The common Chara r st
met my eye when a party of us were seekin g for fresh
water Moll usks in the Warwickshire canal near Hawks
borough As the boys landed each hawl of wee d and
after picking off the sh e lls ung it aside I subj ected it to
a fresh inspection I had secured two land weeds which
were new to me : perpl e xed myself afresh with the then
undescribed plant of recent immigration t he Wat er T hym e ;
and was disentangling some Confe rva thr eads when the
rough whorls enclosing the circle of red globul es attracted
my attention I recogiz e d it as a Chara from the des
It
was
harsh
to
the
c ri t ion in the E nglish bot any
p
touch and of a whitish green ( Chara Vulgari s) The
shini ng Chara ( C t ranslucen s) I got from the sixty t wo
ools left by the receding waters of the Wye
In
genera
l
p
form it resembles the common species but it is smooth
.

'

FR E SHWAT E R W EE DS

1 86

are consumed the deleterious matters and


stagnant water g e nerally contains whil e like all green
plants they pour into the atmosphere during
oxygen prepared in their delicate tissues from the

b onic acid on whi ch they feed


,

1 88

L i cH E NS

are formed Lichens are e ither cr usta c eous or f r ond ose


Their fruit is of two kinds the more perfect form bein g
deposited in concave or convex shields and lines ; the
less perfect in powdery warts These sturdy plants seem
strangely independent of th e substance on which they
Some ourish on the hardest rocks others prosper
grow
o n healthy trees :
they w ill bear all vicissitudes of
we ather for though they seem to dry up and die in t h e
hot sunshine yet the rst rainy day enables them to
e xpand
again and resume the business of th eir life
They have a wonde rful power of retaining moisture and
also of collecting it ; for if there is any damp in its
neighbourhood the lichen seems to attract it to itself In
dying they d eposit a subtle acid which wears away the
rock on which they grew and thus forms ea rth t to
nourish minute plants of higher organization It was this
capacity in the lichen to which the poet alludes when
describing the gradual rise and vegetation of a coral
island
.

n th e lich e n x eth th ere and dying diggeth


And softenin g sun s and sp l itting frosts c rumbl e
su rfac e

B ut

soo

grave
re l u c tan t

its own
th e

But the progress of such ve getation must be at a rat e


inconceivably slo w for although the lich e ns attain
maturity quickly they are very long before beginning to
decay Mr Berkeley states that he has noticed some for
twenty ve years remaining in an unaltered state
The rst use o f the lichen had long been famil iar to
me : but I was astonished to nd many other uses for
o ne or other of the tribe
As dyes as food for animal
,

LI CH EN S

1 89

and man and as medicine they have performed and do


perform no mean part in vegetable economy I was im
patient to make personal acquaintance wi th them and
resolved to sally forth in search thereof imm e diately on
my arrival at H awkhurst
A sm al l plot of high ground stil l waste where t h e
purple ling and dwarf furze ourish was m y rst hunt
ing ground The plot in question rej oices in the name of

St arvegoose in allusion I suppose to its barrenness


At noon then I foun d myself traversing the wooded
road leadi ng up from the village to this last plot of moor
land and quickl y I transferred myself from the sandy
road to the o t her side of the barrier gate I took one
o n that wide spread landscape so essent i
lance
around
g
l
E
nglish
the
hop
gardens
were
sti
l
mer
e forests of
all
;
y

poles and t he corn eld s bore an e merald hue Yet


though the rich woo ds were leaess and the orchards
bare the form of beauty was present in the vari ety of
hill and hollow ; and gray towers ri sing now from woods
o r park like elds and now as land marks on the sea
ward ch s pointed the eye upward to a clear blue sky
e c k e d with white clouds where n e ither the form nor tint

beauty
was
absent
They
pointed
the
eye
yes and
f
o
the heart too for a soun dl ess voice seemed to issue from
them minglin g with t he song of birds and the distant
tinkle of th e sh e ep bells saying Set your affections on

things above
A rough path traversed St arv egoose and s e eing it
coloured with various tints I kn e lt to examine it A
re
e nish gray crust spread along the ground sometimes
g
thicker and sometim e s thinner so as to form an uneven
,

LICH EN S

19O

surface from this crust little bull necked stems arose


s urmounted by a rose coloured top res e mbling an uneven
mushroom except that it had no gi lls beneath Here was
certainly o n e of the cr usted lichens its true fruit
( Apothecia) was w ell developed and the form thereof
showed it to be the rose coloured mushr oom lichen
B
om ce s rose us
l
a te XI I I
P
I
remember
a
e
(
y
nding a plant resembling thi s at Braid Hermitage near
E di nburgh when I was searching for fungi It differed
from the on e in my hand in having a more decidedly
green crust and in the mi niat ure mushrooms being more
e ven in shape and of a brow nish red hue
I fe lt glad
that I had preserved the specim e n ; for it would mak e
my collection better to have two species of Hooker s rst
ant was the red mushroom
enus
The
Braid
pl
of lichens
g
There is a brown
lichen ( B rufus P la te XI I I g
sp e ci e s found on rocks and walls and another characterized

by the thickness of its crust which is peculiar to Ross shire


But time was passing away t o o fast to allow me to
contin ue my reections and my search together ; so I
hastened to collect all the b eauties around me There
was a white branched lichen of most elegant form w hi ch
I s uspected to be the reindeer moss and a lichen bearin g
little cups on its stem Another growing n e ar it ha d
crimson knobs instead of cups an d in many places th e
sto n es and earth were covere d with black swollen dots
Thes e I placed in my case and then betook myself to the
woo ds in search of furt her treasur es
Although the sun was shining so gloriously to day
yet April showers had been fal ling heavily durin g the
night and for many days previous so that the woods
-

192

Ll C HE NS

be set by stems and heads more delicate in form and


nrore beautiful in colour than any goblet lich e n I had yet
seen The golden dust powdering crust and stem and
h e ad convinced me that it was the gold headed species
h
alum
C
c
h
r
soc
e
(
g
y
p
Some months later when spring had almost com e
round again a party of us were wandering in the beautif ul
woods about Ross in Herefordshire making nosegays of
primroses and wil d daffodils and wood rushes and
verdant moss We came to where the path p as sed b e
twe e n hug e masses of old red sandstone rock and paused
to examine the mi niature s w ard with which they were
p artially clothed Here were the rich array of Liv e r
worts which I have described in another place covering
the red sand plains and quartz hill ocks with their minut e
but elaborate lace work Behind them rose clusters o f
t h e Tree line Feather moss lik e sheltering woods and
c los e ly crowded under their protection no urished by a
d e caying fern st e m was a fore st of
thr eads sur
rounded by heads like the most tiny beads By very
c lose inspection those wi th strong sight could detect a
r
e en colouring as a carpet fo r these miniature plants
g
the h e ads of some of which had burst and being closely
huddled together the spores had made a soft mat over
the top of the stems ; thi s was another species o f Cali cium
and
ther
e are several
C
l
v ell um P la te XI I I g
c
a
(
more but they have not rewarde d o ur s e arch
The next family of the crustaceous lic hen sfas given by
Hooker is called A r thonia The crust is thi n and
Spre ading the fruit round and sessile They form
r
e yish stains dotted with tiny specks of brown or black
g
-

LICH EN S

1 93

upon living trees


Though not uncommon I did n ot
succeed in nding any of them on that occasion but on
closely exami ning the bark of the trees young and old
I did descry stains and markings of most won dr ous form
Some seemed like miniature inscriptions in anci e nt
characters and some like interru pted lines or irregular
dots There could be no doubt that these were t he
writing lichens and on e in particul ar resembled so closely
G re ek characters that I named it the Greek writing lich en
Opegrapha
scripta
g
(
The re was on e growing on the bark of the Spanish
c hestnut in which the short lin e s were waved and turn e d
in different directions The crust was b ufsh and t h e
long shaped fruit was black T he distinguishing pe ou
liari ty in the fruit of these writing lichens is the long
sh ape and the depressed mark down the centre T h e
parasite of the Spanish chestnut was the Variable Writin g
and the black
Iic hen ( O varia P late XI I I
Writing lichen ( O atra P late XI I I g
with its
close horizontal lines decorated the bark of many young
oaks There are a great number of species in this family
On a subsequent occasion when exploring the grounds
about Craig House ne ar E dinburgh we found the circular
patches of the Brain Writ in g liche n encrusting the walls
2
1
and
both
there
and
O
c ereb rin a P late XI I I
g
)
(
in the Highlands we found the Stone sp e cies ( O saxatilis
T h e Starry the Red and t h e
P la te XI I I
Birch Writing lichens are parasites on trees and grew
P
a te XI V gs 1 5
l
about Hawkhurst
(

These graphic lichens says Dr Mur ray inscrib e


in curious hieroglyp hics yet intelligible characters on
.

LICH EN S

1 94

v arious barks their worth or worthl essness Some of


the se epiphytes are discovered on particular ofcin al barks
and not on others enabling us thus to distinguish them
while pecul iar lichens or
make their appearance
as soon as these ofcin al barks have lost their value ; and
thus stamp as it were the broad arrow of condemnation
o n them
These symbols of creation therefore when
rightly interpreted become a valuable key to practical ly
useful knowl e dge
Upon the bark of a tree in that charming Kentish
wood I d e scried another kind of lichen with a thin
grey crust round black receptacles and a tiny light dot
in the centre
This was the gem like Wart lichen
V
( errucaria geminata) a member of the famil y named
b e cause of their crust being covered with minute warts
A black stem covering the upper surface of a stone beside
t he brook show e d throu h the lens a similar structure
g
a n d after careful examination I was satised that it was
the black wart lichen ( V nigrescens)
An other species of t hi s family I found subsequently
While staying in Swaled al e a party of us rambled to the
village of Healhaugh Some went to visit the cottagers
who count e d much on such occasional courtesies ; and
t h e rest wandered in the elds in hopes of nding some
thing to add to our botanical collection
A purlin g
brook ran at the back of the vill age hurrying from its
source among the limestone rocks on the purple moor
yo nd er to oin t h e Sw ale whi ch was gliding serpen t l ik e
along the broad lap of the vall ey
Thi s brook was
fring e d with Broaklim e and Wa ter Figwort and Water
.

'

LICH EN S

1 96

elds f urnished me with good specimens of the Hol e


lichens so called from the depressed points in the wart s
l
a te
n
Pertusa
The
common
species
P
commu
is
P
ri a
(
(
)
XI I I
is like a circular grey patch with warts
c ro w ded ag ainst on e another
Of the n e arly allied family the perforated lichens
T
h
elot re m a
I
could
nd
no
specimen
(
)
There were no scattered spot lichens to be found ( Spiloma)
though I remembered often to have seen the minute c on
uent receptacles of the wall species upon mortar This
famil y also contains many members but they are t oo
minute and re s e mble each other too clos ely to d raw
much general interest
In a wood composed partly of rs near the toll gat e
I found a pretty circular lich e n the margin was zoned
and the inner part was sprinkled with whi te powd e r
while several shields w ere planted towards the centre
These were the receptacl e s, and boasted a torn border This
was the circular pustula lichen the family nam e bein g
the result of the swollen receptacl e s ( Variolaria globuli
fera ) A tree near the edge of the wood bore large

patches of the inelegant pustula lichen (V agelae a)


its grey crust with patches of white powder was so unas
as
to
deserv
e the term inelegant
But
thes
e lichens
sum in
g
formerly erected into a separate family Vari olaria are
now ascertained to be o nl y go ni di al states of oth e r
lichens
I now hasten e d my re turn as the dinn er hour could
not be far distant in this however I was deceived for I
had passed th e off shoot of t he original vill age which is
now called Highgate when the unerrin g clock of t he n e
,

'

LICH EN S

197

old church sound e d the hour previous to our fe e ding


time This church had been restored sinc e last I had

held commun e with th e men 0 Kent so I d etermined


to spend the half hour now upo n my hands in lookin g
roun d its v e n erabl e walls Here I soon found myself
criticising the windward side of the tombstones with t he
aid of my pocket lens There were patches of spangl e
lichen both of the common and li mestone species ( Urc eo
laria calcarea P late XI V
and the crab s eye
The spangle lichens arc dis
lit chen and several others
t in guish e d by the vase like shap e of the ir receptacl e s
A s thus I sat weari e d with my long ramble and thin k
ing n ow of t h e vari eties of living lichens and now
I felt a deep qui etness
o f t h e solemn dead around me
steal over my spirit and the poeti c words of Ruskin re
curred to my mind Speaking of moss e s and lichens he
says They w ill not be gathered like the owers for
chaplet or love token but of these the w ild bird wil l make
its nest and the tire d child his pillow A n d as the earth s
rst mercy so are they its last gift to us When all
farther service is vain from plant and tree the soft mosses
and grey lichens take up their watch by the headstone
T h e woods the blossoms t he gift bearing grasses have
done their parts for tim e but th es e do service for ever !
Trees for the builde r s yard corn for the granary moss

for the grave !


As I dr ew near the ne old tiled dwelling of my
fri end I rapidl y glanced over the successes o f my day
Of the ten rst Hook erian fam ili es of lichens I had got
specimens of eight all b e ing crustaceous except the
T w o mor e
internal fruited and the leprous lichens
.

LICH EN S

1 98

crustaceous
remained to be studied on a future
day ; but I had at any rate got an idea of the form and
arrangement of them and the v ari e d style of their
c e t acles
My
ramble
had
been
fu
interest
and
yet
ll
o
f
p
certainly these minute lichens were undoubtedly the
least attractive of the order
'

CHAPT E R XXII

LICH EN S

Whil y t th f t t
W y u ng u p n th u nvi l t d th
And y t th m
t in
th
ck w
e

ere

oss s a
-

re e s

ores

o a e

s on

e ro

e ar

ere n e w

BRY N T
A

lichen s that so l ove to hi d e


From those w h o h ave n o ey e s to se e

G od s b eau teou s w ork in thin g s so w ee


T he

H E bright spring days tempted us into the


Yorkshire w oods and while we added mosse s
to our collection and watched the e arly
attempts of the fern crooks to uncoil themselves w e
noticed various bright stains on rock and tree Now t he
d ark grey bark seemed powdered with sulphur o r
brill iant violet and now the frbWning rock w ould b e
stained with soft patches of white or; glaucous green We
surprised an eminent scholar and mathematician standing
w ith folded arms wrapt in admiration of a group of
rocks thus coloured ; he was a painfully shy man and w as
generally known to avoid acquaintances in his rambl e s
but he advanced eagerly toward us warmed out of his
shyness by his wish to gain information and pointing to
,

LICH EN S

20 0

the rocks he exclaimed How bea utiful the colouring is !


tell me the cause of those rich tints ?
The stain s were ascribable to four different speci e s
of Lepraria a family where the spores are diffused among
the powdery substance o f the crust They are common
lichens and bein g of such a low state of development
they are not accounted interesting members of th eir
class
A ll lichens are divided into two great classes t he
Cr usta c eous a nd f r on d ose the thallus in the rst division
c onsisting o f a mere c r ust spread upon the rock or bark
and partaking all its inequalities ; t he latter having a
l e afy thallus the substance outspread in lobed or branch
l ike fronds
The earlier groups of lichens belong to the
Crust Division with the exception of the E n d oc arpon
where the thallus expands in lobed fronds
A very large family now com e s in the regular order
that of Lecid e a Here we have a decided advance in t h e
scale of deve lopment The thall us or frond becomes
somewhat l e afy round the circumference and the fruit
cases (Apothecia) are salver
shaped with a raised border
o f the same colour as the disk
The substance of the
frond is still crustaceous but it ra di ates in a regul ar
form round the edge The most remarkable member of
this family is the Map Lecidea ( L geographi c a P late
XI V
the thallus is bright yellow but broken into
unequal di visions by black lines resembling the divisions
bet w een counties in a map while the black A pothec iae
dotted up and down and varying in size resemble the
towns and villages there mark e d Dr Murray speaks of
this lichen as imparting to the surface of rocks a very
,

'

LICH EN S

20 2

Lecidea ( L uligin osa P late XI V


a collection of
larger black apothecia on a thin grey crust
Thi s
family num bers above sixty E nglish members varying in
colour to every shade of grey and green and with brown
yellow grey and black apothecia The y live in d isc ri
m inat ely on bark and stone
A small fam ily c al led Urc eolaria form s extensive
patches of crust on rocks and walls especially in lime
stone districts The Calcareous urceolaria is grey with
l
rey
chequered
depressed
l
ines
and
sma
l
gr
e y apothecia
g
we found it abundantly
( U c al carea P late XI V g
in the Yorkshire d al e s
A very large famil y comes next in which there are
some important members One in particular ( Lecan
ora esculenta) presents the strange anomaly of a free
lichen unattac hed to any habitat of wood or stone
and drawing its entire subsistence from the air The
E dible Lecanora is an Asiatic species the apothecia
are found scatt e red on the ground some as large as
a walnut and are used in conj unction with wheat
In the English members of the
as food by the Tartars
family the frond is still crustaceous but increasingly
foliate d at the margin ; the apothecia have generally
borders of a different colour to the di sk marking their
position as belonging to the Caenothalami those lichens
whose apothecia is formed p a r tly of the substance of the
thall us The re are groups of rocks in Swaledale which
afford rst rate opportunities of studyin g the Lecanora
family Recently taken into the enclosure surrounding
a country house conve ni ent paths now intersect the
wilderness ; and although there is still ample opportunity
.

LICH EN S

203

for hi ding or t o some extent losing yourself and for


breaking your l egs among deep ssures in the grotesque
rock m ass e s yet their treasures are brought within much
more easy reach of the adventurer and you may chance
to nd a rough board nailed across two blocks of li me
stone of a suicien tly similar height to afford a safe
resting place near to a mass of weather
worn rock
e ncrusted with the Crab s eye lichen and the Cudbear
The Crab s eye lichen ( Lecanora Parella P late XI V g
forms an exception to the rule rec ently laid down
of the disk of the apothecia being di ff erent in colour to
the crust In this instance the colour is the same This
lichen abounds on rocks and walls covering the we ather
sid e of gravestones with circ ular grey warted crust
ourishing in the graveyards about Hawkhurst and in
those about E dinburgh and de corating the rocks at
Tunbridge Wells granite rocks in Cornwall those of
limestone in the north of Yorkshire and the trap and
puddingstone of the Highlands of Scotland
We Should select the Cudb e ar as the head of the famil y
Lecanora
tar
t
area
P
l
a
t
I
1
in
Britain
seeing
X
e
V
1
(
)
that it has afforded an important article of commerce It
takes its E nglish name from that of Dr Cuthbert Gordon
w ho rst di scovered the prese n c e of the colouring pigment
in it and employed it largely as a dye The gathering
of this lic
hen used to furnish the means of living to great
numbers of the poor in Wales and in the Highlands ;
they S craped the rocks with an iron hoop and sold the
scrapings at a good price each rock yielded a crop once
in v e years A foreign species growing in the Canaries
is now preferred to our English Cudbear so that it is
,

20 4

LICH EN S

no more gathered for the market In former days it


used to yield the best scarlet dye ; and as such it was
plentifully employed in the manufacture of the cloaks
th e n so much in vogue It did good s e rvice to t he
country at the end of the last century ; for when the
French troops landed at F ishguard and were opposed
only by a very inadequate body o f yeomanry the sight
o f a number of We lsh wom e n in the di stance moun te d
o n b ill ponies and wearing their hi gh hats and Cudbear
dyed cloaks bound I suppose for the nearest market
struck them with pa nic because they mistook the cloaks

for the red coats of the regulars and th ey surrendered


themselves t o Lord Cawdor and his yeomanry without
striking a blow The Cudbear grows abundantly on
these Swaledale rocks its ochre shields crowding so close
together that they shoul der each other o ut of shap e ;
those that have the good fortune to get more elbow room
grow as large as a t hre epenny piece The crust is o f a
whitish gray like that of the Crab s eye lichen
The black shielded Lecanora is there too ( L atra) Its
crust is whi tish rugged and cracked its shields oval but
often squeez e d so as to be quite narrow the di sks full
black F or our specimens of the Red
spangled Lecanora
L
ventosa
we
indebted
t
o the rocks about Ar thur s
a
re
(
)
Seat It is a handsome speci e s with ochre crus t and dark
red Shields It yields a purple d ve indeed many
lichens of this fa m ily yi eld dyes of purple red or brown ;
and Hell e t gives a simple recipe for detecting the colour
ing principle
Put half an ounce of the plant into a
of lime wate r and
lass
and
moisten
it
ith
equal
parts
w
g
spirits of sal ammoniac tie a wet bladder close over the
.

