|
Correspondence of Leo Lesquereux and G. W.
Clinton |
|
The
Correspondence of Leo
Lesquereux (1806-1889) and George
William Clinton (1807‑1885) 1865 Vol. 1. No. 129 [I 84] Columbus, O [Ohio] Augt. 19th/ 65 Hon. G. W. Clinton, Buffalo Dear Sir. Owing to sickness and
absence from home, I could not till now answer your kind favor of the 8th Inst.
Your name is known to me since a long time as that of a very clever and
zealous Botanist and I am indeed very glad to have an opportunity of
corresponding directly with you. Whenever you have any specimens of mosses
which you wish to determine, if you will send them to me I will name them and
report immediately provided your letters and packages find me at Columbus. In
summer I am very often out for field work. Mr. Peck send me from you a
specimen of Hypnum riparium var. [str.] No. 528 of the Musci Exsiccati, growing on wet decayed
logs in swamps. If you have not the pamphlet of the Musci Boreali Amer. which
goes with the sets but is also published separately, I can send you a copy of
it. I do not believe that we shall be able to give the setts of the Musci for
less than $35.00 in gold. When you see the sets, the beauty and fullness of
the specimens and the amt. of work and time spent for their preparation, you
will see that the price is not at all a compensation of the work but scarcely
pays the expenses. I hope to find time to finish the work this year. There
are only fifty setts and most of them are already subscribed for. I hope that
all the setts will be sold in America. A few years ago, and
especially from want of a good place for my botanical collections and also of
time to care for them, I sold my whole herbarium of Phaenogamous plants
(about 2000 species) to the Museum of Toronto. I have now very few specimens
left and I do not know where to find them. I have some specimens of
Sullivantia Ohionis, I believe, and also of Vesicaria Lescurii Gr. and as
soon as I am well enough to look for them I will try to get them and send
them to you. Of the two Fedias of Sullivant, I know nothing. I looked for
them many years consecutively to find them at the place where they were
collected by Mr. Sullivant and even in his company, but never succeeded in
finding them. They may be mere hybrids or deformations. The specimens in Mr.
Sullivant's herbarium are now mostly broken and lacerated. Asclepias
Sullivanti is also unknown to me. But I will try again till I get it. I am much obliged for your
kind offer of communication of specimens. I know nothing of your neighborhood
but Niagara Falls and Goat Island. Could you ever find a specimen of
Fissidens Grandifrons in fruit, all the bryologists would thank you. It has
also never been found in Europe. Most respectfully yours Leo Lesquereux Recd Aug. 23 wrote him 26th In 1857 W. S. Sullivant and
Leo Lesquereux published a systematic collection of dried specimens, an exsiccat,
entitled the Musci Boreali-Americani, sive specimina exsiccata muscorum in
Americae Rebuspublicis Foederatis detectorum, conjunctis studiis W. S.
Sullivant et L. Lesquereux. There were 355 numbers. In the next year, 1866,
in April, Lesquereux would issue the Editio Secunda of this exsiccat, with
536 numbers. "Besides specimens from eastern North America, some of
which are of the same species as in the first edition, the set is notable for
the large number of western American mosses, collected by the Pacific
Railroad Surveys of 1854 and 1855, by the Geological Survey of California in
1863 and 1864, and by Henry Nicholas Bolander (1831-1879) in California, and
by Charles Wright in the south-west" (Sayre, G. 1971. Cryptogamae
Exsiccatae. Part IV. Bryophyta. Memoirs of the N. Y. Bot. Garden Vol. 19, No.
2 pp. 175-276). On August 8, Clinton,
according to his journal, had taken the train from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.
He collected mosses and liverworts there, including Preissia commutata, Fissidens
grandifrons, Hymenostylium recurvirostrum, noting it was, as it is now,
common at this locality in wet rocks. Perhaps, inspired by his collections
there, and perhaps knowing of Lesquereux's efforts at this locality, Clinton
decided to open a correspondence with him. Niagara Falls in New York
State and Ontario, Canada, spans the boundary between both countries. In the
notes that follow, Clinton has collected in areas around the cataracts
themselves (Prospect Park on the mainland, N.Y.), on Goat Island (N.Y.) the
largest of the islands between the two catarats where the Biddle Stairs and
Terrapin Point were located, and the Hog Back, a path running along the north
boundary of the island). The seven mile limestone gorge running north from
the cataracts was barely accessible at this time: one area at DeVeaux
College, that maintained a stone stair down to the water's edge, and further
north Devil's Hole, also with a stone stair, a cove in the gorge wall.
