V\,
mu
"'■'"M
BRITISH SEA-WEEDS.
LONDON:
PalNTEU BV EDWARD NEWMAN, 9, DEVONSHIRR STREET,
BISHOPSOATE STREET
^•..-
1.
MANUAL
OF THE
BRITISH MARINE ALGJ]:
CONTAINING
GENERIC AND SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE KNOWN
BRITISH SPECIES OF SEA-WEEDS,
WITH PLATES TO ILLUSTBATE ALL THE GENERA,
BV
WILLIAM HENRY HARVEY, M.D., M.R.I.A. ;
KEEPEB OF THE HERBARIUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN ; AND
PROFESSOR OF BOTANY TO THE EOYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY,
LONDON :
JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M.DCCC.XLIX.
" Vere magna etlonge pulcherriraa suntetiam ilia, profundissima sapientia hie exstvucta
opera tua, Oh Jehovah ! qufe non nisi bene armatis nostris oculis patent ! Qualia autem
eruntdenique ilia, quae sublato hoc speciilo, remota mortalitatis caligni, daturus es tuis,
Te vere sincere pectore colentibus ! Eheu qualia!" — Hedwig.
TO
MKS. GRIFFITHS,
OF
TORQUAY, DEVON,
A LADY WHOSE LONG-CONTINUED RESEARCHES HAVE, MORE THAN
THOSE OF ANY OTHER OBSERVER IN BRITAIN, CONTRIBUTED TO
THE PRESENT ADVANCED STATE OF
MARINE BOTANY,
AND WHOSE NUMEROUS DISCOVERIES, COMMEMORATED IN THE GENUS
GRIFFITHSIA,
ENTITLE HER TO THE LASTING GRATITUDE OF HER
FELLOW-STUDENTS,
THIS VOLUME,
WHICH OWES MUCH OF WHATEVER VALUE IT MAY POSSESS TO HER
LIBERAL DONATIONS OF RARE SPECIMENS, AND HER ACCURATE
OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM,
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY HER FAITHFUL AND OBLIGED FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR.
Trinity College, Dublin,
June 30, 1849.
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.
Eight years have now elapsed since the publication of the
first edition of this work, and during this period much has
been done, both in this countiy and on the Continent of
Europe, to further our acquaintance with the Algae. Many
new species have been discovered, — the natural result of a
greater attention to the subject ; and much has been done
to advance our knowledge of the structure and fructifica-
tion of these plants. From both circumstances have re-
sulted many improvements in classification ; and if we
admit that much still remains to be done before our classi-
fication can be considered perfect, we may also congratu-
late the numerous company of British Algologists on the
progress that has been made in illustrating their favourite
branch of study, and on the flourishing condition to which
it has arrived.
In the present edition an improved distribution of the
marine species, particularly of the Red sea-weeds (Rhodo-
spermese) has been, it is hoped, introduced. I have been
forced, however, to omit the fresh-water Algge, which were
included in the first edition, for two reasons : first, because
they have recently been treated at large in a separate work,
by a cotemporary; and secondly, because my attention
has been so exclusively turned to the marine Algae, whilst
74597
VIU ADVERTISEMENT.
engaged on the Phycologia Biitaunica, now in course of
publication, that I have not had sufficient leisure to study
the fresh-water species with the care that their intricacy
demands.
No great changes have been made in the descriptive
portions of the work, with the exception of improved ge-
neric and specific characters where such improvement
seemed needed ; and the introduction, at the commence-
ment of each Order, of short descriptions and remai'ks in
illustration of the variations in habit observed among the
species, their geographical range, and anything peculiar
connected with their history-.
The general Introduction has been, with some small
corrections, for the greater part, retained ; very little has
been added, but several passages have been struck out,
the substance of which will be found embodied in the in-
troductory observations prefixed to the orders. The most
important improvement in this new edition consists in the
plates to illustrate the genera. These, it is hoped, will be
found sufficiently full to enable the student, with the help
of the descriptions, to ascertain the genus to which any
sea-weed he may find belongs. It is not intended, in a
work like the present, to give full analytical or anatomical
details in such figures, but sufficient analysis is given for
practical purposes.
Trinity College, Duhlln,
June 30, 1849.
PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HARVEY.
It was the intention of the PubHsher to have prefaced this vohime
with a portrait of the Author. The Author's absence in the New
World prevents this imtil his return, which is not expected before
Midsummer, 1850. As soon after tliis time as the engraving can
be finished, the Publisher will dehver the print, free of charge, in
exchange for this notice, which pm'chasers of the work are solicited
to sign and present, either direct, or through then- respective Book-
sellers.
John Van Voorst.