LICH EN S

20 6

group ;

t h ese

that follow are becoming more and more


leafy
In this famil y the frond is starry and the recep
taeles bordered and sessile The handsome Orange Wall
scale lichen was hal f covering the rock in question and
uam ari ae murorum
we procured some good sp e cimens ( Sq
Thi s is a very common but very
P la te XI V g
handsome lichen
It covers rocks n ear the shore in
Cornwall trees and roofs in Kent and old walls in York
shire and o n e near Melbeck s Parsonage in Swaledal e
is always glowing with its amber fronds as if in mid sum
mer sunshine

A duty walk a regul ar constitutional among the


chalk do wns on e January day provided me with speci
uam ariae S saxicola P la te XI V
mens of the Stone Sq
(
i
They
were
green
sh
yellow
stars
w
i
th
a
g
cluster of green apotheciae in the c entre and studded the
int s which lay here and there upon the short herbage as
they had cropped out from the ch al k land beneath
uam ariae ( S c irc inn at a P la te XI V g
T he Circular Sq
It is grayish brown
1 7) is common in Yorkshire
darkest in the centre and much fur rowed as with vein s
It radiates to wards the margi n which is quite lobed and
leafy and substantiates its claim along with others of its
family to be considered a s tep towar ds a frondose lichen
In this group the thallus is closely attached t o the rock
as far as its uttermost margin
The Candle lich en ( S candelar ia) used in Sweden to
impart a yellow stain to the candl es employe d on festive
occasions) is a member of this family and is the only one
among the many British species to which any use is
.

LICH EN S

20 7

numerous other species of this family but


only these have rewarded our research
Of the genus Placodium we have never s ucceed e d in
n ding a spe cirtren
T he Parmeli a group contains some handsome and
showy speci e s the theme alik e of poets and lovers of
The fronds are scaly in the middle and attached
n ature
by bres or a narrow vase to the substance on which
they grow b ut they are free for the remainder of their
breadth lob e d and veined and have a ful l claim to rank
as frondose lichens Upon poles near the Dever in
Wiltshir e we found the Sulphur Parmelia ( P c aperat a
P la te XI V
It is a handsome spreadin g
lich e n powdery and pale yellow above dark brown and
hairy beneath Brown is the colour of the apoth e c iae
but our sp e cimens had no fruit upon th e m
The Crotal or Crost al of Ireland and Scotland is a
member of this family ( P omphal ode s P late XI V g
I r st saw it upon rocks in t h e black country
bordering Lord Bread alban e s deer park in the Western
It is a wonderful di strict and as t he coach
Highlands
wound slowly up the ste e p road constituting as t he
driver i nform e d us the high e st travelling ground in

Scotland we noticed dark bronz e patch e s on the surface


We had pass e d t he pine groves and
o f the gray rocks
the herds of shy d e er and the shooting lodge beyond and
had come into a land of peat bogs black as if drained
from coal pits and brown heath and rugged rocks
no
green in moss or grass no owers no gay colourin g
Here it was that the Crotal was ourishing its leafy
of brow n madder
stars
It
is
at c hes forming gloss
p
y
T here

are

LICH EN S

20 8

used as a brown dye for the home spun fabrics o f the dis
t ric t ; and Walker declares it to be the most in d est ru c
tible of colours The apotheciae which it freely bears
have coal black disks
Rocks in Swaledale as well as about Oban and
Call and e r furni shed us with the Rock Parmelia ( P
saxatil is P la te XI V
T his is a pretty species
when closely examined somewhat resembling the Ciren
uam ariae in its dark centre rutted substance and
lar Sq
lighter margin ; but it has the family characteristic of
only being attac hed to the stone by bres and so is easily
distinguishable
Another Corni sh ramble was to the Chough rock a
large at topped cliff overlooking mil es and miles o f
blue sea along which the broad Atlantic waves were roll
ing ; whil e vessels bound from Plymouth to F almout h
were makin g their noisel e ss way across the blue expanse
Here upon the shelve s of the rock were patches of t he
sunburnt Parmelia ( P aquila
20 ) its glossy brown
f ronds and chocolat e disk e d apothecia identifying it as
that sp e ci e s We listened to the sweet harmony of t he
waves breaking on th e sh oge and saw them deposit th eir
successive burdens of gay weeds
Thi s lured us to t he
sands and we climbed do wn by a steep path to ll a b ag
with seaweeds and shells and pick up any stray lich e n
that chance might send for e rir basket
And here the gold e n Parmeli a w as ourishing in ri ch
luxuriance its tile like fronds overlapping one another
an d b e aring such abun danc e o f full oran e shi elds that it
g
s e eme d as if sea air were its favourite enj oyment ( P la te
It is called t he wall Pal melia and rightly
XV
-

LICH EN S

21 0

leafy thi ng cove rin g the b oleS of elms and oaks for
several feet from the ground could be T he patches were
more than a foot broad sometim e s adhe ring clos ely t o
the bark but ofte ner with several of th e large lobes
tur ned back sh ewing the veined and pitt e d under surface
studde d with hollows and gre y down In the young
plants the colour was light green but in more advanced
al ly aged ones wer e
and
the
actu
a e it was oliv e brown
g
A
ot h e c ia
rey
In
this
family
the
e are very small and
p
g
We mad e
are sit uated on the under sid e o f the frond
an excuse to save the horses and walked up t h e hi ll s taking
that opportunity of secu ri ng large sheets of the kingly
lichen our n ew and admired acquaintance Thi s used
to be given as a remedy for consumption in former day s
e i t her on account of its possessing in some small de ree
g
the bitter stomachic principle whi ch has r e ndered the Ice
land moss so d e s ervedly e ste e med or upon the l e ss
r easonabl e doctrin e of initials where the outward form
was held to be t he Sign of a hidde n use and the l ung
lik e shape of the lobes w ith its pitt e d cavities suggested
them as re medies for lung dise ase In these days s uch
logic app ears the very perfe ction of absurdity ; but in
the minds of many deep thinkers there is a strong per
suasion that w e are but on the surface of botanical know
ledge and that in the s e crets of science yet unfathomed
an an alogy b et w een form and application will on e day be
found which will at onc e lay open to e very obse rvant
mind the qualitie s of each plant upon which his thought
ful gaz e x e s
We did not nd the pitt e d Sticta but a specimen of it
w as given to us by on e who had the opportunity of ex
.

LICH EN S

21 1

the highlan d s much more thoroughly than w e


T he pitted sp e ci e s ( S scrob ic ulat a
w ere able to do
P la te X1 V g
is a v e ry handsome lich en of a dull
re
e n ext e rnally and ornament e d by powd e ry warts c on
g
taining cluste rs of gonidia ; t he under side is dark and
hairy with deep pits honeycombing its surface T he
yellow Sticta
crocata) is a magnicent speci e s olive
and vein e d with yellow and wi t h l emon spots on its
under surface It grows in Ireland and is ve ry rare
The broad leaved Sticta is also an Irish speci e s ; an d
like the y ellow is very scarce The family contains
seve ral oth e r members but the two rst mentione d are
t he only on e s that gr ace our coll e ction
l
orin
p
g

CHAPT E R XXIII
LICH EN S

Wh

ck s soft m osse s c re ep
O r c ol ou re d lich en s w it h sl ow ooz ing w e e p

ere o er

th e

j u tting

ro

C O L ER I DG E

T was a great fair in the good town of Looe and


as botanical sp e cim e ns were not among the
commo d ities to b e procured th e re we took
biscuits in o ur pockets and set off for a long excursion
which Should occupy great part of t he short F ebruary
We crossed t h e bridg e and took to the west side
d ay
o f the river followin
its
course
seaward
and
rounding
g
the should e r o f the cli ff shut ting in the har bour and then
making for the rocks along t h e coast call e d Hannaford
From the steep path the scene was ve ry striking An
op e n space close to the beach on the east si d e was l led
with cattle whil e the few narrow stre ets adj oining were
crowded with farm ers and drovers Along th e roads
various groups of young b easts whi ch had alread y found
purchase rs were being driven and ev e ry ship in the har
bour di splayed its ag in hono ur of t he important occa
sion Away to sea lay the Looe Island girt with rocks
b e tw e en Which and the shore the passage is so shallow
that it is not safe for schooners excep t when the tide is
,

21 3

L re H E NS

nearly at the height ; and many an unwary v e ssel sticks


fast there A zostera bed marks the low tide on the
mainland and the cr0 p of fucus e s and dead men s ropes
is most ourishin g As soon as I could gain the shore I
b egan climbing from rock to rock towards the mouth of
the river The ground beyond high water mark was
spongy and the at tops of many of the rocks were
grassed over H ere w e found our old friend ; the Crab s
e e lichen
in
abundance
accompanied
by
its
faithful
y
ally the Black shi eld lichen The Yello w Scaly lich e n
and the Wall Parm elia w e re liberal of th e ir orange shi e lds
and spreading fronds and they coloured t h e grey rocks
brilliantly On one of the grassy ats I found what
s e e med like roughly shapen thickish leaves of green j elly
the und e r part paler than the upper I could nd no re
c e t ac les
but
from
the
peculiar
appe
arance of the plant
p
and its resemblance to the common nostoc or star

slough I fe lt sure it was the Shaking Jelly lichen


C
olle m a t re m ell oid es
This
was
a
member
of
the
lichen
(
)
ord e r next succeeding to the Sticta and c al led Colle m a
from its glutinous structure The plants of this group
have round apot hec iae bord ered the disk coloured with
brown their whole structure is gelatinous
On t he ste e p wet banks beside t he deep cutting form
ing the j unction road near Hawkhurst we had onc e
found t he gelatinous olive fronds of t he Great Jelly
It was of a
lichen ( C gran ulat um P late X V g
darker colour than the Hannaford Species but more
regul ar in shape : it had no shields Walls about Brix
ton Deverill in Wiltshire furnished us with abundance of
th e Crisp Jell y lich e n ( C crispum P la te X V g
It
.

LICH EN S

21 4

vic e s between the stones in the wal l its thick


rew
in
cre
g
s e mi transparent dark oliv e fronds crowded togeth er and
b e aring numbers of ch e stnut apothec iae shield shaped
an d oft e n so crowded tog e ther as to becom e con uent
But th es e were bygon e s on the day of our Hannaford
e xpedition
and we pressed on from the rocks which
l
radua
ly
became
lower
and
destitute
of samphire and
g
wild b e et an d thrift only n ow clothed with seaweed
showing that they w ere submerged at high tide and w e
turned our att e ntion to the sand banks down which t he
water oozed from the upper land encouraging the growth
o f many a m e ss and lichen
Here was a plot of gelatin
o us looking S hields of an orange brown
bordered with
t he s ame colour ; the fronds to which they w e re attached
were almost covered by the re ceptacles and were of a
spongy natur e so that we decided this to be t he Sponge
Jelly lichen ( C spongiosum)
N ear it was a rou gh black
stain which und er the magnier showe d many little gela
t in o us branches with shields int e rsp e rsed
It was very
minute but we were able at onc e to pronounc e it t he
Dwarf Jelly lich e n ( C subtile) Little orange shields
scattered on t he rm s and their crust bein g scarcely per
c e t ibl e announced the presenc e o f the Red and Black
p
Scur f lichen ; and the Ground Le cid e a was th e re t oo so
that the barren sand bank boasted its four lichens
Th ere are many more speci e s of the Collem a group but
they are all marked by the same characteristics but thes e
we re all which w e have been able t o coll ect
Leaving the shore we crossed some elds which
brought us t o a farm call e d Port Loo e and we presse d
onwards along t he lane leading from thence towards the
,

'

LICH EN S

21 6

microscope afterwards we saw the closely packed c ells of


the bark t he more loosely coll e cted and larger cell s O f
the medullary laye r containi ng the gonidia and the
elongated cell s which form the brous under covering
This is a ve ry common lichen and grows as lu xur iantly
in the Hi ghlands of Scotland and the dales Of Y Orkshire
as on this southern penins ula Cornwal l It is as beauti
ful as it is common its le afy fronds whether dry and gray
or moist and O live and its plentiful chestnut shields form
ing an attractive Obj ect amon g mosses roun d tree roots
or in the Al pine pas ture and the sheltere d grave yard
A pretty poem which appeared some years since in
Chambers Journal must have b e en suggested by
lichen
,

d ainty m osses lich e ns grey


Laid ch eck on ch ee k in tend e r fold
E ach w i t h a so ft sm il e d ay by d ay
Retu rning to th e m ou l d
Ye

n l eaves th at w ith aeri al grac e


S lip from th e b ranch lik e bi rd s a w ing
Eac h l e aving in th e app oin te d pl ac e
I ts b u d of fu tu re sp ring
ro w

n ti e nt creatures kn e w
B ut h alf y o u r fai th in o ur d e c ay
W e sh ould no t tre m bl e as w e d o
Wh e n He call s clay to clay
I f w e G od s

se

u l p ti nc w t
q
W h uld put ff th i m t l ge
In wh t
w f m i m t

B ut w i th
e s

an e

a soe e r n e

or

e s

ee

or a

ee

ar,

L I OH E N S

ch germ

21 7

gives
M u st h ave in H im its sou rc e and ri se
B eing that of H is b eing lives
M ay chang e b ut n eve r di es
K n ow ing

ea

of

life

He

d ead leaves dropping soft and sl o w


Y e mosses g re en an d lich e n s fai r
G o t o y our g raves as I w ill go
F or G o d is al so th e re

Ye

The genus Solorin a contains but two species ; its


characteristics are the orbicular apot he ciae and woolly
ve ins The Saffron Socket lichen ( Solorina crocea) is
yello w or greenish an d its sunken apoth ec iae are ch e stnut
It grows on ground at the top of mountains We have
none of us found it only learn e d its characteristics from
Hook er s description
Once I had the good fortun e to nd the gre e n Socket
lichen ( Solorin a saccata P la te X V g
We were
wandering on the Yorkshire moors w ith the int e ntion O f
s e eing a smelting mill and collecting anything that could
be found We had left t he broad v alley and with it all
signs of verdure and had followe d the miner s pa th till
w e reached r st t he mill and th e n the mouth of the mine
Long lin e s of carts drawn by a hors e along the tramway
brought lead ore from under the gloomy a
rchway in the
hill sid e and deposit e d their b urd ens in heaps outside the
mill It was a July day and how the sparkl ing m e tal
littered
in
h
e sun
What
a
comfort
it
seem
t
e d t o the
g
h eavy mill wheels as th e y laboured round and round
crushing the ore that water was for ever d ripping over
them ! And w ith what an unearthly glare did t he
molten lead bubble and gurgle from the oven s mouth
-

'

LICH EN S

21 8

as the men dr ew it Off into the prep ar ed mould wh ile

t he refuse or
slay rolled away in a crackling stream of
livid re smok ing and gro w ing black as it cooled in the
c omparatively cold air o f the mid summ e r atmo sphere
All this we watch e d with du tiful Observation We had
com e to see the process of sm elting lead and we must
mak e the best O f our opportunities ; but when we had done
o ur duty and received sp e cimens of the ore we proceeded
onwards to nd a plac e b eyond the sound of the mill where
we might gain shade and wat e r and a snug place to eat
our lunch e on
But this desire was not so easy of attainment All
the rocks forming the back bon e and ribs O f those exten
sive moors are travers e d with veins of lead ore and the
farther we went the more wholly d id w e s e em lost am ong
brown moor and grey crag the o nl y variation b e ing the
chimneys which ever and anon indicated that a branch of
the num erous mines was excavated und erneath In time
howe ver the banks of t he little stream to our left grew
dee per and d e eper and we descended and followed its
co urse
,

green ribb on w e kn eel e d b eside it


W e p ar te d th e g rasses d ew y an d sh ee n
D rop over dr op th ere l tere d an d slid e d
A tiny b right b e ak th at gli ttered b etwee n

H ey th e

Tinkl e t inkle sw eetly it su ng to us


L ight w as our talk as of faery b ell s
Faery w e dding b ell s sw eetly ru ng t o us
D ow n iii t he i r fortu n ate p arallel s
,

Onward we went till we came to one of the loveliest


nooks I have ever beheld Our tiny brook must have
,

LICH EN S

220

Chough Rock H e re the ground was oozy and though a


e the sea tiny str e aml ets were issuin
reat
height
abov
g
g
here and there which as th e path descended accompanied
its slope and on reaching the low ground j oin e d a brook
that watered the vall e y of Playday There was no fruit
o n an
of the fronds that we gath e red b ut we had the
y
good fortune to nd an apothecia on a plant O f another
sp e cies O f Gyrophora which we found adhering closely to
the rock This was a large circular sooty patch O f
w ri nkled fol iage it was dry and very brittle and as we
d etached it from the stone with our large knife it split
and crack e d in various directions This was the Burnt
G e ph ora
d eust a P la te X V g 5 ) and wh e n w et
it was thin transparent and of a dark O live A Scotch
friend furni sh e d us with a specimen of the handsome
O
S
Fl e ecy Gyrophora
P
l
a te
V
ellit a
X
g
p
called from the dens e black hairs which cov e r the under
surfac e and which as the broad lobes turn over on the
plane surface of the gre e n frond give s the appearance O f
fur trimming to a lady s clo ak This lichen grew on the
rocks on Lord Bre ad albane s Park but it was where we
could not d e scend from the coach to O btain Specimens
Closely allied with the G yroph ora g roup is that of
Umbilicaria containing onl y on e species the famous
Tripe de Roche ( U pustulat a) so valuabl e as affording
sustenance to Canadian Hunters It is beautiful in
appearance greenish grey having raised warts on its
surface the colour becoming dark er towards the margin
which is fringed with black hairs ; the under side is brown
an d d e pressed in pits j ust where the upper surface is
blistere d Dr Richardson and his party were sustained
.