Lewiston was the village at the north terminus of the gorge where it ends at
the Niagara Escarpment. Clinton also collected in similar stations on the
Canadian side at Foster's Flats (Niagara Glen) and areas around Brock's
Monument at Queenston, facing Lewison, N.Y. Sullivantia is a genus
described by John Torrey and Asa Gray, named after William Starling
Sullivant, the plant, Sullivantia sullivantii (Torrey & Asa Gray)
Britton, Sullivant's Cool-wort, was originally S. ohionis Torr. & A. Gray
ex A. Gray. It is a small flowering member of the Saxifragaceae associated
with cliffs and so also with the various bryophyte species Sullivant
specialized in. Sullivant's
"Fedias" are Fedia umbilicata Sulliv. "Moist grounds,
Columbus, Ohio, Sullivant. (Sill. Jour. Jan. 1842" and F. patellaria
Sulliv. "Low grounds, Columbus, Ohio, Sullivant" according to
Gray's Manual, 5th edition 1867. These are two species in the family
Valerianaceae, now Valerianella umbilicata (Sull.) Alphonso Wood and V.
patellaria (Sull.) Alphonso Wood. Gray also at one point made these plants two
varieties of V. woodsiana: they are distinguished by the fruits, one
saucer-like, the other, globose, having a navel (navel-shaped) and flower in
May. Hypnum riparium L. ex Hedw.
= Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. Vol. 1. No. 141 [I 71] Columbus O. Aust. 31st [18]65 Hon G. W. Clinton My Dear Sir. It is very little indeed
that I can do to be agreeable to you and such a kind letter as you wrote me
on the 26th [...] is worth to me much more than any amount of plants you could
send me. Please do not believe that I can be troubled in any way by any
amount of specimens of mosses you can send for determination. The
communication of specimens of even the most common species of mosses is ofter
valuable especially considering geographical distribution. It is the case
with the two of the specimens you sent me. No. 4 is right, Hypnum
adnatum No. 4B is Desmatodon
arenaceus Sull. & Lesq. No. 4C is probably a
deformation of the same species, it differs only by shorter inflated capsule,
probably a result of local influence. Nevertheless, if you should find more
of the same, I would be much obliged for the communication of some specimens.
Now, please, where does this No. 4B come from? You will much oblige me in
making on every package you send me for determination the locality where the
moss has been found and the month of the year if possible. H. adnatum is
found everywhere and is abundant at Goat Island. Maybe these specimens come
from this place. But it is a cold station for such a moss as Desmatodon
arenaceus. I hunted this morning in my
garret for some package of phaenogamous plants but could find nothing. I sent
last fall a large bundle to Toronto and put in it everything I found around
loose. My house is becoming too small for the amount of specimens of natural
history which I like to colllect and it has been a question sometimes put
forward by my wife, which should leave the place either ourselves or the
collections? I had put aside a few species from many collected in 1862 in a
journey to Mt. Marcy and other parts of the Adirondacs. These plants which
have not been claimed may have some interest for you as New Yorkers. I have
no time to look if they are well named and just put the name from memory.
Please correct anything wrong. As the P. O. would not accept the package
except as mail matter I must send it per express and to render it a little
more valuable to you, I have put in it a copy of my report on [A.
K..?Arkansas?] where you will find a catalogue of plants of that country
which may be acceptable to you. I am indeed very sorry to put you to some
expense for so little value. As soon as I can find the other plants I will
send them to you. And please do not believe
that you owe me anything; on the contrary, be well assured that the more you
put me in the way of being agreeable to you, the more you will oblige. Yours very respectfully L. Lesquereux Received Sept. 2. Wrote him
Sept. 4 Clinton was noteworthy in not writing on his moss packets the localities the specimen once enjoyed living in, nor the date. Even consultation with his journal and the letters to botanists it is difficult to reconstruct the derivation of many of his specimens. Hypnum adnatum Hedw = Homomallium adnatum (Hedw.) Broth.; Desmatodon arenaceus Sull. et Lesq. = D. obtusifolius (Schwaegr.) Schimp. Vol. 1. No. 166 [I 43] Columbus 18th Sept. [18]65 Hon. G. W. Clinton Buffalo The mosses with your
different letters of Sept. 4, 5 & 14 have been duly received. I found them
here yesterday on my return from New York. In package of Sept. 4th I
find two specimens. 1 Hypnum aduncum Hedw. sterile and covered with Diatomeae
and Desmidia. N. 2 contains a Fucus, probably a
Spongodium. It is undeterminable being glued on both sides to the paper and
can not be got but by fragments. Even if the specimen was good I should not
be able to correctly name it. I have long ago abandoned the study of the
Algae and presented my collection (800 species) of marine and freshwater
Fucus to the soldiers fair of Philadelphia. The museum bought it but I do not
know if there it may be of some utility to somebody. Except Gray and
Engelmann, nobody to my knowledge is interested in a peculiar manner to the
Characeae and the Potamophiliae. Formerly I used to send specimens to Prof.