Paternoster Row, London,
December 20, 1849.
that in one, what is called the odd segment of the calyx
is posterior, while in the other it is anterior; and till this
vm ADVERTISEMENT.
engaged on the Phycologia Britaunica, now in course of
nnhlirafinn. that T have nnf. had snffir.ient leisure to stiidv
INTRODUCTION,
Whoever has paid the slightest attention to the classifica-
tion of natural objects, whether plants or animals, must be
aware, that if we desire to follow natural principles in form-
ing our groups, — that is, to bring together such species as
resemble each other in habit, properties and structure, — it
is a vain task to attempt to define, with absolute strictness,
the classes into which we are forced to combine them. At
least, no effort to effect this desirable object has yet been
successful. Natural groups are so interwoven into each
other, and often exhibit such an exaltation and degradation
of characters within the limits of an Order or a Genus,
that the distinctive marks, as they approach each other,
gradually disappear, and two tribes, which in the more
highly developed species scarcely resemble each other,
are found, in the lower, to be either undistinguishable or
with difficulty distinguished. Thus, to a common observer,
the Poppy and the Fumitory would scarcely be supposed
to be closely related ; yet there is so much gradation be-
tween them, through allied genera, that some botanists
have placed them in the same Natural Order. Still more
unlike in appearance are the Rose and the Shamrock, yet
they belong to Orders so closely connected, that the only
invariable mark by which they can be distinguished is,
that in one, what is called the odd segment of the calyx
is posterior, while in the other it is anterior ; and till this
X INTRODUCTION.
was pointed out by Mr. R, Brown, botanists were at a loss
to define the respective orders, though very seldom indeed
puzzled as to whether a genus were Rosaceous or Legumi-
nous. If it be thus difficult to define groups among highly
organized plants, it can be no matter of wonder that when
we come to the Cryptogamia, whose structure is so much
more simple and uniform, and whose forms are still more
sportive, the difficulties become vastly increased. But it
fortunately happens that these difficulties are much more
formidable on paper than in the field. Thus, while the
system-maker, in his study, may puzzle his brains with the
fruitless task of attempting to express in words a diagnostic
which shall include every species of the class Alg^, and,
at the same time, exclude every denizen of the allied
groups. Fungi and Lichenes ; the student, roaming through
the fields or along the sea-shore, finds no difficulty what-
ever in recognising a sea-weed, as distinct from a mush-
room or a Lichen. The search into structure and affini-
ties among the works of creation is something like that
after first principles. We can distinguish and analyse up
to a certain point : there we are stopped by that invisible
and intangible, but impassable veil, behind which the
Creator hides his operations. At this point we must rest
satisfied with diffiirences which we can see, but which we
caimot know or define. Dismissing, therefore, specula-
tions on the exact limits between Alg.e and all other
tribes, let us proceed to consider the subject more imme-
diately before us, namely, the habit, structure, geographi-
cal dislrihution and uses of these plants.
The name Alg^, under which the Lichens were for-
merly included, is now limited by botanists to that large
group or Natural Class of Cryptogamic or (lowerless
plants, which forms the ])rincipal and characteristic vege-
INTRODUCTION. XI
tation of the waters. The sea, in no climate from the po-
lar circle to the equator, is altogether free from Algae,
though they abound on some shores much more than on
others, a subject which will come particularly under notice
when we speak of the distribution of their several tribes.
Species abound likewise in fresh water, whether running or
stagnant, and in mineral springs. The strongly impreg-
nated sulphureous streams of Italy, — the eternal snows of
the Alps and arctic regions, — and the boiling springs of
Iceland, have each their peculiar species ; and even che-
mical solutions, if long kept, produce Alga3. Very few,
comparatively, inhabit stations which are not submerged
or exposed to the constant dripping of water ; and, in all
situations where they are found, great dampness, at least,
is necessary to their production.
Thus extensively scattered through all climates, and ex-
isting under so many varieties of situation, the Sjjecies are,
as one would naturally suppose, exceedingly numerous,
and present a greater variety in form and size than is ob-
servable in any other tribe of plants whose structui'e is so
similar. Some are so exceedingly minute as to be wholly
invisible, except in masses, to the naked eye, and require
the highest powers of our microscopes to ascertain their
form or structure. Others, growing in the depths of the
great Pacific Ocean, have stems which exceed in length
(though not in diameter) the trunks of the tallest forest
trees ; and others have leaves that rival in expansion those
of the Palm. Some are simple globules or spheres, con-
sisting of a single cell or little bag of tissue filled with a
colouring matter ; some are mere strings of such cells co-
hering by the ends ; others, a little more complex, exhibit
the appearance of branched threads ; in others, again, the
branches and stems are compound, consisting of several
such threads joined together ; and, in others, the tissue
Xll INTRODUCTION.
expands into broad flat fronds. Only the higher tribes show
any distinction into stems and leaves, and even in these,
what appears a stem in the old plant, has already served, at
an earlier period of growth, either as a leaf, as in Sargas-
suin and Cysloselra, or as the midrib of a leaf, as in Deles-
seria. A few exhibit leaves or flat fronds formed of a
delicate, perforated net-work, resembling fine lace or the
skeletons of leaves, a structure which is also found among
zoophytes. Of those so constructed, the most remarkable
are the New-Holland genus TImretia, the East-Indian
Dictyurus [Callidictyon, Grev.), and Martensia, a genus
lately discovered at Port Natal, in South Africa, by Dr.