L I CH EN S

221

for a long time by this mere l e af lik e plant when they


were exploring the northern snows in pursuit of scientic
Obj ects
An excursion among the Pentland hills furnished us
with specim e ns Of the most important members of the
succeeding group that of Cetraria The Ic eland moss is
familiar to us all as contained dr i e d in glass j ars in t he
chemi sts shops and to such of us who have b e e n accus
to m e d to att e nd on invalids the pre paration of stro n g
j elly from this lich e n is equally familiar It is a very
important m e mb er Of the lich e n clan not onl y for its
medicin al but for its nutritive qualitie s T he Icelanders
make a savour y dish o f it beating it with milk and
baking it in cakes H end erson states that the porri dge
made from it is the most palatabl e food to be had in
Ic eland Dr J ohn st on e in his Flora of B erwick upon

Tweed asse rts that it is us e d in the manufacture of ship


biscuits pre s erving them from worms But famil iar as
t h e li c hen w as to us as an article of commerce it was a
brown tuf ts
n e w treasure when growing in up ri ght O live
e ach frond paler on t h e und e r side and with a frin e of
g
dark hairs ( C islan di ca P late X V
It gr e w und e r
the shelter of sturdy furze and tufts of heath and on the
high Scotch mountains Subalp ine moors in Scotland are
the only British habitat O f this lichen but it grows more
luxuri antly and plent iqy in high latitud e s T he Sno w
C etraria is a very pretty species ( C nivalis g
It is
O f a v ery pale b uff almost ivory colour e d and b e coming
a full sul phur at the bas e ; it grows upri ght and its
fronds are narrow and much divided
Our sp e cimens
were s ent us from the Scotch mountains The Glaucous
-

LICHE N S

222

cetraria ( C glauca P la te X V
9 ) is comm on on the
It grows horizontally at rst
holes O f trees ev e rywhere
then lifts the lob es O f its broad fronds almost perpen di
o S how t h e dark linin
t
so
as
in
stron
contrast
c ularl
y
g
g
with t h e glossy glaucous hue of the upper surface We
have found it in Wiltshire Ken t H er e fordshire York
shir e and in both the lowlands and highl ands O f Scotland
but never got a specim e n bearing fruit The che stnut
ap ot h e c iae should b e found near the margin O f the frond
but we h ave sought th e m in vain
N ext in orde r comes the Orchil group important as
furnishing the species b e st adapted for dye ing T h e
Roc eella Tinctoria or Orchil O f commerce was once a
source of wealth to the inhabit ants of Cornwall and
Jersey wh ere it grows pretty freely and from it was
pro c ured the valuable colouring pigment but it is now
found that this pigment as well as that extracted from
the Cudb e ar can be O btained in greater quantity and
b etter qu ality from t he alli e d lich e ns imported from t he
Canary Islands The fronds of this lichen are rounded
and upright We found poor dwarfe d specimens on the
rocks about Looe but the at dark apothecia were no
where present
But the F ucus lik e Roc eella we found growing freely
It is much ad m ired for its pal e
o n those sea ward rocks
tint its fron ds are branched and at it is a pretty sp e cies
The
Borr
e ra group
R
f
c if o rmi s P la te X V g
u
(
so c al led from the botanist B orrer who took great pains
in studying them is characterized by the branched and
torn fronds being chann ell e d beneath and generally
fringed around the margin the apot he ciae are chestnut
.

224

L re H E Ns

It is a handsome species gro w ing in extensive patches


and we we re grateful to the wild woo dl and above Brack
lyn Bridge for furnishing us so great a treasure Tourists
launch into well deserved praises of that brawling stream
with its magnicent rocks and dashing wate rfalls and
ben d ing trees but to us th e re was an added beauty an
e xtra claim on admiration in the abundant lichens
thrown together in wild profusion hanging as silv e r foli
age from t he aged branches and lapping one over ano ther
l ik e tiling among the tall mosses There where ever
lastin g moisture hangs the mosses and lich e ns grow to
doubl e their usual size t he rocks are studded with crus

L e cid ia Lecanora and Urceolariaand


t ac eous lichens
dr ap e d with pendant masses of interwoven feather moss
and o ak lungs fork moss and dog lichen while hundreds
of Yellow chant e re lles Fly agarics and pink Russul ae
S pread their domes over the verdant tapestry
,

LICH EN S

226

again when portraying patri archal hunters he


c all s them
An d

e ss age

Than the h oary trees and

Ar ound them

ro

ck s

Lifting a fallen branch from the ground we proceeded


to e xamine the crop of lichen that it bore There were
scal e s of the orange Parmelia patches of the Fringed and
Dwarf Borrera scars of writing lichen and Lecidea but
overshadowing all these and absorbing the chief atten
tion w ere forked branches of whitish grey covered with
powdery warts and bearin g shields with ochre coloured
disks and borders t he same colour as the frond This was
the Hoary E vernia
run astri P la te X VI
p
o n e of the commonest o f branched frondose lichens
It
was growing here in tufts by hundreds on each aged
tree and w e hav e found it as abundantly in Yorkshire
Herefordshire and Kent This lichen has a remarkable
property of retaining odours and w as formerly much
used in the preparation of perfume powder
E velyn
says Of the very moss of the oak that which is white
composes the choicest cypress powder which is esteemed
e ad
ood
for
the
h
but
impostors
commonly
vend
other
g

mosses under that name


The Ram alina group derives its name from a word
signifying d ea d br anch probably in all usion to the
decaying branch e s on which the members of this famil y
are
row
These
like the E verni a shrubby lichens
g
c overe d with powd e ry warts and cottony within
T he
Ash Ram alin a is the most frequently found member of
.

LICH EN S

227

the family its fronds han ging in branched clusters from


every decaying lim b of the old trees here and elsewhe re
We nd it not only on trees but on old [park paling and
barn doors ; and I even remember procuring handsom e
specimens in quantity from the wood work of an O ld
wind mill which had long faced wind and weather in an
exposed situation on the Wil tshire down s It is called
the Ash Ram alin a ( R frax in ea P late X VI
3)
because it is supposed to prefe r that tree though it by
no m eans connes its favours to it
The Bundl e Ram alin a ( R fastigiata P la te X VI g 2)
is scarcely less common than its brother of the ash It
grows on trees and S hrubs bearing bor d erless apothec iae
in abundance on its short upright clumsy branches We
have gathered it in most of the counties we have any of
uS visited
The Ivory li chen ( R scropul orum P la te X VI g 4 )
a ec t s maritime rocks
We gathered some sp e cimens of
it on the Cornish shore but found it in much greater
beauty and abundance draping rocks overlooking t he
se a at Oban
Its apot heciae are brownish and wart like
Its pale ivo ry hue makes it ve ry attractive in app e ar
ance
Succ e eding the family of Ram alina comes the equally
attractive on e of Usn e a, the members of which ornament
d e caying branches O f tre es with great beauty and pro
fusion
Here the fronds are rounded branched and
drooping a central thread runs through them
The Flower like Usnea ( U orid a) is perhaps the
prettiest of the group Its main branches grow as thick
as ne cord and have one or two lateral branches
,

'

228

L 1 0 H E NS

the branches are bes et with numerous branchlets


crowding on e upon anoth e r on either side t he stem vary
ing in length from a fe w lines to half an inch The
lat eral branches bear very large greenish ochre apothec iae
fringed like t he branch e s with tiny branchl ets ; t he
branches gro w in thick tufts and they and th e ir branch
l ets are covered with grey powder
This lichen is
fre qu ently found We have specimens from th e s e T re
lawny woo d s Cornwall from York K e nt and Wilts but
n e ver did I se e it in such abundanc e as in the Cha c e
wood near R O SS in Herefordshi re There t he woo dl and
paths w e re strewed w ith its fully branched tufts after
e ach oft recurring gal e
Old G erard e write s of this our
ing branch e d moss
and thus describes it Th ere is
ofte ntim e found upon old Okes B e e che s and suchlik e
overgrown tre e s a kind e O f Mosse having many slend e r
branch es which divide themselve s into oth er l e ss e r
branches wh ere on are plac e d confusedly many very sm all
threads lik e haires of a gre enish ash colour Upon t he
e nds o f t h e tender branches there com e th forth a oure
in shap e like unto a little buckl e or holl o w mushroom
of a whitish colour tending to yellow nes and garnished
with the like l e aves of those upon the lower branches
The Hairy Usn e a (U hirt a P la te X VI g 1 6 ) grows
o n d e ad branch e s shrubs and pal e s
It forms a sturdy
little Shrub its branchl ets thorn sh ap e d and its Whol e
aspect rm and strong \Ve nd it frequ e ntly in t he
same h abitats as its brother
The Usn e a Barbata or Hairy Usnea is found in Old
woods in hilly countri e s It is j oint e d v e ry slend er and
long and hangs like bunch e s of hair from the trees

all

LICH EN S

23 0

thr eads beneath some overhanging rocks ; these threads


were branch like and forked and bore here and there
little black knobs which were the characteristic apoth eciae
of the family This was th e Wooll y Corn ic ul aria ( C
There are several species of
lanata P late X VI g
this genus to b e found in Britain one the prickly sp e cies
produces the crimson pigment w hich we call lake The
dark the black and gre y and the sulphur species are all
inhabitants of Al pine moors in Scotlan d
The family of the Coral lichens comes n e xt in order : to
the naked eye they appear as Crustaceous lichens but the
microscope re veals the title to be classed amon g the
branched group and their receptacles are thus shown
to b e cup shaped The tree Coral liche n ( Isidium heter
o m all a grows in old trunks in the southern and e astern
)
counties and the granul ated in similar situations The
speckl e d the dotted the white and the eye like species
frequent rocks in Scotland
The Sphaerophon group b ears globular apoth eciae
f
and has a solid stem like branch e d frond Forests of the
Coral like speci e s ( S c orall oid es P la te X VI g 9 )
adorn those Swaledale rocks where the Cudbear and
Crab s eye ourish so luxuriantly The stem is brownish
and rather attened but the branches are grey and are
fork e d at the tips It w as brittle when dry and its
reddish brown apothe ciae were globular The Compre ssed
species ( 8 c ompressum) we gathered on rocks on the
heights overlooking Loch Lomond The crowded plants
were very white and hoary e xceedingly minute and
looked as if covered with hoar frost
-

'

LICH EN S

23 1

The St ereoc aulon family very much resemble the pre


ce di ng on e but here the apoth ec iae are at The ste m
o f the Comm on St e re oc aul on is rough shrub like
and
beset with lateral branch e s and crowded hoary foliage
It gr e w upon the rocks on the h il ls about Oban in great
luxuriance attaining two inches in height and bearing
numerous black ish apothec iae ( S pasch ale P law X VI
It is a clumsy little plant with thick stem and crowd e d
branches th e se are not hollow but solid hence its
name It abounds on mountains and its receptacles are
at and sessile
It grows in high latitudes along with
the Rein deer lich en and the animal s fee d on it if their
favourite lichen fails There are several oth e r sp e cies of
solid lichen all more minute than the branched on e and
chiey inh abitan ts of S c otland
And here on thes e sea washed cliff s as well as at t he
Chees ewring and Starvegoose and on the Yorkshire
moors grew the Re in deer lichen ( Cladonia rangiferina
It forms a white undergrowth beneath t he
g
heath and li ng or it covers dry plots with its interlac e d
branch e s A pretty mi ni ature tre e with roun d sessile
borderless rec eptacles it can endure any amount o f h e at
and cold ev e n surv i vin g the res whi ch so ofte n burn
up the heath The Laplande rs give thank s to G o d fo r
this lichen according t o Linn aeus
A bounteous Pro

they say
v id enc e sends us bread o ut of the very stones
It is truly a great gif t to them for it supports their deer
and is eate n when cooked by themselves What a lesson
Do we thus heartily acknowledge
of gratitude to us !
the profuse
for convenience and even luxury with
.

LICH EN S

23 2

which our hands are lled and for which thi s Lapland
?
moss is but a very wretched substitute
Surely our
teeming harvests and prolic ocks should rouse us to
thanks fe rvent and grateful as those of the Laplanders
and proportioned to our greater blessings
The Rein deer moss makes a matted carpet beneath
the ling on moors Its branches interlace an d often grow
to the height of eight or ten inches where the heath has
been long undisturbed Crabbe calls it most aptly
,

Th e wir y moss t hat w hiten s all

th e hi

ll

Another species of Cladonia is common enough upon


our heaths and moors
the Forked lichen ( C furc ata
P late X VI g
It has a brownish instead of a
green ish hue and its branches are simple or only once
forked It grew at Starv egoose on the heights near
Palperro and on th e hill s of Oban
We n ow come to the charming group of Cup lichens
or as they are more generally call ed Cup mosses
These
lichens have scale
like fronds growing close to the stone
or earth
a stem ris es from th e se which bears a cup the
stems being called p od etta The cup in its turn supports
the apot he ciae generall y around its margin
The Common Cup moss ( Scyph ophorus pyx id at us
P la te X VI g 1 0 ) is familiar to all who observe
natural obj ects at all I remember the delight evinced
by a town bred lady to whom I introduced the plant in
Penyard Wood Herefordshire She had al ready ll ed
her han ds with owering Broom and Bitter vetch and
\Vood Anemones but she poised the cluster of Cup moss
.

LICH EN S

23 4

hills N ear Oban particularly they ourished in great


luxuriance
But the minute tubercles of the thread shaped species
were quite thrown into the shade by the equally brilliant
and much larger receptacles of the cochineal and nger
cup lichens
coccinea and digitata P la te X VI gs 1 2
and
These were old friends having been among
the denizens of St arv egoose with which we became
acquainted on our rst excursion One of them is the
plant described by Mrs Hemans as suggesting so touching
an association
.

And one w ith c u p all cri m son dy ed


S p ok e of a S avi our c ru cied
,

The horned cup lichen closely rese mbles the thread


shaped species but the tubercles were much larger in
proportion to the cups ( S cornutus) N one of the cup
liche ns are pretti e r than the torn coated one ( S sparassis
P late X VI g
with its clusters of leaves or scales
growing on its cup or stem and giving it such a nished
appearance This plant I found rst in Ke n t and
recently in Scotland This family is an especial favourite
with the poets Wordsworth launches forth in their praises
when he writes
-

All l ovely c ol ours there you see


All c olou rs th at w ere ever seen
And m ossy n et work t oo is there
A s if by h and of l ady fai r
T h e w ork h ad w ove n b ee n
And c u p s the d arlings of th e eye
,

LICH E NS
So

d ee p

23 5

ve milli n d y
w h t l v ly t in t
th
in th e i r

Ah m e
a
o e
s are
ese
O f olive gree n an d sc arl e t brigh t !
I n spik es in b ranch e s and in stars
Gre e n re d and p artly w hite ?
,

But freer fuller handsomer than any yet described


was the Daisy like cup lichen ( S b ellid o orus) which we
found near B allahulish A fore st of podetia aros e lik e
ower stems feather e d from the foot with scale like
fronds the cups were surrounded with double and treble
radiatin g lines of foot stal ks upon each of which a pink
receptacle was situate d ; the heads reminde d me more o f
hen and chick e n daisies than of anythin g else A n d the
morning sun shi ning on the dew bespangled lichen and
o n the grey rocks around it and the blu e waters o f the
Loch added tenfold to its charm and impr e ssed us with
an id e a that no lich e n beauty can equal that of our daisy
friend of B all ahulish Can Mrs Hemans have be e n
there too !
,

gree n is th e tu rf w here m y broth ers pl ay


Thr ough th e l ong bright h ou rs of th e summ er d ay
Th ey nd th e re d cup moss w h ere th ey c limb
An d th ey cha
s e th e b ee o er th e sc e n t e d thym e
Oh

The Elegant cup moss ( S gracilis) grew by the Junction


Road near Hawkhurst and on Starv egoose also It is a
tall slender species brownish in hue and the pod e tia
sometimes forked
The Pyc nothelia group has onl y on e British representa
tive and it is so minute as to be little more than a crus ta
.

LICH EN S

23 6

lichen

A greenish grey crust st udded with pimples


o f the same colour tipp e d with brown
is all the charm
it boasts It is found in N orfolk but we hav e been able
to procur e no sp e cimen
Thus then we complete our
pres ent stock of lichens We have collected dilige ntly
and though we have fail e d in procuring specimens of some
families yet w e have succeeded in far the gre ater propor
tion The seed of th ese plants seems to be their most
important and r eliable feature which s e eds are contain e d
in sacs and the sacs lodged in a rec eptacle Some sacs
contain but one seed some two and som e many ( f ig A )
T he receptacle s are of various shap e s and forms : goblet
shaped as in the gobl e t lichens : lin e ar as in the w riting
lichens ; wart like as in the wart lich e ns etc ; shields as
in the Lecidea and Lecanora e t c powdery warts as in

t he branch lichens
and tub ercles as in the cup lichens
The form of t h e frond t oo is a good m ark of distinction :
crustaceous in the mushr oom gobl et writing wart
l eprous intern al fruit e d and shi eld lich e ns ; the scaly
lichens with fron d s powd e ry within and leafy towards
the edge form a connecting link between the crusta
c eo us and frondos e parties ; and t he p armelias
lateral
fruit ed dotted gelatinous socket circul ar and buckler
lich ens are decidedly leafy in their habit The last
nam e d verge towards the branched lich e ns and the
r amilin as usneas
hair horned coral globe and solid
b elong to the leafy order The cup form is restricte d to
t he o n e family o f cup lichens
The Rev W A L eighton has worked out another
arrangement of lichens dividi ng them by diffe rent

c e ous

LICH EN S

23 8

dry ; we found
crisp and brittle on the
cliffs where it seemed as careful as the Sa mphire to avoid
the re ach of the high tides ( L c onnis) Until we
have authority for locating these little plants among true
lichens we will consider them lichen all ies in the same
way as we associat e the Lycopods with the Ferns and the
Lungworts with the Mosses
an

24 0

F U NG L

were in a fe ver for seeing Some were so thoroughly


carried away by the profusion of b e auty around them
that they forgot that they w ere seeing but th e generality
w ere bending every energy to follow in the steps of other
m en seein g what had been described and doing what
others had done Ladie s recognized the Oak and Beech
ferns from the top of t he coach others exclaimed upon
the shamrock the grass of Parnassus and the D evil s bit
Scabious empurplin g the m eadows ; sprigs of the Bog
myrtle were gathered and passed from hand to hand and
man y a w e ather stained hat and bonnet w as garnished
with the Ling or the belat e d garlands of the Woodbine
Some even noticed the broad patch e s of lungs of the oak
which half cover e d t h e bol e of many a tree in the
Trossa c hs and oth e r passes and t h e copper colour e d
circ l e s on the rocks in Lord Bre adalban e d e er park
attract e d att e ntion from a fe w Birds beasts and in
sects rocks streams and mountains highland cottage s
and the bare l egged childre n swarming from them all
receiv e d th eir full me e d of observation The beautiful

all but with on e


t he curious the useful all were noted
e xception
There is on e group of ow erless plants to which our
rac e is notoriously unj ust Show to a man of tast e and
po e try the tall column and spre ading capital of t he Fly
Agaric its cap covere d with glossy crimson e ck e d with
torn fragments of its whit e felt swaddling cloth e s It s

only a nasty toadstool he says Men will acknowledge


b e auty in t h e t iniest moss t he most forml e ss lichen or

e v en in coarse sea wr e ck and th e n peep into your basket


of Fungi varied in form and of eve ry bril liant hue and
.