Alex Braun of Berlin, but I never got any acknowledgement nor any name for
them. And indeed we can not determine much of these plants from the
descriptions we have now. I know very little of New York and its surrounding
country and never heard of Roubieva [? - see letter below of Allen's
Vol.1:185*] On my next passage these I shall make inquiries from some friends
and learn if possible the exact position of the place. In the package of Sept. 5 I
find. xNo. 1 Bartramia pomiformis!
with Cheloscyphus polyanthus (Cord.)? x 2 Bryum caepiticium L. (apparently)
too old. x3. Pogonatum brevicaule Brid. - is pretty common. The confervoidal
filaments belong to it. x4. Orthotrichum crispulum
(Hornsch.) x5. Hypnum serrulatum Hew.
Good specimen. If you have more please send. x6. Fontinalis antipyretica var.
gigantea This form is scarcely a var. and intermediate between the normal
form and the var. x7 Dicranum scoparium var. = D. pallidum Mull. 8 Hypnum imponens Hedw. x9 Bryum acuminatum H...
& Hrnsch. a very rare species which I found once only and few of it in
the Adirondacks. I would be much obliged for plenty of specimens. x10 Hypnum strigosum Hoffm.
[?] x11 Hypnum gracile Br. H....
a small form x12 Atrichum angustatum H.... x13 Polytrichum formosum
Hedw. x14 Hypnum brevirostre B.
Eur. (male plants) rarely found in fruit. x15 Jungermannia barbata Schreb. x16 Hypnum laetum Brid.? not
ripe enough but most probably this species. This collection for a single
place is very interesting and I do not doubt that you will then find many
other good things. The conglomerate or millstone-grit sandstone is peculiar
for its bryological flora. It furnishes especially the fine Phyllogonia
Norvegica never found with us on a formation of another kind. I collected
lately a Penn. under fine large tree of Magnolia acuminata, Weissia
(Rhabdoweisia) fugax on the same sandstone. It was till now considered as an
alpine or rather subalpine species. With your favor of Sept. 10
I find No. 1, 1a, 1b and 3. Hypnum riparium, a small form of a most variable
species. N. 2 is still Hypnum riparium but it is mixed with sterile branches
of Conomitrium julianum Mont. No. 4 is Didymodon rubellus
Bry. Eur. generally rare. It has been found already at Niagara Falls, I think
by Th. P. James. Your work in collecting the mosses of your vicinity and of
the country around Buffalo is certainly most useful and of service to
science. The Niagara country and the woody shores of Lake Erie will give us
some new or interesting species which you may be able to find. And indeed I
find your list remarkably rich for discoveries of a single year. Amon the
mosses of the list, there are a few which I would like to see, having some
doubt on their identity. Thus -258 Bartramia Oederi 317 Pogonatum brachiphyllum
which is a southern species and has never been found till now North of
Philadelphia [In margin, written by Clinton "Slip of the pen of Mr.
Peck"]. 366 Leskea rostrata marked ?
and which is most common around you, Goat Island. 469 Hypnum filicinum? The
species is also at Niagara but always sterile there. 505 Hypnum rivulare 519 H. subtile. A good
specimmen in fruit would be acceptable. I got it at Goat Island but too old. I do not know what has become
of Dr. Curtis and of Mr Ravenel, both much interested in Fungi. I exchanged
much with Mr. Ravenel before 1860 but could not adress him now. Yours very sincerely and
truly L. Lesquereux I shall be out of Columbus
still for two weeks Shall I return specimens? Recd. Sept. 21 & ansd. Roubieva multifida, Moq.