Krauss, which produces fan-shaped fronds, the lower half
of which has the structure and colour of Nltophyllum, the
upper that of the delicate net-work of Thuretia. Claudea,
one of the most singular of all the Algae, has a reticulated
frond of somevi^hat diff"erent structure. In this plant the
phyllodia are not formed by the simple interlacement of
fibres, or the perforations of a membrane, but by the anas-
tomosing of minute, ribbed leaflets, which are at first fi-ee,
and gradually connect their points with the rib of the leaf-
let next above them. The new originate all at the upper
side of the older leaflets, and stand at right angles with
them; thus a net-work is soon formed, and as the distances
between the leaves are small, the structure is delicately
lacy.
Among British Alga3, the only structure analogous to
these exists in Hydrodictyon, a fresh water Alga, which
grows in the form of a perfect net, with regular meshes.
The substance of which the frond consists is as variable
as the form. Some are mere masses of slime or jelly, so
loose that they fall to pieces on being removed from the
water ; others resemble, in feel and appearance, threads of
silk ; some are stiff' and horny ; others are cartilaginous,
INTRODUCTION. XIU
or with the aspect and elasticity of gristle ; others tough
and coriaceous, or resembling leather ; while the stems of
some of the larger kinds are almost woody. The leaves
of some are delicately membranaceous, glossy and trans-
parent ; of others, coarse and thick, and either wholly des-
titute of nerves, or furnished with more or less defined
ribs, or beautifully veined. Several have the power of
withdrawing carbonate of lime from the water in which
they grow, and laying it up, in an organized state, in their
tissues. Among fresh-water species, particularly of the
Rivularice, we find the first imperfect exhibitions of this
remarkable power, but in some of these the lime occurs in
such lumpy masses, that it may perhaps rather be regarded
as an incrustation, through which the plant continually
grows. In the marine Corallines, and in several of the
orders Siphonace(B and Batrachosperfnacea, the secreting
process is too perfect for the lime to be considered as an
incrustation. It is obviously necessary to the perfect de-
velopment of the vegetable. Some of the least perfect of
the Corallines, the Melohesiee or Nullipores, resemble
masses of calcareous matter, not at all unlike the incrusta-
tions formed in water strongly impregnated with carbonate
of lime ; but when we place these apparent rocks into acid
for a short time, until the lime is partly dissolved, there re-
mains a delicately cellular structure, of the full form and
size of the original mass, and built in a perfectly regular
manner. In the cells of this body, and the interstices be-
tween them, the particles of lime had been arranged.
Among the most minute kinds, many (comprising the
family DiatomacecB) are cased with organized sile.v, and
these cases, which resist the action of fire, are found in
countless myriads in a fossil state, in many countries, cover-
ing miles of ground, or forming mountains, and presenting
XIV INTRODUCTION.
to the naked eye a whitish, powdery substance, known by
the name of " mountain meal,"
In colour, the Alga^ exhibit three principal varieties,
with, of course, numerous intermediate shades, namely,
grass-green, olivaceous, red. The grass-green is character-
istic of those found in fresh water, or in very shallow parts
of the sea, along the shores, and generally above half-tide
level ; and is rarely seen in those which grow at any great
depth. But to this rule there are exceptions, sufficiently
numerous to forbid our assigning the prevalence of this co-
lour altogether to shallowness of water. Several of the
more perfect Confervece and Siphoneoi grow beyond the
reach of ordinary tides ; and others, as the beautiful Ana-
dyomene, are sometimes dredged from very considerable
depths. The great mass, however, of the green-coloured
species, are inconsiderably submerged. The olivaceous-
brown or olive-green is almost entirely confined to marine
species, and is, in the main, characteristic of those that
grow at half-tide level, Algae of this colour becoming less
frequent towards low-water mark ; but an olivaceous vege-
tation frequently occurs also at greater depths, in which
case it is very dark, and passes into brown or almost black.
The red also, is almost exclusively marine, and reaches its
maximum in deep water. When red sea-weeds grow
above half-tide level, they assume either purple, or orange,
or yellow tints, and sometimes even a cast of green, but in
these cases their colour is sometimes brightened by placing
the specimens, for a short time, in fresh water. The red is
rarely very pure much within the I'ange of extreme low-
water mark, higher than which many of the more delicate
species will not vegetate ; and those that do exist degene-
rate in form as well as in colour. How far below low-
water mark the red species extend has not been ascertained.