24 1

F U NG L

merely exclaim with disgust What a lot of toadstools


Fungi are only accounted t to be kicked over hands

are considered t oo good for them


Is it a mushroom ?
asks a boy whose gastronomic justice is fully aroused
but when you answer N
he forthwith upsets the

horri d to adstool
S urely the time has come for the poor Fun gi to get a
fair hearing As if knowing our tastes for strong contrasts
in colour and variety in form they combine themselves
in groups of endless variation in tint and contour Out
of the grass on the banks of those highland roads sprang
black tongues contrasting strangely with the soft sur
rounding m e ss the passers by praised the m e ss but left the
weird tongues unnoticed It was the same with the yellow
and violet coral like branches clustering under shelter of

the ling these belonged to the fungi so no one had eyes


for them Standing in their accustomed mushroom form
covered with scarlet brown or violet e r still more often
orange the tourists could praise trees and rocks and
owe rs and even the mosses and the fallen l e aves but
not one word for the gorgeous congregation of fungi !
Yet the fungi are marvellous in structure attractive to
the instruct e d eye from their grace of form and brilliancy
of colour but still more from the hidden marv els of their
formation revealed by the microscope They come along
with the mosses wh e n the elds and woods have lost all
other attraction and they give int erest to the late autumn
and early Spring ramble not withdrawing their graceful
presence even during winter if the frost spare their deli
cate structure
F ungi like other plants h ave three p arts and these
,

24 2

F U NG L

like the mosses and live rworts are formed of cells T he


s a wn of fungi answ e rs to r oots in other plants ; the
p
growing part be it umbrella
shaped as in the mushroom
branched as in the clavaria or cupped as in the p e ziza
stands for their stem and leaves and the sp or es answer
to their fruit The c ells are of various shapes som etimes
round or oval sometimes as in moul ds branched in a
fanciful manner so as to look under the microscop e
lik e crystal tre e s T hey have two kinds of fruit ; on e
where a se e d or sp or e is form e d at t h e end of the
c ells ; the oth er where se e d like bodies or sp or d ice are
formed w ithin the cell
This distinction divides the
fungus family into two divisions : l st the sp or e bea r
ing class Sp or vf er i ; 2n d the A sc us bear ing class
.

Sp or td zjfer i

The rst group of the Spore class has its hymenium or


fruit bearing part open to the air
The num e rous
members of the large group of surface fruited fungi
es
e red in by the enormo us family
Hymenomycet
is
ush
)
(
of Agarics the commonly accepted form of fungus or

toadstool
Here we have a
columnar stem ( stipes) hollow or
solid A c ap like the top of an
umbrella ( pileus) f old s (lamell ae )
underneath the cap ove r which
the cells constituting the hymen
ium are spread upon each of
which on e or more sp ores are
1 C E LL
N
S PO RE O F
tuated
Many
of the Agar i cs are
i
S
A m mo
2 A SC U S 0 1 PM
furnished with a veil ( vellum ) e x
3 S P O RE f no M G NI FI F D
tending from th e margin of the
4 H u mm e r: 0 F A oa mo
,

'

24 4

FU NG L

owers if possible and if not fe rns or mosses A few


lingeri ng sprays of the Lesser Scull cap rewarded our
search but no new ferns although the Spreading Shield
fern was ou ri shing in such extraordinary size and ele
l
ance
that
we
were
ha
f
inclined
to
erect
it
into
a
new
g
sp e cies We coll ected a few mosses b ut these were of
the kinds most fre quently found and were on the poin t
of gri e ving that the botanical season w as over when we
came in sight of a number of Fly Agarics (A m anitus
1 ) dotting the ground
m usc arius P late X VI I
b e neath some beech tre e s and exhibiting eve ry stage of
growth from chestnut
sized buttons clos ely enveloped in
their felt wrappers to umbrella shaped half grown speci
mens the thick veil j ust breaking from the edges of the
cap and the crimson surface closely dotted with the torn
fra gm e nts of the wrapper and full grown stately tables
the glossy crimson skin almost or quite free from the
scraps of white felt and the veil gon e exc ept for a frill
round t he neck of the st e m We exclaimed at the beauty
of t he plant r e gretting that they were not such as we
were in search of and would th erefore afford no pleasin g
occupation for our p e ncils on t he morrow n or any
memorial of our happy day until the wisest of our party
suggested that we should begin to draw the fungi t o o ;
and thus a fresh subj e ct of interest was brought b efore
us which has been a sourc e of great happin ess to each
w ho that day entered upon the pursuit of it
How many scenes do e s that gorge ous Agaric recall to
my memory A gentle lady drivin g through the stat ely
plantations surr oundin g the country
s e at of Mr Beresford

Hope
Oh how beautiful I exclaim ; and she with
.

24 5

FU NG L

re ady kin dn ess calls t o her coachman to stop and let m e


alight and coll e ct my treasure s I did not want the
fungi th ou gh I could n ot restrain an e xclamation at
the ir beauty ; but now I gather them to b ri ng to her
She is charmed and amazed to behold anyt hing so
beautif ul in toadstools ! Again the seclud e d grounds of
a true lover of natur e rise before me and the Fly Agaric
grows freely beneath the Spreading beech trees The
own e r though accounted a matter of fact lawyer go e s
e v e ry morning to look upon the brilli ant fun i whi ch
g
have put themse lves under his protection A professed
d e votee of nature and poetry visits the place and the
mast er shows his lovely fungi with as much pride as his
e w grove
He
might
with
t
ruth
say
e lm avenue and
y
with Chr istina Rossetti
,

All c aterpill ars throve b e n eath m y rul e


W ith snails and sl ugs in c orners out of sigh t
I n eve r m arre d th e su dde n c u riou s stool
Th at p erfects in a night
,

But the eye of the stranger is blinded by conventional


iti e s and he passe s the Agarics afterwards with a sneer

Be careful not to upset Mr


s
e t toad stools
p
This plant is poisonous in E ngland and is us e d
for exterminating ies and vermin ; in other E uropean
count ri es it is merely intoxicating not poisonou s and is
us e d as an article of food in Kam sc hatk a This altera
tion of qual ity with climate is not uncommon among
fungi Many species whi ch are d elet erious here are
regular articles of food upon the continent and t he
Fuegi ans d e pend greatly upon some for suste nance which
,

24 6

FU NG L

actually poisonous in Britain (Amanita musc arius


P la te X VI I g
The Red
eshed Agaric ( Amanita
rub e sc e ns) is the near relation of the Fly A garic Its cap
is brown and its esh turns red when bruised T he
wrapper adhere s in this sp e cies j ust as in the on e which
we have been descri bing ; and it is as frequent though
less showy an ornament of our woods Berkeley de
s c ri bes its qualiti e s as doubtful but I have h e ard it
recommended as edi ble I have found it in Yorkshire
and frequently in K e n
A third Amanita ( A phalloides) the Phallus like
Agaric greeted our sight when spending a day at
Virginia Waters
London was crowded and oppressive
in th e extreme ; we had toiled at the exhibition of 6 2
day after day and when our humane host proposed one
day in the country to recruit o ur exhausted powers we
By that calm lake we sat
e agerly entered into his plan
and luxuriat e d gath e rin g s e veral vari eti e s of heath and
the Lesser Dodder parasitic upon it treading over thick
mats of the White thread moss and lling the provision
basket which we had quickly emptied with fun gi of
various shape and character One of our group was this
Phallus like Agaric The wrapper did not adhere to the
cap but opened at the summit and let the tall plant
shoot from it remaining like a soft egg shell round t he
base of t he stem The cap was y ellowish gre en very
glossy the veil thick and entire There are oth e r speci e s
of Aman ita but th e y have not reward e d o ur search
Anoth e r group of Agarics wh e re the veil is v e ry full y
developed is characterised as L ep iota The Bulbous
L epiota grows in rare beauty und er a r avenue in a
are

24 8

F UNG L

rst gre eted us among


humilis P la te X VI I f ig
furz e and heath upon the Wilts Downs It is a tall
stately fungi three or four inches across and attractive
from its elegance of form
The same woods furnish abundance of a small
Agaric b elonging to the next or Clitocybe group whi ch
is attractive from its fragrant odour ( C o d orus) It
grows among moss is of a pal e greenish mouse colour
and m e asures about two inches across The Bell shaped
Agaric ( C Cyathif orm is) of similar size but slendere r
gro w th its cap depressed into a funnel shape rewarded
our search in the woods and eld borders about Callander
It is a curious spe c ies from t he uncommon form of the cap
The little Purple Agaric ( Colyb ia lac c atus) is a fre
quent o rnament of our woods its rich tint contrasting
beautifully wi th the fresh green of the surrounding moss
P
l
a te X VI I
Its
colour
vari
e s much
though
(
g
always rich now amethyst purpl e now maroon We
rst found it on that m e morable e xcursion to She erwater
which occasion e d our begin n ing the study o f fungi
I n the Collybia group the margin of the cap is at rst
rolled in but this feature oft e n dis appears early in the
life of the plant The Hollow st e mmed Collybia ( C
I rst saw growing in a
fusipes P late X VI I g
cluster from the hole of a tre e in the Hope Park E din
b urgh Of course I was all anxiety to pro c ure the
specimen but th e groun d where th e se trees gre w was
fen ced o with park paling and I saw no chance of reach
with my own hands Presently however
ing the
a laddie appeared and re adily undertook to scal e the
fence and seiz e the obj ects of my desire ; though what
.

'

24 9

F UNG L

reason I could have for wanting puddock stools it was


utterly beyond his pow e r to conc e ive Thi s species has
an inated stem often twisted and cracked ; the whol e
plant is of a reddish brown in maturity though in an
The Velve t
e arlier stage
t h e folds are of a pale tint
stemmed Collybia is a ve ry handsome fungus We hav e
gathered it from the stumps of trees in autumn in
Wiltshire Kent and Berkshire Th e cap is a rich
burnt senna colour t he folds yellowish and the stem
senna shading to bl ack and covered with a ve lvet pile
it has rootlets at the base An edible speci e swith
mouse coloured cap and stem and pale folds which we
found in th e Braid glen near E dinburgh is the N ail
Mushroom whi ch Berkeley describes as an arti c le of c om

merc e in Austri a ( C E sculentus) The Oak leaf Agaric


is
a
pretty
species
C
r o hil us P la te X VI I
d
g
(
y p
and often found amon g decaying oak and be e ch leaves
in the K e ntish woods The whole pl ant is of a buff colour
In the M yc en a group the margin of the cap is straight
and pressed to the st e m in infancy The pretty ros e
Agaric (M Purus P la te X VI I g
is frequently
found in woods especially under larch and r I rem e m
ber coming upon a perfe ct crowd of it in the plantations
at Starvegoose n e ar Hawkhurst The folds are very
broad the margin of the cap striped at the edge and
coloured more d e eply at the centre ; and the stern has
root like hairs at the base The whole plant is a beauti
ful l ilac colour A minute and slend e r Agaric
al
of nat ur e
fami
iar
to
all
observers
belongs
to
l
c alinus
)
this group It appears in a night raising its slender
bells by dozens on decaying wood while the tall ste ms that
.

FU NGI

25 0

support them are so slender that they shake and quiver


in every breeze The colour is grey sh aded dark to the
summit of the bell and pal e to the margi n ; the folds
are white at rst and then b e come greyish The smell is
like that of walnuts and the plants perish as rapi dl y as
they appear Anothe r pretty species of this group sent
to us from the Som e rsetshire woods is the pale green
Myc ena
e i t er
i
u
s) it grows amon g fe rn leaves is
p p yg
decidedl y green in hue and in other respects resembles its
allies
On a twig of bramble I found a cl uster of slender
Agarics th e i r stems thre ad like their caps pure white
The twig was in a d e caying state lying amongst fall en
l e aves in the Chase Wood near Ross in Herefordshire
The fungus was the bramble Myc ena
rorid us)
The folds turned down the st e m mark the Omphalia
group A pretty speci e s of Omphalia attract e d my
att e ntion as it grew from the margin of a peat bog on
the Yorkshire moors v ery e arly in my fungus ex pe ri
e nce
It is a small plant not measuring more than two
inch e s across ; the cap d epressed in the c entre so as to
earn for it th e name of Cup Omphalia ( O Pyx id atu s
P la te X VI I g
and striped and puckered at the
margin The colour of the whole plant is a bright ochre
1 6)
The Oran ge Omphalia ( O bula P late X VI I
is a slender and elegant species We found it in t he

on a
rounds
parasitic
of Craig Hous e near E dinbur h
g
g
dead leaf
The Pleurotus group has either a on e sided st e m or no
stem at all There are some ve ry handsom e sp e ci e s as
the Meadow and Oyster Pleurotus ( P ul m arius and
.

'

25 2

F UNG L

thatch growing al one or in groups the pale brown cap


c ov e red with silk y scales
The Crepid ot us group comprises a number o f small
fungi many of them less than an inch across with lateral
stems or no ste ms at all The Variable Crepid ot us
riabil is P la te X VI I
C
va
is
very
common
on
(
g
dead sticks and w e have found it in every county where
we have searched for fun gi
We now come to a s e ries where purple min gles with
the brownish hue of the spore s The rst group of these
Psalliot a contains our much respected edible mushroom
l
P
pratensis
P
at e X VI I
(
g
,

The n sleep th e season s full of mi h t


\Vhil e sl ow ly sw e ll s th e pod
And rounds th e p e ach an d in th e night
T h e mu sh roo m b u rst th e sod
g

How shall we suiciently praise this popul ar plant !

\Vhe t h er gathered in its inf ancy as


buttons for a
pickle or in its mid age for fr yin g or stewing it is
a d elicious addition to the chop or outlet and we do
not believe in its e ec t s b e ing harmful if taken with
oth e r food B e rkeley gives this direction with refer
ence to all e dible fun gi t o e at them with plenty of bread
or oth e r simpl e foo d most o f t h e instances where they
have had an evil eff ect have been when taken al one
Last au t umn our dail y rambles in Kent were professe dl y
in search of mushrooms and w e seldom sat down to
dinner without a dish o f our gatherings yet none of our
party suffe red in t he slightest d egre e
Sh ee p are
fond of mushrooms and we found it seldom repaid us

25 3

FU NG L

to seek them in elds where sheep were browsing It


is a c uri ous phenom e non the sudd e nness wi th whi ch all
fungi appear in a locality often following upon som e
new dressing o f the land In a pamphlet on the botany
An
o f Gloucestershire I saw a note ill ustrative o f this
int elligent farmer gave a heavy dressin g of salt to a eld
o f grass which had been frequ e ntly ooded by an adj acent
brook the inundations of which had re ndered the grass
so ur The foll owing autumn the eld was cov ered with
mushrooms one person alone sold 20 wor th of buttons

for picklin g
In this and anal agous cases the proba
bility is that the spawn is already present in the soil but
ne e ds some extra prin ciple to enable it to spring into
vitality In t h e Gloucestershire pasture the wanting
element was evid ently supplied by the salt
The Field Mushroom ( P arvensis) is a large and
coarse species al o edible and much sold i n Cov e nt
Garden for stewing
T he Verdi gris psalliota ( P aerugi n osus Pla te X VI I
l
is
remarkable
for
its
rare
tint
The
fu
l glaucous
g
green is very seldom found among fungi and we hail e d
it with triumph on e autumn mornin g when we were
gathering hops in a Kentish lane In youth this fungus
is conic al but spreads as it nears maturity but the
raised centre of the cap never becomes plane T he
hemisph e rical Psalli ot a ( P semiglobatus) is a fre quent
de ni zen of stubble elds and pastur es its cap brown and
its folds ll ing in the cupola form e d by the roun d ed
headthe spores here are dark e r than in the other
members of the group
The Hypholom a group is characterised by a web like
.

F UNGI

25 4

veil which disappears altogether before the plant attains


maturity
The olive gilled Hypholom a ( H sublat eritius P late
X VI I g 1 2) is a handsome species the cap bright red
brown and conv e x the folds pale at r st then olive
Our specimens came from the Crock ert on woods in Wilts
T he Bundl e Hypholom a ( H fasicul aris) is a famil iar
example of the group Clusters of it grow out of dead
wood hazel and other branches at most seasons of t he
year The colour is orange and the folds are only vari e d
by a slight admixture of green
The next series of A garicini have black spores T he
Coprinus group spring quickly and then melt away
The Hair y Coprinus ( C c om atus) has the cap torn into
hair like scales It grows in a con e shape and is found
I rst gathe red it in a eld
o n road sides and pastur e s
but I had scarcely tim e
at K ingston Deverill in Wilts
to paint its portrait before it melted away It is a
common species The Inky Coprinus ( C atram e nt arius
P la te X VI I g 1 3 ) is also conical in form and grows
in e xtensive groups often crowding so close upon one
another as to push each other out of shape It springs
on garden borders lawns and in any rich ground All
the group live principally on manure
About old stumps w e frequently nd similar groups of
the Mica Coprinus ( C m ic ac e us) It is so called from t he
sparkling scales upon the cap which res e mble grains of
Mica th e c ap is an ochre brown and the stem is hollow
It is small e r and l e ss c onical than the other t w o species
The Folded Coprinus (C plicatilis ) is a common fun gus
,

25 6

F UNG L

intense carmine and the folds and stem are white The
E metic Russ ula ( R emet ica) is scarcely less handsome
the colour being almost o f the new magenta tint varying
in every shade from whit e to t he deepest hue The cap
is expanded not cupola shaped as in the last species ;
and the fungus is v ery unwholesome It abounds in
eld borders called in Kent shores about Hawkhurst
We now come to a group with branched and swollen
folds blunt at the edges and rather like veins than
agari e folds The Chanterell e of the French Cantharellus
of Britain h as on e edible species ( P late XI X g
This fungus is apricot coloured variable in
Cibarius
form and very abundant where it grows at all I rst
saw it studding the grass under trees at Virginia Waters ;
and I saw it later in the same year in tenfold abun d
ance in the Bracklyn woods near Callande r The tawny
Chanterelle ( C t ub aeform is) I found in Wiltshi re ; the
veins are thicker and more distant than in the e dible
sp e cies and the stem is compressed It is the scarcest
species of the two Th ere is a pretty slender species
parasitic on moss or thatch and elsewhere the moss
Chantarelle ( C m uscigenus) but it has n ot rewarded our
search
A curious genus with waxy veins often growing para
The
Starr
o n other fungi is t e rmed Nyc t alis
sit ic all
y
y
Nyct alis I found o n som e d e ad agarics near Hawkhurst
but the folds were n ot fully formed B e rk el ey tells us
that the meal powderi n g its cap consists of starry bodi e s
seeming to be a second ki n d of fruit : hence the specic
nam e
The marasmius gr oup contain s the true fairy rin g
.