(Gray's 6th p.433), once Chenopodium multifidum, L. Allen's letter "It
grieves me not to find Roubieva - I was over to B. again today out around the
bye ways and hedges of Bedford but alas no Roub." Thomas Potts James
(1803-1882) was born in Pennsylvania, later became invested in a wholesale
drug firm in Philadelphia where he spent most of his life until 1867 when he
moved or worked in Cambridge, Mass., where he devoted himself more thoroughly
to botany. He focused on the study of mosses and collaborated with Lesquereux
in authoring the Manual of American Mosses, issued in 1884, two years after
James' death. By 1865, Mr. James had
already visited and explored Niagara Falls, probably with Lesquereux. At least the Pogonatum
brevicaule (now P. pensilvanicum (Hedw.) P.-Beauv.) specimen was collected on
Sept. 1 at Salamanca, or in the Big Valley area in Cattaraugus Co. in
southwestern New York State. On that day "In ascending, & in the
City [Salamanca] collected mosses everywhere." The mosses above are thus
a catalogue of the material Clinton collected on that day. At this time
Clinton was avidly collecting mosses also for Charles Peck, his protégé in
Albany. On Sept. 10, Clinton
collected in areas south of Buffalo, along the State Line Rail Road and
Smoke's Creek. Hypnum riparium L. ex Hedw.
= Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. Vol. 2. No. 4 [D 203] Columbus, O. Octb. 16th, 1865 My dear Sir, Beginning at the tail or by the
specimens with your very kind letter of the 13th I find O. Anomodon
obtsifolius [B. & F.?] very probably a var. of the same species as it is
found sometimes in wet and shady places, sometimes on roc[k]s. Though I am
pretty certain of this, I will nevertheless compare it again and definitively
report in a few days. Q is Leskea rostrata, male plant most common on rocs,
root of trees, &c. About Anomodon viticulosus,
you will find it in plenty against a large rock near the base of that
footpath descending from Goat Island to the top of the American falls. You
know that there are two ways of going there: the broad way by stairs and
aside of it, on the right a small slippery foot path on the slope of the
Island; it is on this foot path about halfway down that said Anomodon grows.
I never found it in America except at this place. James collected it also
there, &c: M. Austin writes me about that Riccia found by Miss Waterbury.
M. Austin has now taken to the study of the Hepaticae and is more able than
myself to decide about the value of a species of this Family. With letter of
Octb. 3 mailed 8 I find what you call two common mosses, both sterile. One is
Hypnum filicinum, the other Hypnum stellatum. You may have H. nitens in the
same swamp. Bryum Muhlenbergii is as you say sterile at the falls (Niagara)
may be found there fertile also; more common in cold springs of the
mountains; I would like to see a true Didymodon luridus from the falls.
Trichostomum (Didymodon) rigidulum Smith. has been found there by Drummond and
myself on stones near the base of the falls, Canada side; but D. luridus is
still unknown or not discovered for America. Though the fruit of your
Didymodon is not ripe, I am pretty sure that it is the D. rubellus. Octb. 7 (letter) contains,
X. Fontinalis antipyretica var. gigantea Sull. Y. Hypnum nitens. 3 = Z.
Barbula unguiculata too young, on limestone rocks probably. Orthotrichum
crispulum without No. N. 16
Orthotrichum canadense. 2 (same as N. 11) probably undeterminable. I will see
and compare. Letter of Octb. 9. Bartramia Oederi, both and very fine variety. With letter of Sept. 29
crying for Help! you have. Orthotrichum anomalum quite different from O.
speciosum which grows only on trees while this grows on limestone rocks. 2.
is the same. 3 is splendid. Orthotrichum cupulatum? if not something new. I
will examine it carefully again & compare. This O. cupulatum is very
variable. 4. Orthotrichum strangulatum (as marked). 5 = 3, 6 = also 3. 7. O. Hutschinsiae (right) 8. Orth. anomalum. 9. Orth. crispulum. 5
in brown paper contains two species very small, one unripe. Must be examined
very carefully. I wish you had it ripe. Looks fine and perhaps something new.
2 also in brown paper, first specimen loose is O. strangulatum, 2d specimen
in paper (white) is O. canadense. They generally grow together. The specimens of your letter
of Sept. 29 belong rightly to Fissidens adiantoides as marked by Mr. Peck.