INTRODUCTION. XV
but those from the extreme depths of the sea are of the
olive series in its darkest form. For the colours of these
last it has puzzled botanists not a little to account. It is
well known that liglit is absolutely necessary to the growth
of land-plants, and that the green colour of their foliage
altogether depends upon its supply : if placed in even par-
tial darkness they quickly acquire a sickly yellowish hue,
and finally become white. But with Algae it is different.
At depths to which the luminous rays, it is known, do not
penetrate, species exist as fully coloured as those along the
shore. They therefore, in this respect, either differ from
all other plants (Fungi included), or perhaps, what are
called the chemical rays, in which seem to reside the most
active principles of solar light, may be those which cause
colour among these vegetables, and may penetrate to depths
to which luminous rays do not reach. But this is mere
supposition. However this may be, it is worth remarking
that this property among Algse, of producing vigorous
growth and strong colour without the agency of light, af-
fords another link between them and the animal kingdom,
among the lower tribes of w^hich light is by no means es-
sential to growth and the most brilliant colour.
There is this difference also in the distribution of colours
among Algae to what obtains among other plants. Among
plants in general, nothing is so variable or uncertain as
colour : far from serving as a mark to distinguish groups
or genera, colour does not even aspire to the rank of a spe-
cific character, and the utmost to which it can pretend is
to separate one variety of a species from another. Among
Algae, on the contrary, it has been ascertained that the
classes of colour enumerated above, are, to a great extent,
indicative of structure, and consequently of natural affinity.
Thus, the green species are of the simplest structure, and
XVI INTRODUCTION.
differ remarkably in their mode of propagation from either
of the other tribes, their spores being endowed at the period
of germination with a sort of motion, which some have
called voluntary, but which does not really possess that
animal property. The olivaceous are the most perfect and
compound in the structure of their organs of vegetation,
and reach the largest size ; and the red form a group dis-
tinguished not less by the beauty and delicacy of their
tissue, than by producing spores under two forms, thus pos-
sessing what is called a double fructification. Hence,
modern botanists, since the publication of Lamouroux's
system, have, whatever their particular views of arrange-
ment may be, almost invariably used colour as one of the
principal characters on which their systematic arrangement
is based; and to a great extent it may be safely trusted.
But the young student must be careful not to place too
absolute dependance on colour alone, in referring plants
which he may gather to their place in the system ; for some
species, which in their healthy state are red, or of that
class of colour, become, when growing under unfavourable
circumstances, of an orange, yellowish, whitish, or greenish
shade. Laurencia pinnatijida is particularly variable in
this respect. When this species grows near low-water
mark, it is of a fine, deep, purple-red ; a little higher up
it is dull purple-brown ; higher still a pale brownish red,
and, at last, near high-water mark, it is often yellowish or
greenish. The other species oi Laurencia vary in similar
but less striking degrees. Chondrus crispus too, when found
in shallow water, exposed to strong sunlight, is often of a
bright herbaceous green ; and Ceraniium ruhrum passes
through every shade of red and yellow, and at last degene-
rates into a dirty white, before it ceases to grow. All these
species vary in form and size, as they do in colour, and the
INTRODUCTION. XVll
various anomalous shapes that they assume are almost sure
to deceive a young botanist into the belief that the varieties
are so many different species.
Many Algae, whilst growing under the surface of the
water, reflect colours which perish almost immediately after
they are removed to the air. Of this class are several spe-
cies of Cystoseira, especially C. ericoides, which, though
really of a greenish olive, appears, when growing under
water, to be clothed with the richest phosphoric greens
and blues, changing momently, as the branches move to
and fro in the water. Similar colours have been observed,
though in a less striking degree, on some species of the
red series. The genus Iridcea derives its name from this
character, though our /. edulis is not remarkable in this
respect. Miss Ball and Mr. TV. Thompson have observed
CJiondrus crispus to be occasionally iridescent. At the
Cape of Good Hope, Champia compressa and Chylocladia
capensis present very brilliant rainbow colours. Miss
Hutchins observed that Conferva Hutchinsim has change-
able glaucous tints when fresh, and looks almost white
when seen through the water. The cause of these brilliant
colours has not been particularly sought after.
There are other species which really change colour
shortly after their removal from the water, as the various
kinds of Sporochnoide(B, which pass rapidly from a clear
olive to a verdigris-green. But this is the effect of death
and incipient decomposition, for with the colour they lose
their crispness, become flaccid, and emit an offensive
odour, and, as has been observed by botanists, possess the
remarkable property of changing the colour of other small
filiform Algae with which they may come in contact. No
doubt this is owing to the development of some active
chemical agent. Professor Mertens, in describing the cir-
cumstance as occurring with Desmarestia. ligulata and
h
XVni INTRODUCTION.