FUN GI

25 7

Agaric an e di ble species very abundant 11; some locali


ties
oread e s) In this group the substance of the
folds is corky and very dry and the specimens are much
longer liv e d than in most of the other families For
long the fairy ri ngs were an unexplained phenomenon
but no w that fun gus rings are so constantly seen on
the Downs and elsewhere in the vicinity of the fairy
rings it becomes self evident that these pl ants are t h e
The manner in which they
agents in their formation
work is less apparent but is probably that suggested by
Berkeley and others Throwing out the seed in quanti
ties so as to form a mass of felt like spawn the fruit
probably sprin gs at a certain d istance from a common
centre ; and as th e small circle will again cast seed b e
yond its own circumference the ring naturally widens
w ith each successive crop
The decayed substance of the
fungi fertilize the ground so that the fairy ri ng is con
stant l
marked
b
luxuriant
verdure
y
y
But as Miss G od ew in says
,

fai ri es l ong sinc e troop e d away


Th en ed th e gh osts in full array
And n ow each mu se d ep arts
E x p e ll e d fro m g rove an d sac re d stream
W h ere erst th ey d wel t in airy dream
T h e p oor thing s b reak th e i r h eart s

T he

Here is a gloomy picture ; and fancies should at any


rate be cheerful
We turn with pleasure to Al lan
Cunningham s mention of the fairy ring
.

Oh

l ead me fort h o er d al es and mead s


en as a ch ild th e m oth er l e ad s 3

25 8

F U NG L

n uts clu ster thick an d sp rings


T h e t hi stl e w i th t en th ou sand st in g s
T h e ring w h ere l ast th e fairi e s d anc e d
T h e pl ac e w h ere d ank Will l atest gl an ced
T h e st ream th at steals its w ay al ong
T o gl ory c on se c rate by song
And w hile w e sau nter let th y sp eec h
G od s gl ory and his g oo dn ess p reach
\Vh ere tw in

A gr e at n umber of minute and elegant parasites belong


t o t hi s group
From the decaying w ood of a turnstile in Wiltshire a
o f almost stemless
roup
were
growing
The
cap
g
was of delicate brown kidney shaped at and much
curled and plaited at the edges the folds were broad in
many in stances torn and of a pale colour T h e sub
stance was eshy This was the plaited Lentinus ( L
ab elliform is) a rare species,of whi ch our collection is
proud in no small degree
The little Styptic Panus is my o nl y specimen of the
Panus group tough in texture pale mealy externally
its short stem swell ed where it j oins the head It has
styptic qualities hence its name and is found on dead
tre es and stumps growing in shelf like clusters Our
nest specimens are from Her e fordshire
The l as t group of
is the Lenzites of corky
texture and folds branching and crossing on e another
The Birch Lenzites ( L b et ulina) is common on old
stumps and rail s it is hairy and zoned with ochre and
olive ; the original tint being bu ff It becomes almost
woody in age and lasts upon the tree stumps for a great
le ngt h of time
.

CHAPT E R XXVI

S m ll f h

he

T urf

ich in odo riferou s he rb s


And fu ngou s fru i ts of e arth regales th e sen se
W i th l ux u ry of u n ex p ected sw ee ts
e

res

an d r

C O WP ER

E pass from the extensive order

of

Agarics to
o n e of much small e r di mensions the second
in the class characterised by the exposed

e
hymenium
H re this fruit bearing stratum is spr e ad
within p or es inste ad of folds and the order henc e call ed
,

P olyp or et

The Sap b al ls are the rst group in the Pore ord er


When disposing of fungi in the usual insul ting manner
o f upsetting w e expect the reversed side to consist o f
f olds in the r e gular toadstool pattern but we are occa
surp rised
surpris e wil l condescend to be
sio n ally
arous e d by a fungus !) t o see the interior lled as with
sponge
The yellow Sap ball ( Boletus luteus P late
is as bright in its golden hue as the
X VI I I
orange Pholiota and grows to a larger size We have
fre qu e ntly found it about Hawkhurst late in the summer
and also in Herefordsh ire and Yorkshire Its favourite
habitat is r woods The Wh ite Sap ball ( B laricinus)
-

26 2

F U NG L

Kent and occasionally in Shropshire The Shell Poly


pore ( P c on c hatus) I found on pollard will ows on the
banks of the Wye near Ross in Herefordshire It is an
e legant species partakin
the
charact
e r of the cornucopia
g
in form the cap d e ep red bro w n and the pores varying
from buff to brown This species is much less soli d than
the last owin g to the shortness of the pores and much
more elegant in shape The Common Willow Polypore
was ourishing on the same trees shapeless in form
pallid in hue but the closely packed woody pores of a
bright cin namon colour The P annosus we found in
t he Sh e erwater woods
adhering to large stumps and
growing quite into the ground The pores were white
and the covering browni sh T h e vari egated Polypore
e r than
P
versicolor
is
a
very
fami
ar
species
small
l
i
;
(
)
any of those already named but gron in great abun d
ance tier above tier ; zoned with olive and ochre like
the lenz ites and often half covered with a bright green
tint the resul t of the growth of minute confervae The
Fir Polypore ( P ahiet inus P la te X VI I I
is
small er than the variegated on e but resembles it in
character it is of a beautiful violet hue underneath
white above with violet edges We have gathered this
in Wil tshire and other counties
The Trametes group is closely allied to that of the
Polypores only distinguished by the presence of tr ama a
stratum intervenin
g between the fruit bearing surf aces of
folds or pores The Corkey Trametes ( T suav eoleus) is
of the texture in di cated by its specic name it is rather
soft and p al e has large por e s and is powdery We found
o ne specimen in a holl o w willow in Kent
,

26 3

F U NG L

The D aedalia group have toothed pores The Oak and


One colour ed species are both common ( D quercina and
unicolor) they are heavy shapeless fungi growing sh e lf
like on trees and stumps and would be taken for Poly
pores but for the curious form of their large pores The
name signies a labyr inth owing to the twisting habit of
the pores
The Merulius group is rendered notorious in fungus
history for its evil member the Dry rot
lachrym an s )
The spawn of this fungus makes its way into the wood
work of houses especially where the air is excluded and
soon reduces it to rottenness We passed a church
which was all gutted fresh wood work in course of
preparation and in answer to our inqu iries as to the
cause of these restorations we learned that the Dry rot

had got into the wood and it was all rotten


The same
process was going on in the house of the Curator of the
E dinburgh Botanic Gardens and from the same cause
The s ubstance of thi s fungus when full y developed is
eshy and watery pale in colour and the under surface
velvety Drops like tears O ften ooze from it hence its
specic name ; it is onl y d ry in its undev eloped stages
In this group the hym e nium forms net te d folds blunt
shallow and vein like The Corky Merulius
corium
P la te X VI I I
grows commonl y on stumps is
about the thickness of parchment and but a shade darker
in colour I n its early stage it is spread over the surface
o f the wood but it presently becomes loose at the edge
and turns over in frills
The last group in the Pore order is that of F istulin a
Here the pores are not in veins or netted folds but in
.

'

26 4

FUNG L

deep tubes quite d istinct from one another Our one


British species (F istulin a hepatica P late X VI I I
is a scarce fun gus we have found it growing from trees
in Longleat Park Wiltshire ; and some of our friends
have it from Stonel eigh Park Warwickshire These good
people were adventurous and havin g hear d that the
unsightly fungus was as wholesome food as the beef
steak which it so closely resembles they ordered it to be
cooked and proceeded to eat it They descri bed the
avour as similar to that of v eal cutl e t and they ex peri
e n c e d no evil e ff ects from partaking O f the di sh
Their
relatives were much agitated by the transaction and the
adventurers were awoke at daybreak by inquir ies
regarding their state of health
The small order of Hyd n ei succeeds that of Polyporei
its di stinguishing feature being the sp ines over which
t h e fruit b e aring stratum is
Spre ad
The Spread Hyd
num ( H repandum P la te
X VI I I g 8) is e dible
Berkeley describes it as de li
cate and agre eable in avour
and quite whol e some
We
have found it abundantly
1 H Y M NI U M O F P O L Y P O R U S
in the B e dgebury woods and
2 no O F B O L E T U S
i n ly
more
spar
those
of
in
3 DO 0 F H Y D N U M
g
4 D
Wiltshir e and Herefordshire
:
g
The spines thickly besetting
the under surface of the cupola remind one o f stalactites
in a cavern In K e nt we found another pretty species the
zoned Hydn um ( H Z onatum ) This is a much smaller
.

'

26 6

FU N G L

circular

violet

brown

whilst little
patches zoned exter
nally and turning crimson when wounded pre sent plants
of
the Bloody Ste re um ( S sanguinolentum P late
X VI I I
1 9 right corner of the plate)
The Hym enoch mt e group is characterised by sti
bristles The rusty Species
rubiginosa P late X VI I I
g 1 0 ) grows on posts and pales is of a ri ch burnt
siena colour and looks like a folded piece of worsted
velvet
In the Corticium group the Hymenium is swelled
when moist and oft en fringed with tiny hairs around the
e dge
The Pur ple Cort icium ( C c aeruleum P la te X VI I I
9
looks
like
a
morsel
of
rich
blue
vel
v
et
when
moist
g )
but it becomes duller when
The Oak Corticium
uerc in um ) is brownish lil ac and is very common
(C q
o n dead or aged o ak branches the patch measuri ng from
on e to three inches in length
The E lder Corticium
i
on Elder
C
sambuci
is
white
and
very
th
n
it
grows
(
)
stumps cracking with th e inequ al ities of the bark All
these Species are very common the localities where we
have found them are too numerous to mention
form the
A group of mi nute and elegant
Cyphella group they are cup shaped and often pendul ous
somewhat resembling Canth erellae in their veined
Hymenium N ear Richmond in Yorkshire I found the
little moss Cyphell a ( C Museigena P la te X VI I I g
3 ) growing upon on e of the large Feather mosses ; this
is the o nl y species which w e have any of us found
We now come to the f th orde r that of Clavarias or
Club fungi characterised by having the Hymenium
upon the Club up to its very summit The true Clavari as
,

26 7

F UNG L

are eshy and generally branched the stem being the


same in substance as the club There is no prett ier group
in all the fun gus kingdom than this Its m e mbers vary
in colour to every shade of purple and yellow or pure
white and they grow either in single clubs clusters of
clubs or coral lik e branches interl acing in every fanciful
form The Bun dl e Clavaria ( C fastigiata P la te X VI I I
on the chalk downs and in
is
ex
remely
common
1
t
1
g
)
pastur es it is often called the Coral Fungus and the
form of its branches entitles it to the appellation It is
repeate dl y branched the branches entanglin g with on e
another and t oo bri ttle to be easily disengaged T he
Crested Clavaria ( C cristata) is equally pretty in its
way very much cur led and crumpl e d in its early stage
so as to resemble pieces of peeled walnut but spreading
into elegant snow white branches as it approaches
maturity We have found it in woods in Wiltshire
Herefordshire and Kent Perhaps no species is more
common than the Furrowed Clavaria ( C rugosa P lat e
X VI I I
1 3 ) it grows in S ingle clubs often dilatin g
towards the summit and ben ding into every quaint
variety of position Last autumn I gathered it in Kent
o f an unusual size and in great quantity
som e Shr op
shire fri e nds gave a similar accou nt of its abun dance in
their neighbour hood and added that they had had it
fri ed like mushrooms with butter and pepper and that
the dish was scarcely accoun ted inferior to the true
mushrooms The Violet Clavaria ( C am ethystin a P la te
X VI I I
It w as a foggy day
1 2) we foun d at Oban
and the grass and ling were heavy wi th moistur e But
we felt that we might not be favoured with better
,

26 8

F U NG L

weather during the week of our stay especially as we had


rashly used up two ne days in e xamining the treasures
of the shore So we were re solved to traverse the uplands
and endure the wettin g as best we might B ut it was
heavy work ! O ur dre sses were soon wet to the knees
and what a weight it was to carry We toiled for hours
and were feeling quite discouraged when my eye ca ught
sight of a cluster of violet branches among the sward at
my fe et Saturated as everything was with moisture
the colour of the fungus was in its full perfection and
lovelier Shades of violet I nev e r saw
A tawny
Geoglossum was growing hard by but of that more anon
The Candle Clavaria ( C v erm iculata P la te X VI I I g
1 4 ) is forme d of a simple club white and generally con
re at e d in cluste rs which look like half a pound of mini a
g g
ture dip candles l t grows in pastures pretty frequently
I have oftener found it in Kent than elsewh ere Another
species som e what resembling this but bright yellow is
also common in K e nt ( C fragilis) Th ere are many
members of this family exceedingly minute in Size as the
Pistil and Rush Clavarias ( C pistill at a and j uncea ) which
grow parasitic on d e ad straws and twigs
The Caloc era gro up re sembles the last named ; but
the texture becomes horn y wh e n dr y ; h e nce the name
The orange sp e cies ( C corn e a P la te X VI I I
Caloce ra
f
is
ric
hl
y
tinted
We
have
found
it
on
stumps
o
1
5
g
)
The Typhula group al so
o ak and e lm at Hawkhurst
pres e rve the club shape ; they are v e ry minute plants
parasitic on dead leaves and st e ms
The Pistill ari ae have the s ame character but are
tougher in texture
,

FU N GI

27 0

part w as olive and covere d with downy hairs The


plants trembled on the stem as I carried them ; but I
got them home in safety The largest measured on e and
a half inch across I have als o found it in Herefordshire
N o fungus answers so uns atisfactorily to its description
or looks so unlike its elf in di ff erent stages as the Je w s
ear ( Hirneola au ri cula j udae P la te XXI I I
Berkeley describes it as concave and others speak of it
as cup shaped We rst saw it in Wiltshire adorning a
leaess elder bush in the early winter
The plants re
minded us of large ears as long and thri ce as broa d as
those of a full Sized lop cared tame rabbit The liken e ss
to c ars w as p e rfect there were th e veins the thin griz ly
texture and a soft velvety surface like mouse Skin T he
colour var ied from red to green in be autiqy blend
ing shades The following spring we found the sam e
plant on budding elder ; it was thick smooth semi
transparent and onl y ve lv ety underneath ; the veins
were there but it seem e d impossible that the substance
should ever be rolled out to the extent and thinn ess of
It is on e of these young speci
o ur friends of last year
mens that are gured in the plate Comparin g my
specimens I concluded that I had thus procured typical
representations of the two extre mes of Jew s ear life ; but
last year I found a perfe ct forest of it upon an elder
hedge near Ross in Herefordshire ; and lo specimens
were there of every age and in every stat e of preserva
tion Infant gelatinous plants were there rising one
above another ; full -g rown on es still Sh elf l ike not
cupped n ot pendul ous ; old shrivell e d ones were th ere
very little lik e ears ; som e black en e d with age som e
,

FUNGI

27 1

covered with moulds som e zoned with conferv ae but not


o n e the least like my beautiful lop cared specim e ns !
T h e Dacrymyces group are minute fun gi like pimples
of elly on dead w ood or the trunks of trees The orange
Species ( D still atus) is very common ; a constant para
site on pine rails It grows in great abundance near t he
railway station at Warwick The pretty golden cup
Dacrymyces ( D chrysoc omus) is rare we have no speci
men of it
Thus we reach the end of the rst great family of
fungi ; those whose fruit bearing part is exposed \Ve
would fain clear away the prej udices against the whol e
race but this is difcult ; for in the present day pre
j udice can onl y b e vanquished by utilitarianism and w e
can o nl y claim th e protection of that for a very limited
number of fun gi Pe ople have been too long accustom e d
to consider them as evil signs and Shelley furthers t he
popular superstition
,

Agaric s and fu ngi w ith m ild ew and m ou l d


S tart e d lik e m ist from th e w et grou nd c o ld
Pal e eshy as if th e d e c aying d ead
W ith a spirit of growt h h ad b ee n ani m ated
,

Surely the high inte lligence of the nineteenth century


woul d do better to emulate Bishop Mant s style of deal
ing with the fungi ! Let us prevail on our gentl e
re aders to tread in his steps

F or mostly

in

forest d ank
O r mid t h e m e ad ow s h erb ag e rank
W hen ora s l ove lier trib es give pl ace
T h e mushrum s scorn d b ut c u riou s rac e
th e

27 2

GI

F UN

B tu d th m i t u tum n l th
Aq
u ick b ut p i h bl bi t h
P m p t tO l t
fd d c y
T h mu ch y u f il
d mi
t t
Th i p t th i t u c tu th i
t m th t bl h d
T h p ill
es

o s

er s

ro

e r

ar s,

ar s e

no

e r s r
,

e a

o a

re ,

e r att re ,

re ,

a e,

er,

a e ar

ea

i h a silk e n c arp et sp read


I nl aid w i th m any a b rill i ant d ye
O f n at ure s high w rou ght t ap estry
O f au tu m n s w aning streng th th ey sp eak
And tell h ow n atu re w orn and w eak
Prep ares h er sc e p tre to resign
And in in ac tive l ang u or pine
A

w t

CHAPT E R XXVII

FU N G I

W ll m k

feast in our mossy de ll


O f infant p u ff b al l an d rare m ore l
And m any a favoure d g uest sh all sup
O n lil y d ew from a sill e r c u p
T h e ag e d pu b all s sh all h elp us t o ch e at
T h e d ainty b e e s of th e ir l u sci ou s m e at
Whil e others sh all b urn to give us light
And scare from our d ell th e dr e ary night
e

a e a

W I CL I F F E

L NE
A

H E s e cond class of fungi are characterized by


having the hymenium or fruit be aring part
enclos e d in a single or doubl e envelope It is
therefore called the envelope class or G aster omyc etes
In this class we look no more for the column and
c apital
though that form appears in exc e ptive case s
The general contour is spherical or approaching to Sph eri
cal but there are many variations from this and forms
of great eleganc e and intere st
The r st order of envelope fungi is subterranean in its
habits its characteristic distinction is that the hym e n
ium do e s not turn to dust until the whole plant d ecays
This order is called Hypogei When staying near Bath
-

FUN GI

27 4

my kind friend and instructor Mr Broome one of t he


leading fungologists of the present day took me out to
s e arch for plants of this ord e r one of which the Bath

Trufe used to be sold for the same purposes as the real


Trufe in the market at Bath
We went to the b e ech grove where he had often found
specimens and a dog trained to s e nt out the fungi
accompanied us
But alas either the False Trufes were
all gone or the dog had lost his scent for we move d the
dead leav e s and scratched the surface of the earth over a
large area but no specimen re warded our search Mr
Broome gave me a Specimen of t he plant in question
from his ow n herbarium ( Melanogaster variegatus P la te
XI X g
There are six groups of these subterran
e an
fungi accordin g to Berkel e y but we have be en
e minently unsuccessful in nding spec imens
The next order is that of Phallus It is characterized
by a perfect enve lope out of which the fruit b e aring part
rises and in a short time m elts away In the Common
Phall us w e have an e nvelope closely resembling that of
our rst friends the Fly and Phallus lik e Agarics
T he
young plant appears like a round puff ball but t he
e nvelope bursts a tall honey combed column shoots up
c rowned by a cap in true A aric style which cap is at
g
rst covered with an olive coloured hymenium gelatinous
and moist and whi ch ooz e s away quickly giving forth a
most offensive odour and attractin g swarms of ies to
the noxious fe ast The plant has a digni e d and im pos
ing appearance and might w ell b e account e d a desir able
ornam e nt of woods and pl e as ure grounds but for its
abominable and all pervading odour
This procures for
.