The one in paper marked A is probably the same but the specimen is too poor
for sure determination. Now I will stop. It is late,
I am tired and I think the last will be postponed the examination of the
balc. [balance] of your specimens, two packages till I find a few hours more
of leisure. Saying like the children Now I lay me down to sleep. I wish you a good night,
pleasant dreams and give you my most warm regards. L. Lesquereux Hon. G. W. Clinton Buffalo, N.Y. Recd Oct. 18th, Wrote to him
19th. @On September 29, Clinton
sent mosses to Charles Peck and also to Lesquereux (journal), among which the
letter Lesquereux refers above. The
day Clinton received Lesquereux' letter, Clinton wrote in his journal:
"Oct. 18. Before Breakfast, received letter from W. Lesquereux, giving
the precise station of Anomodon viticulosus on Goat Island. Went to Suspension
Bridge by 9 A. M. train, mossed at Devil's Hole, turned up to the Falls &
to Goat Island and examined the station, but, alas! no Anomodon vit's
there! The Station was on Goat
island, on a rock, about halfway down the path leading from the Carriage way
to the Bridge to Luna Island, not the Hog's Back path, but the one
above it. There's no rock there. Perhaps the path has been changed since W.
L. was there." Vol. 2. No. 10 [D 197] Columbus O. Octbr. 17th, '65 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir, That little moss sent with
letter of Sept. 21 proves to be a very fine and rare species, viz: Seligeria
recurvata Br. Eur. Mr. Sullivant has described it in his manual or
rather in Gray's manual 2d ed. but I do not know from what specimens, for it
is the first time that I see it in America. It is a very good addition to
your catalogue of New York mosses. I wish you had found it in plenty. I would
have put it in the Musci. I have no doubt that you may find at the same place
S. tristicha which generally grows with it. It is still shorter and blackens
by its foliage the reversed surface of wet overhanging rocks. Whenever you go
to Devil's Hole, please look for it carefully. Mr. Sullivant has found it
around Columbus in a kind of grotto limestone which has been destroyed long
time ago by the process of quarrying limestone. I could never find it again.
In the first package which you sent me with letter of the same date, I
find No. 1. a mixed specimen very
poor though one branch bears one unripe fruit. I shall try to find out what
it is. But such specimens are deceptive and sometimes a deal of work is
uselessly spent upon them. No. 2. is a form which I consider as the American
representative of Hypnum revolvens. I give it in the Musci
under that name though it is somewhat different from the Norwegian species.
It has never been found in fruit, and that is regrettable for the fruit would
remove the uncertainty. No. 3 is H. filicinum as you
say. The package marked Pylaisaea velutina contains old specimens of P.
intricata. Bartramia Oederi is right. I am much obliged for the specimen of
Bryum acuminatum and Hypnum serrulatum which both are pretty good. It is all what I have
received from you, I think. At least I find nothing more to look at but those
specimens which need a more detailed examination and comparison. Please send
anything which you desire to have determined or revised. Yours most sincerely L. Lesquereux I got yesterday a letter of
Mr. Peck with a few specimens among which that Orthotrichum anomalum which he
considered as O. speciosum. He marks it on trees. Is not this a mistake? your
paper are marked on rocks and I have never seen this Orthotrichum but on
limestone rocks or boulders. By the bye whenever you want specimens of mosses
for comparison or for your own herbarium, then name the species and I will
send them. I have always some to spare even of the rarest species, especially
European specimens which I do not put in the Musci. Enclosed please find an
European specimen of Orthotrichum speciosum, Nees. My American specimens come
from the Rocky Mts. I have not seen it from the Atlantic slope. Recd. Oct. 20 & wrote to
him. On
October 20, Clinton confided in his journal: " I know so little about the mosses &
hepaticaceae, that I have not kept my journal of my collections of them. I
commenced collecting them this Spring, and have submitted them, as collected
to Charles H. Peck, of Albany, &, when he has been in doubt, have applied
to Mr. Lesquereux who has, most cheerfully, aided me. Down to this date, excluding some 1-3
not yet determined, I have collected of Hepaticaceae, 18 species, Musci, including a var. in one, 122
species." On Oct. 21, Clinton wrote " Went to
the Falls, collected Orthotrichum anomalum, for Mr. Lesquereux, from trees in
the park [Prospect Park] opposite the Ferry House, also another lighter
colored one also, from first tree, what Mr. James thinks is Leskea
nervosa. Crossed the Ferry, &
explored up to the Horseshoe Fall, under the cliff, looking specially for
Trichostomum rigidulum. Found, on the wet talus, close to the Fall, a sterile
moss? which may be it (= A singular conferva [= Alga]). Recrossed, & walked down the river
& took some more Didymodon rubellus.