Z>. aculeatu, says, that these species remain unaltered
while they cause decay around them. But this I have not
found to be the case. The Desmaresiia always loses its
rigidity, and its original olive is changed to verdigris before
it possesses any destructive power. The Fucoidece become
black on exposure to the air. The Laminarice, on the
contrary, first become green and finally white, under simi-
lar circumstances. Many of the Floridece are much bright-
ened in colour after having been cast upon the beach,
especially if exposed to rain and sunshine. Amongst those
of our own shores, Plocammm coccineum and Dasya coc-
cinea are conspicuous in this respect. Both are, originally,
of a dull, deep pink, but when thrown up and a short time
exposed, become of a very rich scarlet-crimson. But Ge-
lidiuin cartilagineum, so common at the Cape of Good
Hope, often presents the most splendid gradation of colour
in a single specimen, from dull purplish pink (its original
dye) through scarlet, orange, yellow, and verdigris-green
to white ; to which colour all the red and green species
may be bleached after long exposure.
Among the more delicate tribes several are instantly al-
tered by being plunged into fresh water. Nitophyllum
versicolor, as Mrs. Griffiths has observed, is remarkable in
this respect; its full pink being instantly changed to a
bright orange. Belesseria Injpoglossnm and ruscifolia have
the same peculiarity, as have many of the CallUhamtiia
and Griffithsia, and other delicate Rhodosperms. All these
changes are accompanied by decomposition. In the case
of Griffithsioi* especially, shortly after the change, the co-
louring matter of the joints is abundantly discharged with
a crackling noise through the ruptured membrane, staining
with a beautiful carmine colour the water or the paper to
* See an excellent description of this in a paper by Dr. Diumniond,
of Belfast, in ' Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. ii. p. 121.
INTEODUCTION. XIX
which the specimen has been removed. No doubt a fine
lake could be prepared either from G. setacea or multijida,
could they be procured in sufficient quantit3^ Paper
stained by them retains its colour after many years in the
herbarium. At the Cape of Good Hope there is a species
of Callithamnion (C. purpuriferum), which, when grow-
ing, is of a dull, deep, grayish brown, with but a slightly
reddish hue ; but the moment it is placed in fresh water
it discharges an abundance of fine, brilliant, purple pow-
der, and almost immediately becomes flaccid and putrid.
The beautiful Thorea raiiiosissitna, lately discovered by
Mr. Mc'Ivor in such abundance in the Thames, at Walton
Bridge, is at first of a dark olive, but gradually acquires,
after it has been dried, a purple tint. Many of the Poli/si-
phofiice also, which are, when growing, of a brown colour,
become, in fresh water, purple or pink ; while some of the
same group, as Rytiphlcea complanala, &c., which are at
first red, give out, in fresh water, quantities of blackish
brown juice, and would become wholly black if dried with-
out long previous steeping. Heat converts the colour of
most species to green. If any of the Fucacece be plunged
in boiling water they rapidly assume a bright green, but,
on removal, revert to their original olive, and finally to
black. The colours of the Rhodosperms may be more per-
manently changed, and also to green, by similar treatment.
Dictyotacece perhaps are less affected by fresh water, either
cold or hot, than any others. Some of them are nearly un-
changed ; others assume more or less of a green shade.
Most Algae are, at some period of their growth, found
attached to other substances by means of a root, or at least
a hold-fast. It has been doubted whether, as no distinct
vessels of absorption have been discovered, they receive
any nourishment through this organ, but the question is by
no means settled. Thus much is at least certain : some
b 2
XX INTRODUCTION.
Alg3D appear to be as much influenced by the soil in which
they grow as other plants are, and a large number of those
that are parasitical confine themselves to particular species.
This selection of habitat would seem to prove that the
root is not so sluggish an organ as it has been supposed to
be. It does not, however, present much modification, and
rarely attains a large size. The usual form is that of a
hard, callous disk ; sometimes this is accompanied by fleshy
fibres ; and occasionally, but rarely, the root consists of an
extensive creeping mass of fibres. This latter form is
most remarbable in the genus Caiderpa, the species of
which grow on sand, and consequently require the support
of an extensively ramified, penetrating and compact root.
Some species, which, under ordinary circumstances, are
attached by roots, occasionally dispense with them, and
continue to flourish independently of them. Of these the
most remarkable are Sargassum hacciferum and vulgare (.?),
which, under the Spanish name " Sargasso," or the English
" Gulf-weed," have forced themselves on the notice of all
voyagers who have crossed the Atlantic since the time of
Columbus. The vast fields of sea-weed which were met
with by " the adventurous Genoese" and his early follow-
ers, which made the ocean appear like a meadow, and sen-
sibly impeded the course of their small vessels, consisted of
these species. According to Humboldt there are two
principal banks ; one, the largest, extending from the 25th
to the 36th degree of north latitude, and a little west of the
meridian of Fayal, one of the Azores ; the other, w^hich is
much smaller, a short way west of the Bahamas, and be-
tween the 22nd and 26th degrees of latitude. These
localities of the banks, however, can but be considered as
approximations, for with plants that float about wherever
the winds and currents drive them no very certain station
can obtain. Vessels returning from the Cape of Good
INTRODUCTION. XXI
Hope, sometimes, in these latitudes, pass through immense
fields of sea-weed; and others, though steering exactly the
same course, and at the same season, meet with scarcely any.