27 6

F U NG L

The Clathrus is a handsome plant of the same order


and e x c ells t he Wood witch in its abominable perfume
Our one English speci e s ( C c am ellat us) is p e culiar to the
south of E ngland and Ir eland It is red and branched
lik e coral or s e aling wax
The third ord e r o f the envelope class that of T r iche
ga str es is char acterized by a single or double envelop e
e nclosing t h e hymenium which presently turns to dust
and thr e ads
T he group of E arth Stars ( Geaster) is the prettiest o f
the Order Here there are two strong envelopes th e
rst bursts early in the life of th e plant and imm e diately
t e ars into equal segments turning back and lying upon
the ground in a s tarry form The second remains entire
t ill t h e spores are ripe then it opens in the c e ntre and
allows them to escape Mr Broome gave m e specimens
o f the Hairy E arth Star
G

m
b
riat us P la te XI X g
(
which he found in great abundance about Bath
The bro w n pu balls which we nd in pastures so
fre quently belong to the n e xt group Bovista ( B nigresc e ns
P la te XI X g
We use d to gather them as chil dren
o n Hungry Hill n e ar Ripon
and there is no n eighbour
hood in which I have soj ourned in autumn where I hav e
m iss e d the familiar bag of dust
T h e Scotch call th e m
D e vil s snuff boxes There is a sm aller sp e cies som e what
l ead coloure d it is quit e as common ( B pl umbea)
The gi ant puff ball is commonl y found in the Swal e
dal e pastur e s It grows to a great Siz e and in its youth
forms a whol e some and pleasant di sh compare d by some
to swe etbreads ( Lycoperdon giganteum ) This puff ball
is used to smoth er b e es or rather by its fumes to in duce
,

27 ;

F UNG L

intoxication ; and whil e the be e s continu e in that stat e


the honey can be taken and the lives of the honest
inse cts spared for future labour On the subj e ct of pu ff
balls O ld G erard e is kind enough to give us his opinion
at the sam e time introducing us to an ancient use of t he
plants
Pu balls are no way eaten the powder of
them doth bite
In dive rs parts of Engl and where
people doth dwell farre from n e ighbours they carry them

kin dl ed with re which last eth long


Imagine an
evening party ass embling by the light of glo wing puff
balls ; it woul d rival a gypsy pie nic in e xcite ment !
Our grandmothers however did use dry pu ff
balls as
tinder and very suitable they seem for natural tinder
boxe s
The pear S haped pu ff ball ( L pyriform e P a te XI X
we
found
about
tree
stumps
in
the
She
e r w ater
5
g )
woods it was furnished with a root
The Scleroderma group has a double envelope t h e
outer beset with clothy scales
The common speci e s
frequents wood borders often growing in clusters it is
common enough ; our specim e ns are from Hawkhurs t
S
vulgare
The
S
bovista
I
found
in
Cornwall
it
)
;
(
w as larger than the common sp e cies ( P la te XI X
6)
and the spores were yellOw Olive The smell was n ot
pleasing and I was sorely tempted t o throw it away lest
it should damage my pretty basket O f Cornish owers
But fungi are scarc e in Jul y and I was unwil ling that
Cornwall should be unrepresented in my fun gus coll e e
tion ; so I pl aced my y ellow puff ball besid e the re d
Broom rape and Cornish heath and pressed on towards
the Lizard Point
,

F UN G I

27 8

The fourth order of e nvelope fungi ( Myxogastres ) con


tains a comparati vely uninteres ting set of plants
In
their you th they are soft but presently th ey become a
mass of thre ads and dusty spores The y are furnished
with an envelope which keeps t he plant in shape till
nearing maturity when it te ars and the dusty contents
becom e diffused Masses of yellow dust lying upon the
sward or umber dust in similar situations represent
e xploded individuals or clusters of R e ticularia or [
Eth
alium A little Didymium w hic h I found in numbers
It looked like a
on a dead leaf belongs to this order
miniature Agaric made of silver paper and the enve lope
showed scales on its surface under the l e ns The A rcyria
group contains some pretty Speci e s The Re d A rcyria
A
punicea
P
l
ate XI X
grows
in
abundance
on
7
(
)
dead wood In Kent Wil ts and Yorks I have found
its clustering h e ads ful l of verm illi on dust the top of the
env elope soon give s way and then the Spores e scape In
Trichia the envelope tears lengthways and the species
are without st e ms th ey are common in hollow tre e s and
under dead leaves ( Trichia Turbinata P la te XI X
The fth and last group of envelope fungi is called
Nidulariace ae or bird s nest fungi It is possessed of
mark e d characteristics the spore s being packed in various
ugh or
like
parcels
and
the
eg
s
enclosed
in
a
to
e
g
gg
woody envelope w ell compared to a b ird s nest and to
which the eggs are atta ched by a spiral cord which
uncoils wh e n the seeds are ripe and j erks t he littl e par
cel o ut as a bird shove s its timid or lazy brood into
fre e dom and inde pend e nce
In the shady depths o f Kingswood near Congres
.

FU N GI

28 0

The Crucible Bird s nest ( C vulgare P la te XI X


1 1 ) partakes of the form of the vessel from which it is
named not tap ering to the base as its two cousins do
There is a lon g narrow eld near K e mberton in Shrop
shir e with lines of trees on eith e r hand It looks like a
grand approach to some nobl e mansion but it leads no
where and has no attraction beyond its o wn beauty ;
pasture elds or arable elds are around it but it is the
most attractive nook amongst t hem all Here the wood
anemones quiver their pale heads in hundr eds ; prim
roses peep from under the hedges ; and viol ets nestle
about the tree roots Here mosses ourish in en dl ess
variety sheltered from the midsummer glare by tall
grasses and spreading ferns An d here when the grasses
are withered and the ferns are dead clusters of Crucible
bird s n e sts spring from the decaying stems closely guard
ing their fruitful eggs until the moment when the cord
is bid to j erk and t he fungus seed mingles with the fresh
leaf moul d and prepares to bide its time till the spring
owers and summer grasses have had their turn and the
little crucibles w ill be due again
A very scarce fun gus belonging to this order re
warded my search in Yorkshire one winter s day Pass
ing the Richmond race course the main road led through
a dark wood ; here I left th e public path and betook
myself to the wood searching for mosse s and fungi
Whil e examining the ground under some r tre es for
varieties of t he fork moss family I saw some orange
bodies like beads about the size of rape se e d These I
T h e next pos t
took conclu di ng them to b e fungi
and in a day or t wo I rec e ived a
c arried them to Bath

F U NG L

28 1

re quest from Mr Broome for more of the orange b e ads


they being plants of th e ground T h elob us a fungus not
recently found in Britain Of course I was proud in t he
e xtreme
but for many days ill n e ss and stre ss of weather
prevented my repairi ng to the r woo d Snow came and
botanical intere sts w ere nec e ssarily held in abeyanc e
the snow lay long but when softer airs had melted it
e v en from the black r wood I s e arched again but not
o n e trace of the precious orange bea ds could I nd !
.

'

CHAPT E R XXVII
F U NG 1

L v N tu nd h m ll t
S h l l whi p t thy m ind
a

o e

re , a

er s

s er

es

ato

C H A R L E S M A CK A Y

A VI N G examined the principal members of the


Hymenium and E nvelop e classes we now
come to the third or dust class Coniomycetes
Here the spores are the leading feature sometimes th e y
are sin gle som etimes connected in chains sometim e s
covered sometimes lying in n aked clusters and sup ported
o n more or l e ss rudimentary threads
but whatever t h e
variety of the case the minute plant seems chiey com
posed of dust like spores
The large maj ority in this class are epiphytes or p ara
sites accordi ng as they infest leaves or wood and other
substances A ll are minute and are only re cognisable by
means of a lens
Wherever we nd a bun dl e of dead nettles we may
hO pe to dis cover black specks on the stems which when
e xami ned by m e ans o f the m i croscope are seen to b e
bottle shaped This nettle dust is one of the Apos
,

28 4

FUN G 1

Devil s bit Sc abions appears attended by its especial


e piphyte
another of this Puccinia famil y ; the Sanicle
lik e w ise has its humble depen d ant of t h e same ord e r ;
the Adoxa its peculi ar fungus whil e here and elsewhere
the bean the box tre e the gw ort the peri wink le the
golden rod th e willow herb and the enchanter s night
shade are similarly adorned
The Uredo group are orange brown or black A few
members of brighter tint occasionally appear I found
a yellow Uredo on the dog s mercury at Hawkhurst and
a handsome orange on e o n the strawberry like Cinquefoil
in the same and other districts the willow herb St
John s wort oak and bilberry each nou ri sh on e of these
ayer
Uredos
g
At Clevedon in Somerset we found Sea lavender
whose leaves adorn e d with brown specks furnished
specimens of on e of the Brown Uredos and in t he Yorks
woods we have gath e re d leaves of the Herb Robert
studded with brown dots as ne as a needl e point a close
ally of the Se a
lavender Uredo
Some Maiden
blush roses growing in a cottage gard e n
in Swaledale had leaves half covered with yellow dots
those under the microscope appeared clusters of spores
T h e el egant little
bursting from the mother cell
Cathartic Flax had similar specks on its leav e s and we
soon ascertain e d them to be an allied species of Epiphyt e
Wh
lanes
in
the
nei
hbour
e n traversin
L
ec t h ea lini
g
g
( y
)
hood of E dinburgh e arly in on e spring we noticed plants
on the Wayside Shepherd s Purse all blotched as it were
with whitewash We concluded that some had been

t he

28 5

F U NG L

used to the adj ac e nt wall or at any rate carri ed along


the stre e t But as we l e ft the neighbourhood of houses
and the lan e became a re al country lane we still beheld
the marks of the white w ash ! On clos e examination w e
found that this was a white epiphyte to which t he
Shepherd s Purse was subj ect
Leaves of the Water Sweet gras s grow ing besid e
certain ponds at Hawkhurst are marked with long sooty
lines accompanyin g the veins of the leaf th is is t h e
E longated Ustilago and is a fungus of decid e dly bad
characte r It propagates so quic kly that one plant of it
S O small as t o be invisible to the naked eye will bring
forth forty se e ds Thes e seeds oat in the air and soon
nd homes o n the stems and leaves of corn and grasses
When rst this blight appears it is orange in colour but
presently turns a rich brown and th e n becomes black
This intr oduc e s us into that evil group the St G il e ses of
the fungus kingdom where the dangerous members o f
the dus t class are to b e found Here is Smut ( U saget um )
which takes its rise within the glum e of living plants
and grows with such rapi dity as speedily to ll t he
interior and burst throu gh the S kin sh owing its e lf as
dirty bl ack dust oozing forth Witheri ng desc ri bes thi s
as consist ing of very minute E ggShaped ste ml e ss cap
sul es at rst whi t e but the thin white soon bursting it
pours out a quantity of bro w n black powder mixed wi th

wool lik e bres


Bunt ( U car ies) is the plague of wheat as Smut is of
oth er cereals It not o nl y destroys the ear on which it
e ry grain that comes in contact aft e rwards
rows
but
ev
g
,

28 6

F U NG L

with the infe cte d individuals T he


spore s wh e n crush e d give forth a
disagreeable smell and hunt e d
wheat use d to be applied almost
o the makin g of ginger
t
e nt irel
y
bre ad wh ere the other condiments
disguis e d the unplea
e mployed
sant odour
The Buck wheat has its smu t
ut rrc ul osa) the Sage i t s smut
U
(
and
other
plants
u
rc e ol arum
U
)
(
.

.
.

4.

HE

T BL IG H T
G O OS E B ERR Y BL IG H T
B UNT
W

'

magnied

imilarly endowed
L e st the re ader should turn with disgust from the
whole class of Dust fungi because of these harmful
Uredos we will introduce him to another memb e r of the
class which we should have Spoken of before had we not
wished to reserve it as a bonne bouche afte r the Smut
and Bunt The Ye ast plant ( Torula c ervisea c a t)
consists of round or oval c ell s ; th e se cells at rst are
solitary but within an hour of b ei ng placed in a good
habitat other buds and c ell s hav e app e ared ; in thre e
hours thes e are doubl e d ; in eight hours branching cells
appear th e n the mature cells e xplode giving birth to
num e rous young c ells and in thre e days threads and
branches are produc e d Hogg from whose work I have
taken this d e scription also mentions another stage of t h e
plant pre vailing in port e r vats but as in this stage it is
not b e necial but rather t he contrary w e will not ent er
i nto the elaborate discussion of it But surely the wid e
spread utility O f the Yeast plant from which even the
are S

28 8

F U NG L

in thick patches and when e ach has opened its starry


lid the blotch looks like hon eycomb under a lens The
Mountain Willow herb so abundant in the York woods
is O ften dotted with especial IE c id ium and in this speci e s
the plants gro w singly The Wood Spurge coverin g t he
H e refordshire hill s with its sunny foliage exhibits anoth e r
sp e cies of IE c idium the e special retainer of the Spurge
family
Surely when we examine these plants so
m arvellous in the beauty of their structure the extrem e
minuten e ss of their size and the inconceivable n umber of
their individuals we shall no longer desp ise Dust fungi
but rather say with the poet
,

m d thing
I n p f c t b u t y th
m ll
T k l n y u ll
w
t

G od mad e

us, as

e a

s,

so s

s all ,

a e

ea

er e

he

e re n o

se e

blight or M ild e w sp o t
B ut S mu t an d C ank er nd a pl ac e

Am id th e v ari e d fung us rac e

D e spise d

as

The class succeeding that of t he Dust fungi is


characterized by the predominance of thr e ad s and is
therefore called n homyc etes or T hr ea d f ungi
The plants of t h e rst ord e r ( I sari ac ei) are parasitic o n
t w igs dead o wers fun gi and insects
Ot her groups
follo w their specie s forming dark coloured specks o n
decaying stems bark and leav e s presenting little vari ety
o f int e rest e xcept wh e n examin e d with t h e microscop e
The order of Moulds (Muc edin es) have int e rest e nough
both from t he extreme beauty of their structure and t he
important part they play in the life of man
,

28 9

F U NG L

And r t we will consid e r that fungus of gas tronomi


cal celebrity known as Blue
moul d in cheese ( A spergill u
glaucus) Rising on a crystal
ste m formed of a single c ell
chains of cells radi ate from
t h e summit in great numb e rs
making the plant into a minia
1 BL U E C H EE S E M 0 U L D
H RR MO U L D
2
ture standard bush Yet to
3 DU N G M O U LD
the nak e d eye a forest of th e se
A l l m gni d
bushes appear but as a blue stain ! AnotherAspergi llus grows
upon the plan t s in h erbariu m s but its st e m is form e d of
many cells and the ch ains of t h e shrub are rep e atedl y
branch e d Other species app e ar on d og and rabbit
d ropp ings and present the same shrub like structur e
Aspergi llus is the name of the brush with which t he
holy water is sprinkled in Roman Catholic churches and
is h e nce adopted for these dainty plants
The Botrytis group has its infamous member t he
Potatoe Blight ( B infest an s) The thr e ads of t he
mycelium e nter the st ems and leaves and preve nt t he
c ircul ation of the j uice s whil e a vil lanous ally ( Fusis
orium solani) attacks t h e tub e r
n d S pr e ads in e very
p
a
direction consuming the grain s of star c h with whi ch t he
cell s are l l e d and supplying their place with their o w n
noxious branches T he Tomato is infe sted with the sam e
unwelcom e parasite growing from the root or spawn
throwing out branches and n ourishing itself at t he
An other Botryt is preys
e xpense of the inf ect e d plant
on fruit and all decaying vegetable structur e s
O ne
species attacks the livin g Silkworm while the house y
s

29 0

F UNG L

and other insects are preyed upon by other members of


the order
The Oid eum group contains some important members
The Mould of the pear and of the orange ( O fruc tigenum
and fast igiat um ) and that of t he grape are well known
The last nam e d is thus d e scribed by Mr Harris
Grapes when blighted are covered with what app e ars
to be a white powder like lime a littl e dark e ned with
brown or y e llow This powder being a collection of
fungi sends forth laterall y in all directions thr ead like
laments which become so completely interwoven with
o n e another as entirely t o cover and enclose the sk in o f
the grape in a compact and r m network and on each is

s e en the egg shaped capsule or seed pod


Rec e nt discov e ries in medicine and anatomy have
convinced physicians that fungi bear a considerable share
in the di seas e s which attack the human frame Rin g
worm is caused by the germination of a fungus upon t he
skin ( Oid e um porrigini s) and during the time of the
chol e ra visitation in 1 8 5 4 the Rev G Osborne coll ected
many microscopic fungi from the air and small e r ones
have be e n detect e d arising from fo ul drains
The vinegar plant is also a thre ad fungus (Mycoderma
aceti
e ry moss
Mr
Slack
describes
it
as
a
tough
leath
)
often used by private families to make vinegar o ut of
S olutions of sugar and treacle
If a thin piec e of the
larg e tough vinegar plant is examined microscopic all y a
moderate power sufces to show an unorganized j elly
and cellular structure of many shapes often rese mbling
coherent cells of yeast others being like Oid eum It is
.

CHAPT E R XXI X

NGI

FU

b eau teou s n ature is th y fac e


All that grow s h as g rac e
All are app rop ri ate B og an d marsh and fen
A re o nly p oo r t u ndi sc erning m e n
H ere m ay th e nic e an d c u ri ou s eye e x pl ore
H ow n atu re s h and ad orn s th e ru shy m oor
B eau tie s are th ese that from th e vi ew reti re

B ut w ill rep ay th atte n ti on t h e y re q


u i re
V ari o

s, as

C R A BB E

H E rst large division of the fungus tribe was


characterised by naked s e eds or spores In
the Hym enium class these were contained on
an exposed surface in the E nvelope class they were
e n clos e d in an e nv e lop e or case in t he D ust c lass th e y
forme d the main p art of the plan t and in the Thre ad
class they were mere ly attached to the thread like stem
or branches ; but greatly as the different classes varied
th e y w ere unanimous in the simplicity of their spores
\Ve now come to the s e cond gr e at divisi o n of fungi
whe re the spore s are contained in bags or a sci hence
the rst class in the division is c al led Ascomycetes
or Bag fungi
.