Ascended the Stairs, went to Goat island, and, commencing at the end
of the Bridge, explored the bank all the way down to opposite the middle of
the island above Luna Island. Found no rock till I got there - a ridge of the
bank, & there, quite close to the bank, was a large rock, in the earth on
top of which was an Anomodon which I am confident is not A. obtusifolius (it turned out to be A.
viticulosus.) At the foot of the Cascade, in the water, growing on the rock,
more Fissidens grandifrons. Home by the 6* P. M. train." In these letters "the manual"
refers to editions of Asa Gray's Manual of the Botany of the Northern United
States, the first edition of 1848, the second edition of 1856. Fernald, in
his 8th, or 1950 edition of Gray's Manual, indicated, perhaps ambiguously
that Sullivant's treatment was included in the first edition, but most people
only refer to the second edition treatment. In apparently both editions
William Starling Sullivant prepared the treatments of mosses and liverworts,
both often collectively treated as "musci." The basis for
Sullivant's exsiccat, the Musci alleghanienses issued in 1845 was musci
collected "in itinere a Marylandia usque ad Georgiam per tractus
montium" made in 1843 (mdcccxliii) in the company of Asa Gray. Sullivant's
herbarium and types were left to FH when he died, perhaps accounting for
Lesquereux spending much time there after the disposition of Sullivant's
estate.] Vol. 2. No. 19 [D 186] Columbus, O. Octb. 23d '65 Hon. G. W. Clinton My Dear Sir. Your favor of
the 21st with the mosses was received this morning and as I had some leisure
to day and was examining one species from Mr. Austin, I took yours at the
same time and now you will have I think a satisfactory answer about all the
doubtful specimens which you sent me. Let me say first that I am sincerely
obliged for all the kind words which you write me and always delighted to
receive your letters. I am like you an old man. At least I am old and if I
understand well what you say about a second childhood you are not young any
more. I delight and have always had my greatest enjoyment in friendly
letterary or rather epistolary intercourse. For, since more than 35 years I
am absolutely deaf, live quite alone, can scarcely speak English a language
of which I have never heard a word and have preserved the taste of my youth
in such a way that if the second childhood has come, I can not see any
difference from what I was formerly. Well. Does not the Divine Book say that
we have to become like Children again if we want to enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. This is as good a solace of a change as we can well wish to have. Now
to mosses. The pointed path near the corner of the stairs in your drawing is
just the place where I collected Anomodon viticulosus, the first time when I
arrived to America 1848, the second time in 1857. The first time this moss
was more abundant than the second and thus it may have been destroyed though
it covered a large patch of rock, loose earth and roots. Nevertheless I think
that you will find it if you go again that way, after examining the specimen
which I send you herewith. There are still some good things in the to day
packet. No. 1 is apparently a large
var. of Gymnostomum rupestre? Too old. And in this case both the small
variety of Gymnostomum curv[irostre] and the large one of G. rupestre are
scarcely distinguishable. N. 2. 5. 6. are truly Barbula
unguiculata var. apiculata, a variety as common as the normal
form. When Mr. Peck has examined some few hundred specimens of this
troublesome and variable moss, he will drop his doubts. N. 4 is right and generally
grows in water [in Clinton's handwriting "= C... polyanthum"] 7 Fissidens grandifrons is
fine. I wish you could get it in fruit. [in margin, Clinton's
handwriting: "8 = 20 & 29. 9 = 28"] 8 & 9 are Bryum cyclophyllum new for America.
The inferior leaves of N. 9 are much like those of B. Davallii but the
superior ones are obtuse and all have the same areolation as that of N. [?] I
would like to have plants of this species and if you could detect some
fruiting specimens next summer It would be a very valuable discovery. [in margin, Clinton's
handwriting: "10 = 30"] No. 10 is Hypnum giganteum
Schp. formerly considered as a var. of H. cordifolium but now separated
rightly.Could you without too much trouble collect a great many good
specimens for me, like those which you send, you would ablige me very much.
The species is given in the Musci. But the number of specimens in hand is
very small. I collected it at Milwaukee. James has it from Penna. [in margin: "11=34, 35,
36"] No. 11 May be what you say as well as anything else. There is
about a score of species of Bryum with the same leaves and areolation and
nothing in this section can be said fromleaves. As the determination can thus
be a matter of mere guessing, I would say: Bryum bimum var. because this
species is the most common. [in margin: "12 = 38,
39"] No. 12 is apparently H.
uncinnatum No. 3 & No. 13 may belong both to Fontinalis Lescurei.
Fontinalis can not be determined from leaves only. They are hard enough with
fruit. I am most obliged for Seligeria
recurvata May be we will add a supplement and put this with the Musci.