1 have made the voyage four times, and only once met with
sea-weed in sufficient quantity to claim any attention. It
did not then occur in strata resembling fields, but rather in
ridges, from ten to twenty yards broad and of great length,
stretched across the sea. The species invariably found in
these was S. haccifenim. Of a large quantity that we
dredged up for several successive days not a particle be-
longed to S. vulgare, and I am much inclined to suspect
that most, if not all, of the stories related by voyagers as of
that species, belong to S. bacciferum, a plant which has
never been found in any other situation than floating about
in the deep sea, whereas S. vuUjare (the Fucus natans of
Turner) is well known in many tropical countries to grow
on the rocks, within the reach of the tide, like others of the
genus. It is therefore much to be regretted that the name
oi natans was not retained for S. bacciferum, to which it is
chiefly, if not only, applicable. Authors who have written
on this Fucus have much disputed, both respecting its ori-
gin and whether it continues to grow whilst floating about.
Nothing at all bearing on the former question has yet been
discovered, for though species of Scugassum abound along
the shores of tropical countries, none exactly corresponds
with S. bacciferum. That the Ancestors of the present
banks have originally migrated from some fixed station is
probable, but farther than probability we can say nothing.
That it continues to floui'ish and grow in its present situa-
tion is most certain. Whoever has picked it up at sea,
and examined it with any common attention, must have
perceived not only that the plants were in vigorous life,
but that new fronds were continually pushing out from the
old, the limit being most clearly defined by the colour^
XXn INTRODUCTION.
which in the old frond is foxy-brown ; in the young shoots
pale, transparent olive. But how is it propagated ? — for it
rarely produces fructification. It seems to me that the old
frond, which is exceedingly brittle, is broken by accident,
and the branches, continuing to live, push out young shoots
from all sides. Many minute pieces that I examined were
as vigorous as those of larger size, but they were certainly
not seedlings, and appeared to me to be broken branches,
all having a piece oi old frond from which the young shoots
sprung. As the plant increases in size it takes something
of a globular figure, from the branches issuing in all direc-
tions, as from a centre. On our own shores we have two
species analogous to »S'. hacciferum in their mode of growth,
namely, Fucus Mackaii, and the variety 0. sub-ecostafus of
Fucus vesiciilosus, [F. balticus, Ag.) Neither of these has
ever yet been found attached, though they often occur in
immense strata ; the one on the muddy sea-shore, the
other in salt marshes ; in which situations, respectively,
they continue to grow and flourish. And if it be hereafter
shown that F. Mackaii is merely F. nodosus, altered by
growing under peculiar circumstances, may it not be in-
ferred that *S^. hacciferum — which differs about as much
from *S'. vulgare as F. Mackaii does from F. nodosus — is
merely a pelagic variety of that variable plant ?
In structure, whilst there is a great variety among the
different tribes of Algas, we find, in material points, a per-
fect similarity among all. All consist of simple cellular
tissue, or of its elements, (/f/a/i??^ (or organic mucus), mem-
brane, and endochrome (or cldorophyU), variously elabo-
rated and perfected. No vessels or ducts have been
discovered in any, nor does woody fibre, though of com-
mon occurrence among the Fungi, exist in the AI(J(B. The
gelatine (or mucus) is perfectly transparent in all, but differs
greatly in consistency in different species, but without much
INTRODUCTION. XXIII
regard, seemingly, to the comparative perfection of the
structure of which it forms a part. It is often as lax and
as slimy in some plants of the higher tribes as in those of
lower organization, and some of the latter have it as firm
and consistent as any of the former. Thus the frond of
Champia and Chylocladia among Laurenciacese is filled
with a watery gelatine ; that of Splachnidium among Fu-
caceae with a loose, slimy matter ; whilst Rivitlarla among
Oscillatoriacege has a singularly firm and consistent jelly.
In Mesogloia it is very loose, investing the threads of which
the frond is composed with a lubricous sheath. In Gigar-
iina, Chondrus, &c., it is so firm as to give those plants
the consistence of cartilage, and in these it is immediately
dissolved in hot water, opening to us a curious and unex-
pected affinity between them and Mesogloia ; for if a branch
of any Gigarlina be plunged into hot water it will be con-
verted, by the dissolving of its gelatine, into one having
all the characters of the frond of the former genus. Thus
we find that there is no fundamental difference in the
structure of the frond of these two apparently dissimilar
genera, but that one has a firmer gelatine than the other.
The cellulat\ tissue of Algae presents some varieties.