29 4

F UNG L

Once only we found t he Loose Morel


semilibera)
in a thick e t on the banks o f the S w ale Here the stem is
fre e from j uncture with the substance of t he h e ad for
some distance though overshadowed by it The honey
c omb is larger and the head much small e r in proportion
to the height O f the stern than in the edible species T he
Spread Morel we have none O f us found
T h e Mitre Helvell a ( H Lacunosa P lat e XI X g
We had sp e nt
1 4 ) was on e of our highl and treasur es
the night at B allahulish and as the steam boat would
not call on its way to Fort William until noon we se t
forth for an early ramble hoping to gain treasures for our
botanical collection We rambled up the hills crossing
r unlets and stony places where wate rs raged in the
wint er and nding mosses in profusion and beautiful
lichens and delicate branches of the ramping fumi tory
an d heath in abundance
But no fungus greeted our
e yes t ill w e
reach e d t he low groun d again and t he
distant steam of the boat appe ar ed cloud like o ve r the
waters Then with an exclamation of d elight we sprang
forward to gather t he most curious and uncann y group
we ever beheld The stems were all
o f fungi that
wrinkled and grooved the heads bloat e d and bulged
into ev e ry possible form One might have b e en an old
mitre made of felt and k nocked about and weather
beat e n till it was all bulges and hollows another w as
more lik e a cocked hat w hile others again were club
shaped onl y verging slightly towards the form of the
mitre
T he black heads contrasted strongly with the
whit e stems and the effe ct of both was h e ightene d by
the lovely moss carpeting the ground beneath them
.

29 5

F U NG L

and by some plants of Sheep s sorr el which leaned their


crimson leaves against the grooved columns In thi s
r ec e ta c le hangs down O
roup
the
head
or
ver
the
ste
m
g
p
and the fruit bearing surface is on the upper part
In the succeeding group of Verpa the receptacl e is hell
shaped and rutt ed on the outer sur face We have n ot
found eith er of the species
The Mitrula group have oval receptacles These are
scarce fungi the only time we fo und either o f them was
when accompanying a shooting party on the Yorkshire
moors
There where the oozy gro und warned us to
beware of peat bogs w e espied among the spagnum and
marsh plants the orange heads and white stems of th e
Marsh Mit rula ( P lat e XI X g
The Spathularia is distinguished from the Mitrula by
its long narrow head attened and bright yellow in
colour Once onl y I have found it growing under r
trees in the Fright wood near Hawkhurst ( S av id a
The same n eighbourhood furnish e d
Pla te XI X
our sp ecimens O f the shin ing L eotia ( L lubrica P late
There is a lane w hich has yielde d m e
XI X g
many a oral treasure wh ere the primroses grow in
galaxies and the Lent lili e s nod by hundreds in the
breeze wh ere the Spotted orchis lifts its noblest spikes
and the Lady fe rn grows in greatest variety of form
th ere on the high banks of that shelt ered lane hard by
the roots of the now sleeping owers rose the pale stems
O f the Shining L eotia upon w hich the glossy heads of
b ri ght Olive pu ffed and swelled to their utmost
The next group that of Geoglossum takes me back to

29 6

F UN L

Scotland again across the wild road leading from Loch


Lomond to Oban The turf is short and few owers
vary its hu e in Septe mb e r ; but amid the verdan t
p e nnons of t he grass rise thick bl ack t o n gu es shaped like
im ple clubs and lookin g lik e imps turned to w ood by
t he light o f day
This proved to be the Hairy G eoglos
sum
hirsutum ) At rst Sight I b eli ev e d it to b e a
clavaria but the spores b eing contained in bags at once
distinguish e d it from th at family
The n e xt Geoglossum add e d to our coll e ction was t he
olive species ( G oliv ac eum P lat e XI X g
It
was growing o n t h e moors above Oban h ard by the
Am ethyst Clavaria Then cam e a box of Geoglossum
black as the impish hairy speci es but as large as th e
olive on e and all glossy with moisture This was t he
Shining G e oglossum
glabra P la te XI X g
It
was s e nt to m e by a sister bot anist in Wiltshir e who had
found its black tongu e s looking strang ely w e ird ben e ath
stately tree s in a gentleman s grounds I afterwards
found the sp e cies in woo d s in H erefordshire
We now come to a family unsurp assed for beauty an d
charm among the fun gus p e oples though having no claims
to utility T he P e ziz as are cup or in som e instanc e s
saucer shaped t h e hymenium spreads ove r the inside o f
the cup The spores are amazingly small and light and
if when they are ripe you irritate the surface of the cup
with a fe ath e r the spore bags burst and the spore s rise
like a puff of smoke
We w e re rambling in my favour ite Yorkshire woods
o n e ne sprin
ains h ad mad e the ste e p
day
and
recent
r
g
path very Slipperynay worse than slippery : the mud
,

29 8

F U NG L

One graceful writer cal l s it Fairy Bath ; and I eve r


think Bryant s li nes most suitably apply t o it

Sc l

ar e t

u ft

gl ow ing in th e gree n l ik e ak es of re
And w andere rs in th e p rairie kn ow the m w ell
And c all th at b rilliant pl ant th e Painte d C u p

A re

a
s

Th ese brigh t ch alice s w ere tinte d th u s


T o h old th e d e w for fairi es w h e n th e y m et
O n m oo nligh t eve ning s in t h e h az e l b o w e rs
And d anc e d till th ey w ere thi rst y
,

96

9"

it

W ll
e

g en tl e M ani to u of w ers
Ling ering am id th e blo om ing w aste h e loves
T h o all h is sw art hy w orshipp ers are g on e
S le nder and small his rou nd ed ch e ck all bro w n
And r u ddy w ith th e u n shin e let hi m c om e
O n summ er m orning s w h e n th e bl ossom s w ak e
A n d p art w i th li tt l e h and s th e spiky grass
And tou chin g w ith his cherry lip s th e e dge
O f th ese b righ t b eak e rs d rain th e g at h ere d d e w

L e t th e n th e

The Scarlet Peziza ( P coccinea P late XX g 1 )


grows on hazel twigs Insects and slu gs are v ery fond
of it and it is rar e to nd a full grown specimen fre e
from th e ir dil apid ations
It appears ge nerall y about
January and with moss makes a charming winter
bouquet especi all y if a fe w snowdrops or a Christmas
rose can be had to heighte n the forc e of contrast We
have gather e d these b e autiful fungi in Shropshire H e re
ford shir e Wiltshir e Kent and Yorkshir e
A very small Grey Peziza frequentlyfound on the ground
.

29 9

F U NG L

twigs l yi ng on the ground re warded me for weed


ing a friend s fe rnery in Kent The pretty fungus was
nestling b eneath the ferns in great numb ers its cups
wide spread about h alf an inch in circumfere nc e in tex
ture waxy and fringe d round the edge and underneath
with bro w n hairs The tiny white Peziza ( P Virgini a)
is found in quantities parasitic on dead twigs and moss
its cups are only t he size o f a pin s head and its st e m is
short and thread lik e The bank s of Loch Lomond
furnished m e with a beautiful clare t Peziza no d escri p
tion c an depict the extre me d e pth and richness of its
colour ing It grew on t he bare ground ( P la te XX
or o n

g
The green P e ziza ( P vermiformis P la te XX
4)
gr e w on old willo w stumps in a pretty eld hard by a
s tre am near Bath It is a rare sp e cie s The bright
yellow cups of the tiny P Claro av um were found
on a decaying log in Wil tshir e ( P la te XX g
T he
same n e ighbourhood furnished th e rusty black Peziz a
u
P
atro
f
sca
8
and
the
red
brown
shi
e lds o f t he
(
)
hairy Peziza ( P hirta
Last autumn rain fell
day by day and as we look e d forth on t he dripping
world we longed that the rain would cease if onl y to
let us look upon the rich K entish landscape ; but the
rain would not c e ase Then as if to afford us entertain
ment brown specks appeared on the walk imme di ately
underneath the windows th e y enlarge d into h e ad lik e
bodi e s these Opened and showed din gy cups which
spread and spread till they might have furnished plates
for a doll s dinner party When we came out again t he
.

F U N GI

3 00

walks were peopled with hundreds of the groun d Peziza


l
a te XX
P
1
(
g
In t he woods of Kent and Sussex we sou
i n va i n
for the Ve rdigris P e ziz a It is used by the work e rs in
Tunbridge ware to furnish t he green tint used in their
pretty patchwork articles and it se e med natural that it
should grow in t h e n e ighbourhood where it is in so much
re quest But the pl e asure of nding the little Peziza
and the spawn stained wood was res e rv e d for a Scotch
ramble wh en after wand e ring in the Braid valley and
lling our basket with mosses and agarics and hoary
lich e ns an old rail m et our vi e w all coloure d with the
v e rdigris tint w e had so long sought in vain ( P aeru ginosa
P la te XX g
In that same neighbourhood within sight o f Braid
Hill is an O ld family mansion c al led Craig House
The pl antations surrounding th is ancient dwelling give
sh elter to num erous fungi ; and th e re I had the good
fortun e to nd the lilac Bulgaria ( P sarc oid es P la te
b elonging to a group closely allied to that
XX g
of Peziza
T he n e xt ord er to the E lv ellac e i i the T ube rac ei and
h e re w e com e to subt erranean fun gi again The external
form of the true Trufes res e mbles that of the false T ruf
es as closely as the Geoglossum res e mbl e s a simple Clo
varia in both instances the see d s being simple or
The c om
e nclosed in asci is the only s ur e distinction
mon Trufe of our markets ( Tuber aestivum) has a rough
surface it is found in the south of E ngland especiall y in
Hants under beech trees On one or two occasions we
have sea rched for these rare fungi raking the gr ound in
.

3 02

F U NG L

Most p e rsons have remarked the black blisters which


c onstantly app e ar on s camore trees in the autumn this
y
is a mould b elongin g to the group j ust mentioned ; it
only attain s m at urity when t he leaves have lain long on
the wet ground A similar moul d infe sts the leave s of
willo w and an other t h e st e ms of n e ttle A group of lin e
shaped or oval plants like mere discoloure d seams on
d e ad branche s is call ed Hysterium many of t he species
are v e ry common none interesting except to the eage r
fungologist
The thir d ord e r of the Ascus fungi is one which con
tains a very great numb er of S pe cies Sp hce ria cei here
the asci are enclose d ben e ath a woody o r membranous
covering : a few are of cons id e rable S ize but a vas t num
ber are microscopic
T he rst group Cordiceps has eshy heads and elon
gat e d stems
The Soldier Cordiceps ( C militaris P la te XI X
20 ) is t he pr e tti e st of the family ; it grows parasitic upon
dead pup ae I found it in woods in H er e fordshire and
Kent and it has been sent to us from the Yorkshire
m oors
S everal other species are parasitic on s edge
furze reeds an d larvae and on e the t errible parasite of
cereals may claim to be the most drea df ul of the fung us
poisons
All cereals are subj ect to this E rgot ( C purpurea); but
it most frequ e ntly attacks the rye Flour made of the
e r ott e d grain is unwhol e some ; and if taken in quantity
g
c auses gan rene
O
n e s e ason a larg e proportion of the
g
rye grown along the coast of N ormandy was ergott e d
and the poor being in a very gre at meas ur e d ependent
,

3 03

F U NG L

upon this grain for subsistenc e were obliged to eat of it


Frightful di seases ensu e d the su ffe rers di e d in agoni e s
the limbs of many dr oppi ng off from sheer decay b e fore
death put an end to th e ir misery F or som e tim e t h e
scourge was referred to sup e rnatural cause s ; but at last
suspicion fell upon the our Its effect was tri e d upon
a d og and the result proved the direction of the evil
But in t he hands of science the fe arful power of this
plant is turn e d to good and a very valuable me di cin e
produced from it
There is a mysterious poison used by the gypsi e s and
avowedl y extracted from f ungi
It is more than pro
babl e that it is an ally of t h e Ergot A cas e of poison
ing by its mean s occurred some three years ago ; and a
stri c t e xamin ation into the poison began but stopped
suddenly at any rate the public we re favoured with no
I subj oin an e xtract from on e of t he
m ore part iculars
daily papers at t he tim e it conveys all the information
I have been able t o gather George Barrow s works con
rm the fact that such a poison is in use amo ng t he
of fungus origin
ypsies
and
that
it
is
but
they
throw
g
no further light upon it
Among other j e alously guarded secrets of the gypsy
race is the art of preparing what they t erm the drei or
dri a most d e a dl y and insidious destructive agent and
A nalysis
for which medic al scienc e knows no antidot e
detect s no noxious prop erties w hate ve r ; and th e most
c areful examination microscopical or oth e rwise s hows it
simply to consist o f apparently harmless vegetabl e
matter
The dre i then is merely a brown powd er
obtained from a certain species of fungus forming t he
,

'

3 04

F U NG L

n e arest connecting link b etween the animal and vegetable


kingdoms the powd e r consisting of an innity of sporu l e s
These fun goid sporul e s possess the peculiar propert y of
being farth e r d e velop e d only by intimate contact with
living animal matter ( as when swallow e d & c ) they then
throw out in num erable gre e nish y ello w bre s about
twelve or eighte e n inch e s in length Wh e n the drei is
administere d usually in some warm drink th e se sporul e s
are swallow e d attach themselve s to the mucous mem
brane ge rminate throw out millions of th e se silk y bres
w hich grow with awful rapi dity rst producing symp
toms of h e ctic fever th e n cou gh eve ntually accompani e d
by incessant spitting of blood til l death n al ly inevitably
s upervenes usually in about a fortnight or three w e e ks
time A case of this d e scription ca m e und e r my notice
in Italy in 1 8 6 0 Although t he patient was attended
by emin e nt physicians accustom e d to deal with cases
o f slow poisonin g no suspicions of foul play w e r e en ter
t ain e d till t he day aft e r the d e c eas e wh e n an autopsy
being h eld reveal e d th e cause of death The bres the
rowth
o f which had ceased w ith the cessation of the
g
a nimal life and h e at that had supported th e m were
already part i ally d e composed ; had anothe r day or two
e lapsed no trac e would h av e b ee n l e ft of the fo ul de e d
If t he an alysis of the mixture in q
u e stion reveal no del e
t erious d rug let a dog o r oth e r animal be daily dozed as
thre e drops in some
t he gyp sy recomm e nded with
warm v ehicl e The re sult would Show wheth e r the
brown powd er is or is not the world famous and de
s t ructiv e drei
A group of minute e piphytes succeeds that of Cordi
,

3 06

FU NG L

tips
The seed is borne packed in tiers within the
branches
The Hypox ilon group has a fe w memb e rs well worthy
Large swollen blisters hard and
of a passing notice
brick re d gr owing on bark pres e nts t he shapeless
Raised knobs like
Hypox ilon ( H multiforme g
the h e ads of rusty nails studding hazel branches are
plants of the brown Hypox ilon
fusca) and carmine
spots on the bark of beech shew clusters of red Hyp oxilon
e rless stains and dots of every
H
coccineum
N
umb
)
(
shade of brown som e thick some hardly raised som e
only discernibl e at all by m e ans of a lens mark a portion
O f the m e mbers of the Sph ae ria group
N ext to the Sph aeria group comes that of Perisporiac ei
interesting as containing the race o f Mildews so torment
The fruit tree
in g to the farm e r and nurs ery gard e ner
mildew is trying enough the rose mild e w is an unwhole
some guest but all vexatious parasites melt into nothi ng
ness before the b t e noir of Hop growers all whose sum
mer d ays pass in terror l e st the caterp ill ar e at or the
mildew choke th eir golden hopes centered in their beauti
f ul hop vines
The last group in the Ascus class is that of Onygei
and on e of its curiou s members graces our coll e ction
Once more memory returns to a Yorkshi re wood It
is not th e season when poets rave about nat ure s lov eli
ness T he spurge laure l on the clink bank is green but
its scent e d ow ers are gone the autumn ow e rs lie
crushed and saturate d with winter rain and the river
roars turbul ently b elow missing the sunshine which
should gil d its waves Here is a steep footpath but
.

307

F U NG L

none care to traverse it now that nuts are out of the


range of possibility But when seekin g fungi one ever
chooses the most out of the way and unfrequented path
and so I climbed in the footsteps of last autumn s nutters
Presently I espied an old torn felt hat and upon it a ne
crop of Onygena Thi s fungus resembles a L e otia in form
but it is very minute not exceeding a quarter of an inch
in height The seed bags are contained within the hea d
All the memb e rs of this group ourish on decayin g
animal materon e grows upon hoofs and another on
O ld bones They are scar ce and my specimens were
accounted great treasures ( Onygen a piligina)
The second and last class belonging to the ascus
di vision is that of Physom yc e t e s a family n e arly al lied
to the Hyphoc myc este s except for these havi ng simple
spore s and those Spores in bags or asci
The A sc0 ph ora Muce d o is the fungus call e d Bread
mould If you subj e ct a little of this to the mi croscope
ou see a grov e of tall stal ks each with a bead like head
y
Whil e young these are of a milk white colour but pre
se nt l
h
they
t
u
rn
yellow
later
may
see
t
e spore
o
u
;
y
y
bun dl es under the skin of the head In anoth e r day or
two the fungi b egin to get d ar ker an d presently the S kin
bursts and the spores are scattered in the air
This
moul d is very unwholesom e and has been kn own t o pro
duce serious ill ness
A red moul d appearing sometimes in past e is trace
able to another alli ed fun gus Dr Murray desc ri bes this
and I quote his words
A curious circumstanc e oc
cur red in Padua in A ugust 1 8 1 9 ; the alimentary sub
stance call ed by the Italians p olenta is a compound of
.

3 08

F UNG L

maize our salt and water It was prepared in a family


in the usual way but was discovered t o be full of red
spots ; this was cast aw ay ; but the red Spots appeared
in the next preparation which excite d consternation and
alarm
The bl e ssing of the priest was implored and
s and masses
iven
sti
l
l
it
was
o f no avail
prayers
fast
g
w e re equally in effe ctual The gouttes of blood still ap
e are d !
The neighbours regarded the house and its
p
inmate s with fear and horror ; in th e ir opinion the pol
e nta must have been made from some O ld corn refused
to t h e poor during the famine of 1 8 1 9 and this was an
e videnc e o f the divine di spleasure
A skil ful botanist
however restore d tranquill ity and peace by tracing the

cause of alarm to a cryptogamic vegetation


T he cellar fungus or Mouse
skin is another member of
this last class of fungi This plant takes up its abod e s
in caves or c ellars A newly placed prop in a Derbyshire
cavern was in four years draped with the felt formed
by this mouse skin ( Raeodium c ellare ) It is in damp
plac e s that it is gen erall y found
Thus we come to an end of our selection of fungus
species ; having considered thos e most ge n e ral ly found
and most e asy of recognition We have examined the
distinctive features in the classes th e di fference betw e en
simple and ascus contained spores m
arking t h e two great
d ivisions ; t h e e xposed hym e nium characteristic of the
rst class ( Hym e nomyc e t e s) ; t he e nvelope m arking the
s e cond class ( Gaste romyc et e s) th e pre val ence of dust lik e
spores in t h e third class ( Coni omycete s) ; and of t he
threads in the fourth ( Hyphomyc ete s) Th e n the pre
d ominance of the spore bags in th e fth class (A sc omy
-

G E NE RA L I NDE X
.