The specimens are good enough. Very sincerely yours L. Lesquereux That No. P. with letter of
18th is truly Anomodon obtusifolius. Recd. Oct. 25. Hypnum cordifolium Hedw. = Calliergon cordifolium (Hedw.) Kindb. Coe Finch Austin (1831-1880) resided in Closter, New Jersey. The following letter to Clinton from Austin gives some idea of the relations between the various bryologists at this moment in time: Vol. 2. No. 108 [D 122]
Closter, N. Jersey, Dec. 17th, 1865 Dear Sir: Your kind letter of
13th inst. is at hand. The enclosed specimen is what I call Plagiochila
porelloides. You have been rightly
informed concerning my speciality. And, I shall not quarrel with Mr.
Lesquereux for considering my decision on Hepaticae as being more reliable
than his own, from the fact that he writes me that he has given up entirely
the study of these plants. I am well aware however that I have yet to learn
much, very much, before I can consider myself a first rate Hepaticologist. I
am even unable to determine satisfactorily to myself a number of species
which I find about here. And then I am in constant receipt of specimens from
various sources, and cannot always determine tham all satisfactorily. Your kind offer to
assist me is gratefully accepted as I find myself in great want of help, and
this you can do by simply sending me good specimens [of anything] in the
Hepaticae line which you get hold of at the least if you cannot get time to
study them first for yourself, even. For what I most lack is plenty of good
specimens from every available source. Concerning Prof.
Pickett's plant I cannot make out your name. I have found about
here some four or five Ricciae new to this country, probably some of them n.
sp. also one new Jungermannia (J. microscopica notis [??] & J. pumilla,
Liochlaena lanceolata, Alicularia scalaris, Lunularia vulgaris (gound in
Conservatories), Grimaldia varbifer, Radula sp? &c. and I have some new Riccias from California
&c. Can you get me a specimen of Prof. Pickett's plant? I first found
Callitriche Austinii on Staten Island on dry hilly ground in shady byways in
June 1861. I afterwards saw it in the N. Y. S. Coll. as C. verna var.
terrestris, by Dr. Torrey. It is plenty here on damp, [rocky?], shady, hilly
ground. I found Solidago
speciosa at Haarlem N.Y. in Sept. 1861. I collect & study
mosses as well as Hepaticae, but do not make them so much of a specialty, yet
I have spent much more time on them than on the others. Mr. Peck occasionally
divides with me when he gets a good thing from you, in this way I have got
hold of several things I have not before seen. Very truly yours Coe F. Austin Hon. G. W. Clinton, Esq. Recd. Dec. 20 ansd Jan. 16 Vol. 2. No. 20 [D 185] Columbus O. Octb. 24th, 1865 Hon.G. W. Clinton, Buffalo This time you have hit it. No.
10, 11, 12, 14, 15 are Anomodon viticulosus. I did not recollect if the stone
was loose or in place but I know that there was a large block of limestone
whose face was covered with this moss. No. 13 is Anomodon attenuatus. No. 12, No. 2 Orthotrichum
anomalum I have never seen it on trees. But it is certainly the
species. No. 3 Orthotrichum
strangulatum. Sull. No. 4 is not Leskea nervosa.
This has reflexed margins and a much more strong nerve. It is more likely
Leskea obscura or rather Leskea Polycarpa. No. 5 is still unertain. It
is not the same as the one you sent formerly and from the peristome (as much
as I can see it from poor specimens) is referable to Didymodon luridus. I
think it is. But I have not found the male flowers yet. Have you any better
specimens? I will look to it again tomorrow when all the specimens are well
softened and cleaned. 6 is a fine Conferta, looks
like [Lyngbya] but I can not determine it. 7 a Psora (Funginea) don't
know the species. Probably Psora rosea. 8 & 9 Fissidens
grandifrons I return you the specimen
marked a [=A] which you sent formerly and considered as Leskea nervosa.
You will see that it is quite different from your No. 4 I found Dicranum montanum in
fruit (1848) near the upper end of Goat Island on a log (decayed) of pine. In
1856 or 57 I looked for it again and found it only sterile. It grows on
rotten pine or spruce trunks in the shade. Most common in the mountains of
New York but rare at Goat island Bryum turbinatum grows on constantly permeated
rocks and stones near the base of the chasm. You may find it in going from
the landing (Canada side) along the river at the base of the rocs toward the
Horseshoe falls. Hypnum sprucei grows on loose stones top of the
island in the woods between both falls in passing from one to the other
without following any path.