The most common form of the cell is cylindrical, often of
very small diameter in proportion to its length ; and, in such
cases, the cells always cohere by the ends into threads or
jzlamenis, bundles of which, either branched or simple,
form ihQ frond hy lateral cohesion. The fronds of many
of the simple kinds, Confervea, Ceramiece, &c., consist of
a single thread, or string of cells or joints. Those which
are move compound may generally be resolved into such
threads by macerating small poi'tions, either in hot water,
or, if that prove ineffectual, in diluted muriatic acid. If a
branch of a Fucus (say F. tuherculaius) , be so treated, and
a thin longitudinal slice be then examined with the micro-
XXIV INTRODUCTION.
scope, it will be found to consist of four distinct portions
concentrically arranged, which Lamouroux, who first ob-
served niinutely the anatomy of these plants, compares,
perhaps too fancifully, to the epidermis, bark, wood, and
medullary sheath of exogenous plants. The central por-
tion, corresponding to the medulla, occupies fully a third
of the diameter of the branch, and is composed of densely
packed, longitudinal, parallel fibres, or strings of cells,
firmly cohering into one compact mass. Outside this is a
much less dense layer, of a paler colour, composed of
branched, anastomosing fibres, partly horizontal and partly
vertical, inextricably laced together ; and surrounding
these, which represent the wood, is a third and much
denser and darker coloured layer (bark), which is altogether
composed of horizontal, radiating, simple fibres, very
densely packed together. Outside this portion, and form-
ing the outer coat of the frond, is a very thin layer of cells,
which is irequently but loosely attached, and separates
much in the manner of an epidermis. Something similar
to this, which we may call the analogy of the Exogenous
type among Algae, is the structure of many of the larger
kinds, both of the red and olive series, but minor variations
occur in the comparative substance of the different layers.
Thus, in some the centre is very loose and gelatinous, with
merely a few scattered fibres, while the outer coat is very
dense. The second circle (that representing wood) is ne-
ver, 1 believe, so dense as the others, and very generally
consists of branched, interlacing and colourless fibres, and
from it fructification generally, if not always, proceeds.
Another common form of the cell is that of an irregular,
very rarely regular, polygonal solid, resulting from the
lateral and vertical pressure of a mass of spherical cells.
This form is found generally in the UIv(B, and in most spe-
cies having large expanded leaves, especially among the
INTRODUCTION. XXV
Rhodosperraeae, where both stems and leaves are often
composed of a homogeneous mass of such cells packed to-
gether.
In fructification we find many modifications of struc-
ture, without much real difference either in the manner in
which the fruit is perfected or in the spore that is produced.
The spore that is finally formed in all the Alga3 appears
pretty nearly to agree in structure, and to consist of a single
cell or bag of membrane, filled with a very dense and dark
coloured granular or semifluid mass, called the eiulochrome.
This spore, on germination, produces a perfect plant, re-
sembling that from which it sprung. Nothing at all resem-
bling floral organs has been noticed in any, and all that
we know of the fructification is, that it takes place with
regularity, arising from the same parts of the frond, and
having the same appearance in plants of the same kind.
Its growth maybe watched from the commencement, when
the germ of the future spore begins to swell. But little
has been ascertained that throws light on the process of
fecundation. In some instances, it is true, as for example
in Zygnema, the spore is formed from the union of the
matter contained in a cell of one filament with that in a
cell of another, and it has been observed that the cells of
one filament uniformly give out, and that those of another
uniformly receive; but before conjugation no difference
whatever can be perceived between the two filaments.
This, which occurs in a tribe of very low organization, af-
fords the nearest analogy that has yet been noticed with
what takes place in higher plants. If it have any real
affinity with that process, we may fairly expect the disco-
very of sexes in the more perfect tribes ; and the seeming
analogues of male flowers have indeed been noticed in
some of these. Old authors invested the air-vessels of
Fiicus, or the tufts of hairs that clothe the surface of some
XXVI INTRODUCTION.
species with this character; but both opinions have been
long since given up as untenable. The recent observations
of Messrs. Decaisne and Thuret* have shown the existence,
in the Fuci, of organs similar in many of their characters
to v\'hat are supposed to be the male organs of Mosses^
CharcB, Hepaticcc, &c. The little bodies called by these
authors anther idia (a name now adopted) had been previ-
ously observed, and referred, under the name acrospores^
to the female system of the plant. They are found in the
spherical conceptacles of the Fucas, either in those which
also contain spores or in others, which they exclusively oc-
cupy, and which do not differ from female conceptacles in
any' other character than by their contents. The antheri-
dia are little transparent cases, each formed of a cell, borne
on branching threads, that form little tufts springing from
the sides of the conceptacle. At maturity the antheridia
fall off from their stalks, and then appear more or less filled
with orange-coloured granules of very minute size. After
a time these granules escape, and immediately commence
most lively movements, strikingly similar to those observed
in the spores of the Chlorosperms. Under very high pow-
ers of the microscope each corpuscle is found to be fur-
nished with two active cilia or hairs, which are its organs
of motion. The shape of these little bodies is different
from that of the spermatozoa found in the supposed anthers
of the Mosses and Hepattcce, but their motion by means of
cilia is very similar, and there seems no reason to doubt
their analogy with those objects. They are best observed
in winter, at which season many of the fronds of Fucus
serratus and F. vesiculosus will be found covered with
orange-coloured or bright yellow receptacles. If some of
the brightest coloured fruits are selected and allowed
* In the ' Annales tics Sciences Natiuelles.'