PA G E

c gn
dd r t ngu
di n tum
E id ium
A g ric
Al
a
A lg
A l c t ri
A ll
u
A m nit
A
A
A

ro

e,

an

ae,

a,

o sor

s,

a,

A m b lyod on,
A n ac alyp ta,
A n d r aaa,
A n o d us,
A n d ro gy num,
A n aec tan gi um ,
A nt h e n d e a of

w ee s,
A n titn c h ea,
A ot e a o f l
A
e
oss,

p h ci
ppl m

sea

ic h n
e

s,

lurid
n kd
,

a e

A r c to a ,
A rc yria,
A re g ma,
A rth o nia,
As o
e te s

c myc
cl
( f ung i )
A cu
f f ung i
A cu cl
A p rgi llu
A p
u
A p i di um
A p l nium
A t h l mi
A thyr i um

ass

s o

s,

e roco c c

s
s

s,

a a

A tr i c h um,
A uri c ulini,

B ngi
B t mi
B t ch
B r dl
a

a,

ar ra
a ra

ea

p rmum

a,

os e

e ss

mo ss,

ai e
a
1
a
41
a
e
e
,
a
e
oss,
39
283
e
,
o o se e
244
o a o,
1 34
oo s a ,
1 28
o
o ss,
229
o e
7
s,
e a,
o
24 4
95
70
58
64
88 B rac h yo d us ,
a e,
1 03
ri st e e
,
st e
1 29
oss ,
1 04 B ry opsis,
1 88 B
,
a a,
97
t,
99
x a
a,
99
65
C
27 8
283 C alic ium ,
1 9 2 C all ith am n ium,
C el o e a,
C alo t h n x,
a mp ilo pus,
C
42
2

23
31
96
35
28 7
28 9
1 60
59
26 0
223
14 7

175
28 9
64
37
42
64 , 80
1 67
88
3 00
28 5
83

Br k
B l f rn
Bri l m
ryum
Bulg ri
Bun
Bu b um i

191
1 62
26 8
17 1

cr

n d l lich n
nd
fungu
nh rlu
f ungu
rr g n m
n ll
v rn m
f ungu
r ch
r ri
h ph r
C h n t r ll
Ch r

e
e ,
Ca

C a l e sn u
Ca t a e l s,
Ca p
s,
Ca a e e
oss ,
C ate e a,
C ato seo pi um,
Ca e
oss ,
s,
C e ll s
C e ram iac e m,
C e te a ,
1 7 0 C e t a a,
9 7 C ae to
o a,

249 , 29 2
28 9
138
16
21
23 7
32
85
26 5

ass,

s e

ee

s,

B ch f rn
Bl ck m d n h ir
Bl dd r f rn
Bl dd r m
Bl chnum
Bl i gh t g b rry
ptt
Bl d t in
B g m
B l tu
B rr r

PA G E

1 79
63 , 7 5

a e

a a,

e,

67
20 6
3 05
25 6
242
15 9
1 60
99
1 00
24 2
161

221
17 6
25 6
1 84

Ch loro spe rms,


C o
s,
C o a,
Ch ord aria,
C h rool e p us ,
C h yl oc l adia,
C i n c l i dium,
o t s,
C
C a o a,
C a o o as,
Cl ad o ste ph us,
C at
s,
C a ari a,
C
a
,
C lito pil us,
C to be ,
C
s,
o ss,
C
Co
,
C aen o th alami,
Co a
oss,
C o lle m a,
C o l bia,
C on e a,
C o e ae,
e te s C ass,
Co o
e
o ss,
C o e ri
C on o sto mium,
C o pn n us,
he ,
Co a
e,
Co a
e s,
Co
o ss,
Co
C orn ic ul aria,
Co t
,
C a s aw s,
he ,
C a s e ye
s,
C ate e
C re p id o tus,
C ro s tal ,
C ota ,
C ro n an ia,
C ro uo ria,
C u
,
C sta e o s
h e s,
Crypto n e miace ae ,

h n d ru
h rd

incli d u
l d ni
l d ph r
l hru
l v
l i m cium
li cy
lub f ungu
lub m
d ium
ll r m
l
rv
n f rv
ni myc
l
n f ng m

r l l ic n
r llin
r di c p
rd m
r icium
r b cl
rb
lic n
r r llu

r l

r c i bulum
ru c u lic n

PA G E
1 62
1 59
1 36
139
1 76
149
95
74
23 2
1 68
1 42
27 6
26 6
1 04
25 1
24 8
26 6
72
1 65
23 7
1 00
21 3
24 8
1 69
1 68
282
99
99
25 8
23 2
1 49
3 02
95
23 0
26 6
14 9
20 3
26 5
253
20 7
20 7
67
160
27 9
1 88
15 7

G ENE RAL I N D E X

312

D crymyc
D d li
D lt
D y
D l
ri
D m r ti
D mi d i c
Di t m c
D i ch lym
Di
d
ti
D icr num
D ty
ph
D i c ty t
D id ymium

PA G E

a
e

a,

a,

e e s se

a ea
e,

es

a e ae ,

a o

a,

c ran o

ic

on,

F
F
F
F
F

a,

oss,

iry b th
iry f rn
i ry ri ng
th r m
n
lli
bl dd
bri tl
H rd
H th
H lly
L dy
P ri ckly
R y l
F ilmy f rn
Fi id n
F i tulin
F iv l v d f k m
a

s,

ea
er

oss,

e s,

e r,

e,

ea

a ,

ss
s

s,

a,

e- ea

or

oss,

H
H

ir

Hali d ry s,
Hah se ris,

a
e

t s to
w i a,

e
i

ta

L eske a
L e uc bryu m
,

oss,

L ich e n s

e te s,

H y p h o lo ma ,
H yph o rn yc e tes
H ypne a,

H y p num
H y p cr
o

e a,

H ypo se i,

cl

ass,

e,

e ,

s a e,
s

so

e ,

s a

s,

ae te ,

a,

ich n c n d l
d g
g bl t
j lly
m p
cl
curf
ck t
p ngl
w rt
w i ting
L b l pl nt
L ung f t h
L yc p rd n
L yc p d um
L

e,

L e uc o d o n ,
L ic h in a,

o a,

y um ,

s,

o rse

e s,

e p to b r

e o a,

oo

s,

c p rarra,

a,

an th a

e a,

e o i a,

ea

H r d f rn
H r ngu
H d
gi
H lv ll
H m
li
H i rn l
H f f ungu
H
il
H y d num
H ygr ph ru
H ym n i u m f f ungu
H ym n ch
H ym n myc
H ym n phyllum
a

ae o

ec

o ss,

a ir-

m
m u th m

L c id
L y th
L n ti nu
L n it
L t
L pi t

ee

L d y f rn
L m ll f f ungu

G yro p h o ra

ul p h w d

L e c an ra

G y m n ostom um,
G

1 60
131

L am l nari a,
L astrae a,
L au re nc l a,
L e at h e sia,

283
283

K ally men ia,


K el1

G ymn ogramm a

ass

1 58

G rac e l aria,
G rate lo upia,
1 5 8 G rif th se a,
G rimme a,
G y mn og on grus,

a,

1 58

G ni di
lich e n s
G o ose b e rry bl i gh t

a,

6
27 0

G l O lO S I ph O D l a,
27 6
o
a of

150
269

s,

a,

e se,

51
227

n
lly f ungu
f rn

Ja i a,
Je
J e rsy e ,

Je w s e ar,

e sts,

e s s,

I soe tes,
I v ory l i c h e n,

s,

se

I so th e c ium,

G aste romyc ete s


G e li d ium
G e o gl ossu m
G igartin a
G l o be l i ch e n

e s,

e s

F urc ll ri

e,

idi um

a,

a s o

di n

Is

s,

j e lly ,

E nt r m r ph
E nv l p cl ( fungi)
E pi p hy t
Equ i tum
E rg t
E v rni
E id i
E tingui h r m
e o

o s s,

o se

63
3 02

23 7
133
1 60
288
23
1 05

I rid ae a,
I sariac e i,

h oo

E lac h iste a,
E l v e llac e i,
E nc alypta,
E nd o c arpo n ,
e o

o ss

e ar,

Io

s,

ee

pc
r pu

to

E c h i n e lla,
E c to c a r a

Ec c
E di bl n

wa

oss,

s a

I d io th alami,

o ss,

ul
u cl

o ot

3 05

s,

s,

r l

ste

th e w a l,

on

sso

Did y m o d o n ,
D i ph ysc ium,
D i sc e lrum,
D isso d on ,
D a a na d i a,
D ry ro t,
D ud re sn aia,
D se
D um dn tia,
D st ass ( fun g1)

E rth m
E rth t r

Hy p
H y rium

s,

s,

o a,

oss

o sr

o ss,

PA G E
Hyp ox ilo n,

o ss,

s,

um ,

on

e ss

es

a,

a es

es

ea

a,

as

ow e

o ni a,

F l t l v d f rk m
F l rl P l nt
F n in li
F rk m
F il f rn
F ur t h m
Fr h t r w d
F ring m
Fr nd m
F r n d lich n
F ucu
F un ri
F ungi
F ungu p r f
bi r d n t
c n dl nu ff
a

es,

PA G E

s,

e,

e e ss

s,

e o ak ,

s o

L yng bye

s,

32
24 2
13 4
16
1 48
139
20 2
20 0
284
25 8
25 8
29 5
244
200
88
1 05
29 5
1 03
23 7
1 87
206
21 5
191
21 3
20 0
205
20 5
21 7
1 97
1 94
1 93

w ee

209
27 6
52
171

M ai de n -h air,

4O

G ENE RAL I N D E X

3 14

Tru f b th
Tub r
T w i t th m
U
Ulva
Ulv c
Ulv f r hw at
Umbilic ri
U
l i
Ur d
U n m
Un
U ti l g
e

n - oo

o ss,

a eae ,

a,

es

er,

a,

rce o ar a,

o,

e a,

oss,

a o,

PA G E
27 4
3 00
71

V ri l r i
V uch ri fr
m rin
V il f f ungu
V lum
V rp
V icl f
Vin g r p l n
V lv
a

o a

a,

a,

170
1 69
178
220
197
28 4
57
227
285

PA G E
,

s,

a,

es

es o

se aw e e

ds

t,

a,

W ll u
Wt c
a

hw ate r

96
175
1 67

63

e,

es

PA G E

e,

a e r s re w -mo ss,

29 5
1 94
1 29
29 0 Y e ast
Yo e
25 1

pl

nt

82

Z
Z asmid ium ,
26 Z
e
a,
7 4 Z yg o d o n,

ygn m

I NDE X T O PLA T E S

PLAT E I ( F i g p g
PLAT E V I ( F ci g p ge
1 C o mm on Poly p ody
2 O k Poly
1 G reen t f t d W i i
2 B ent le ved
pody 3 B eech Poly pody 4 L im estone W 3 Don s B i m oss 4 Co mm on
Poly pody 5 ly Spleen ort 6 P i 5 W ll S crew m oss 6 l
G y m nogr mm
Angu l r Prickly le ved do 7 F ll ciou s do 8 T isted
S hield f er 8 P rsley f ern
do 9 G re t H i ry do 1 0 M uller s do
1 1 Pell u cid F o r tooth m oss
Bud
1
he ded Thre d m oss 1 3 G olden Thre d
m oss 4 H ller s pp le m oss 1 5 C u rve
PLAT E II ( F ci g p ge
st lked do 1 6 L ur d pple m oss 1
1 M le f ern
2 Sp
S hield fern C vern m oss
di
3 Sp iny S h ield
f ern 4 e th S hi eld
fern 5 M rsh S h ield fern 6 Crested
S hield fern
PLAT E V II ( F ci g p ge
1 T
u irrel t il Leu co
2 Sq
pl d
PLAT E I I I ( F ci g p ge
don 3 T ll A m d 4 F ern
Ik
F e ther m oss
5 F l t le ved N k
l
Altern te le ved Spleen ort 2 6 G re ter W ter m oss 7 A lpi d
F ork d S
3 B l ck M iden h ir
8 B e ked W ter F e ther m oss
Ne t
4 S
S
5 B l ck st lked S
W ll ru e do 1 0 Ne t M o unt in do
6
7 B l dder f m
8 L dy f ern
9 H rt s
ton gue 1 0 H rd fern
PLAT E VIII ( F ci g p ge
PLAT E I V ( F ci g p ge
1 S ilky Leske
2 F o t il F rond
m oss 3 T m risk F e ther m oss 4
1 B r ke 2 W oodsi
6 W ved
3 M iden h ir S tri ted F
5 Tri ngu l r F
4 T unbr i dge F i l m y fern
8 W ood F
9 S hining
5 B ristle f ern F
7 R i er F
R oy l f ern 7 M oon ort 8
dder s H k i 1 0 Creepi g F e ther m oss
t ngu e 9 Jersey dder s to gu e
PLAT E IX ( F ci g p g
PLAT E V ( F ci g p ge
2 Co mm on C sto
O k
1 S
2 C u r ed le ved B e rdless m oss
S
h
d
8 3 S err ted F u c u s
B li dj
4 B roo m F ork M oss
6 F in gered L m i n ri
5 S ilky 5 E dible Al ri
F
Le fy B u b um i 7 P u rp le 7 Thorny Desm resti 8 G ul ph eed
6
F ork m oss
8 F i ne le ved D i h i m 9 S
thong
9 C urve le ved H ir M ou th m oss
10
B ent le ved Did m d
W ter
11
S cre m oss 1 2 F ringed H d igi 1 3
PLAT E X ( F mg p ge
1 4 G rey c u shion G ri m
Roc k A d
2 Pe cock
H o ry
eed
1 S eet L m i n r i
mi
16
l 5 O v l fru it d G
m o u nt in F 3 F orked D i ctyota 4 T u be L h
F ringe m oss
17 Sl d
hke
6 Wt
8 D rk M o u nt in F
5 F ennel Dictyos i p hon
ac n

a e

u e

ca

e tra

e a.

oo

er a

a e

ea

ipc o r

ea

on

en

a.

e a-

ac

raea.

a.

ist

w-

x a

ne

era

ec

o n.

no

on

rea

Aw

r stl o

o tt a

e ss a

ar

a.

e at

e S I a.

316

I ND E X T O PLA T E S

B roo m like S ph cel ri


8
L itt r l E ctoc rpu s 9 F e thery
Sph cel i 1 0 V ti l d C l d t ph
1 1 F u cu s E l h i t
1 2 Co m p ressed

PLAT E XVI ( F i g p ge
1 E verni
2 B u ndle R m li
3
Ash R 4 R k R 5 O ld M n s h ir
W ooly horn l chen 7 B rittle G lobe
p
l h
m oss 9 B nched
R md
S
l
1 0 Co mm on C u p lichen
1 1 S c ly C
1 2 Cor l C
1
F i nger
PLAT E X I ( F ci g p ge
C 1 E leg nt C 5 Co m pressed G lobe
l
Toothed Od h l i 2 E long ted ichen 1 6 H iry U sne
Polysi p hon 3 D rk do 4 B onne
m i son s eed 5 rtic u l t d Chylo
PLAT
E
XV
II
F ci g p ge
(
el di 6 Red J ni 7 B loody Deles
seri 8 O k do Pl mi m
1 F ly Ag ric
2 P u rp le A
3 H 1
l
ste mm ed Collybi
O k le f C
R ose M y
7 C u p O m ph li
8
PLAT E X II ( F ci g p ge
D ingy Pleurot s 9 G olden Pholiot
0 V
bl
C pid
1 V erdigri
1 D u lse
2 Pi m p led G ig rtin
3 P l li
ill d H yph l m
12 O li
C rr geen 4 F e thery C l m i 13 I nky Cop ri u s 4 S t rry C 1 5
B u ndle F u rcell ri 6 E dible I ri de R d R u ssu l 1 O nge O m ph l 1 7
F e thery Pt i lot
m P le Tricholom 1 8 E dible Mu shroo m
8 K nott d Cer m i u m
R d do 1 0 S hr u bby C lli h m i
ll
1 9 Corn u co pi C

C h o rd aria

o a

ar a

er

us

os e

e r o c o c c us .

o nt

ia
.

a.

o ca

5
7
9

c ena

a.

l it h a

n on

oc ar p o n

ac

o o

ia

rate

ra

ces

a
eo

otu s

v e~ g

PLAT E X III ( F ci g p ge
1
R ose B m y
2 B d do
3
S hort
st lked G oblet lichen 4 B l k G
G olden G
G ree O p egr ph
B l ck 0 8 V ri ble O 9 S u bm erged
E d
Co mm on
1 0 G rey E
1
Pertu s ri 1 B r in O pegr ph 1 3
E leg nt 0 1 4 R ock 0 1 5 B irch O
16 S t rry O
1 7 Sp eckled O
18 R u sty
G oblet l i chen
.

n on

re

ot ta

sa

an a

ow -

ra

a e

on

ee r

na

en

te re oca u

oc

Ic

ac n

c e

s ea

ac

us

PLAT E XVIII ( F i g p ge
1 Y ello
2 L u rid do
3
S p b ll
M oss Cyph l
S c ly Poly pore 5 F i
P 6 Corky M erul i u s
F
8 Sp re d H ydn u m
9 P u rp le Corti ci u m
1 0 B ro n H y m enoch ete
1 Y ello
Cl v ri 1 2 m ethyst C 1 3 F urro ed
C 14 C ndle C 1 5 G olden C l
6
B loody S tere u m
G l ndul r
E idi
19
O r nge
E
1 8 Je s
Tre mell
ac n

17

a oce ra.

ar

PLAT E X I V ( F ci g p ge
2 M pL
1 R ock Lecide
3 S u nken
L 6 G reen
L
4 B l ck L
5 Y ello
L 7 B og L 8 Lim est ne U
Cud
O k L u ngs
1 0 Cr b s eye
be r
P i tted S ti ct 3 B ro n
S cu rf lichen 1 4 B l ck S 1 5 W ll
Sq m
S ulphu r
17
1 6 S tone S
P rm eli 18 Crot l 1 B k P 20
B rnt P
a

11

a n a.

r c eo l an a

a.

12

ua

oo

PLAT E XIX ( F ci g p ge
1 B th Truf e 2 S tinkhorn 3 H iry
E rth st r 4 Co mm on P b ll 5
Pe r P 6 L rger P 7 R d A i
S tri ped B rd s
8 Co mm on Trichi
9
B ell B 1 1 Crumble B 1
Nest
E d ble Ch nterelle 1 3 E d ble M orel
M itre l i ke H elvell 1 5 M rsh M i
1
trul 1 6 S hinin L i 1 7 Co mm on
live G eogloss u m 1 9
8
Sp h l
S hi n ing G 20 S old er Cordice p
a

10

s.

eot a

u aria

rc y r a.

at

PLAT E XV ( F ci g p ge
PLAT E XX ( F ci g p ge
1 G re t C l l m
2 Cris p C
3
G reen S ocket l i chen
M ny le ved 1 S c rlet Pe i 2 O r nge P 3 Hot
G yro phor 5 B rnt G
F leecy G bed P
4 G reen P
5 V eined P
I cel nd m oss 8 S no Ce r ri
Cl ret P 7 Y ello P 8 B l ck d
G l u co u C 1 0 F u c u s l ke R ll 1 1 Ru s P 9 V erdigris P 1 0 H iry P
H iry B orrer 1 D rf B 1 3 B r nny
grou nd P 1 2 B ulg ri 3 S h pe
B
1
D g lichen
1 5 W ll P rm eli
less Hyp ml
4 C ndle
X yl ri
1 5 Cl u msy X yl ri
n

2
.

11

z za

o ce e

wa

on

a.

snu

an

a.

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