Trichostomum rigidulum at the same places as Bryum turbinatum.
I will try and write more to
morrow Respy sincerely yours L. Lesquereux Recd. Oct. 26 I have just got your letter
of yesterday. Will answer to morrow. Lyngbya C. Agardh is a blue-green alga. Note Lesquereux frequently spells 'rock' as 'roc' and Rostock, Germany, 'Rostoc.' In
Clinton's journal for Oct. 24: " By 9 A. M. train, to Lewiston, mossed thereabouts, walked up railroad to where it leaves the bank of
the river, & there descended to the river, & walked on, struggled up
to Devil's Hole , mossed there, collected more Seligeria recurvata, walked up
to Suspension Bridge, got there at 4*45' P.M., took the 5*50' train for home." Vol. 2. (also No. 20) [D
184] Columbus O. Octb. 25th, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. That moss which
I considered with doubt as Didymodon rubellus is decidedly its next neighbour
a far rarer species and, if I do not mistake, not yet found in the E. U.S. Desmatodon
[he probably meant Didymodon?] luridus Br. Eur. I succeeded in finding
a pretty good peristome and then could satisfactorily decide the question.
Nevertheless this moss of yours has longer leaves than the European species.
It is a variety and for this reason it would be very good if you could find
any better specimens. The capsules of the last ones have been mostly
destroyed by water or insects, I do not know which else, they would be ripe
just now. I do not wish to give you trouble in any way but if you go to the
same place please use your very good eyes and try to get more of this
species. Now you must be quite proud about your success. Seligeria recurvata,
Bryum cyclophyllum, Didymodon luridus, three stars. Well! This
makes you a Leutenant General in the Moss regiment. Your love
for science is admirable and you have with extraordinary perseverance very
good eyes. I hope that you have not gone to the end of your ribbon and that
we will see something more of you yet. I am extremely much obliged
for Seligeria. I will look to the different form tomorrow. That
Didymodon has taken me much time. But I do not believe that you have yet more
than one species of Seligeria. S. tristicha is still smaller than your
smallest specimen. Desmatodon arenaceus is a most variable species. On the
shale it makes fine velvet green carpets on some rocks and when exposed to
the sun becomes larger yellowish of a coarser texture and abundantly fructifying,
thus presenting such another aspect. But the moss which you sent me the first
time with Seligeria was not a Desmatodon but some Leskea. I did
not try to determine it as it has not any fruit. I do not think that you made
any mistake with your Orthotrichum except perhaps concerning the place of
growth. No Orthotrichum could be determined as O. speciosum but that O.
anomalum. O. speciosum does not grow around you, only in the mountains. But,
I think that except for the specimens which you have the kindness to collect
for me, it would be better to return you all these which you sent for
examination. They are useless to me; I put them out of the way and as I have
no memory whatever it rarely happens that I can find them just when I want
them or when they are called for. On the other hand I am perfectly certain to
find all those useless things in my way whenever I do not want them at all.
It is peculiar that that Barbula of yours has just the leaves obtusely
pointed [tiny sketch] as Mr. Peck marks it in his drawing and not at all
linear lanceolate or lanceolate pointed as in the second form. But should you
take a stem and examine the leaves from the base you would find on the same
plant all the forms marked in the sketch which you sent me. We could have and
you could find Barbula fallax. But till now we have it only
from California. As for the habitat of Barbula unguiculata it is mostly
on limestone, limestone rocks, mortar made
from lime on bridges, &c., limestone gravel, lime
clay, lime black earth &c, &c. as all the most variable
species this one is most diversified in habitat. Yours very truly L. Lesquereux Recd. Oct. 26. "In the herbarium of the University of Colorado is a specimen labeled Bryum clintonii Aust. from Buffalo, N.Y. (without indication of collector). It belongs to B. cyclophyllum [which the authors speculate might be a synonym of B. clintonii published by Austin, Bot. Gaz. 1:30 in 1876]. Whether it can be considered a part of the type collection of B. clintonii remains uncertain. The name was not accounted for in Lesquereux and James' Manual or in Grout's Moss Flora. However, Lesquereux and James cited a Clinton collection of B. cyclophyllum from "stones wet by spray at Niagara Falls: - in other words, at or near Buffalo - as well as a Pennsylvania collection made on wet rocks by James." Crum, H. & L. E. Anderson, 1981, Vol.1 p.553, Mosses of Eastern North America, Columbia U. Press. Vol. 2. No. 27 [D 176] Columbus O, Octb. 28th, 1865 |