INTRODUCTION. XXvii
partially to become dry, drops of an orange, viscid liquid
will ooze out of the pores of the conceptacles, and collect
on the surface. If a small portion of this fluid, diluted by
a drop of sea water, be now placed under the microscope,
it will be found to consist of myriads of detached antheri-
dia, in all stages of fullness, among which troops of sper-
matozoa will be seen performing their strange gyrations.
Such is the nature of the supposed male system of the
Fuci. Its analogy with the antheridia of the mosses is
obvious, but observations are still wanting to show that the
spermatozoa in either case have any connexion with the
fecundation of the spores. If we limit our assertions by
the present state of our actual knowledge on the subject,
all that we can state with certainty is, that in those cases
where the formation of spores among Algae has been most
closely watched and most successfully observed, the spore
has resulted from the union of the contents of two cells.
That a transmission of the endochrome from one cell to
another, prior to the formation of spore, occurs in all the
compound Algae, seems probable from the fact that the
cells immediately surrounding the spores are always co-
lourless and empty, but there is nothing as yet known to
prove that one cell is less adapted than another to receive
the endochrome, and form the future embryo, — nothing to
show that there is any clear distinction into male and
female.
Experiments on the propagation of Algae from their spores
have not yet been so frequently made as the interest of the
subject deserves. In our own country, I am not aware that
any one since Mr. Stackhouse, in 1796, has attempted it.
This gentleman attempted to grow some of the Fuci, and
so far succeeded with F. carmliculatus as to witness the
germination. The following account of his experiment,
which I extract from his ' Nereis Brilannica,' though
XXVm INTRODUCTION.
already more than once published, may prove interesting to
those who have not seen it, and perhaps tempt botanists
whose residence near the sea gives them an opportunity,
to repeat the trial. " Having procured a number of wide-
mouthed jars, together with a siphon to draw off the water
without shaking or disturbing it, on Sept. 7, 1796, I placed
my plants {F. serratus, cannliculatm and tuherculatiis)
carefully in the jar, with their bases downwards, as in their
natural state ; on the following morning I decanted off the
sea water, and, letting it subside in the basin, 1 found a
few particles at the bottom, which on being viewed with
the microscope appeared to be little fragments detached
from the surface by friction in carriage. 1 then poured a
fresh quantity of sea water on the plants, and placed them
in a window facing south : on the following morning the
jar containing the plants of F. canaliculatus discharged
into the basin a few yellowish grains, which, on examining
them, I found to be the actual seeds of the plant ; they were
rather oval than pear-shaped, but the most curious circum-
stance attending the observation was, that each individual
seed was not in contact with the water, but enveloped with
a bright mucilaginous substance. It was easy to guess the
wise economy of nature in this disposition, which, as hinted
above, serves a double purpose ; each equally necessary
towards continuing the species. On the following morning
a greater quantity of seeds were discharged by this plant,
and at this time a few seeds were procured from F. serratus ;
but this latter plant discharged such a quantity of mucous
fluid that the sea water in which the plant was immersed
was of the consistence of syrup, and consequently, the seeds
being kept suspended, it was difficult to separate them.
The seeds of F. canaUculatus, however, were numerous,
and visible to the naked eye, and after letting the water
rest for a {aw minutes it was no difficult matter, by gently
INTRODUCTION. XXIX
inclining the basin, to pour off the water and let the seeds
remain. In performing this operation I was witness to an
explosion or bursting of one of these seeds or pericarps,
which agitated the water considerably under the microscope,
and brought to my recollection the circumstance mentioned
by Major Velley during his investigation of F. vesiculosus.
I at last obtained a discharge of seeds likewise from F.
bifurcatus {tuberculatus) ; these perfectly resembling the
others. Having established this point, viz., that marine
plants scatter their seeds in their native element without
violence ivhen ripe, and without awaiting the decay of the
frond, I next procured some sea pebbles and small frag-
ments of rock, taken from the beach, and having drained
off the greater part of the water in the jar, I poured the
remainder on them, and left them dry for some time that
the seeds might affix themselves. I then fastened strings
to the pebbles, and alternately sunk them in sea water in a
wide-mouthed jar and left them exposed to the air, in or-
der to imitate as nearly as possible their peculiar situation
between high and low-water mark, and when the weather
was rainy I took care to expose them to it. In less than a
week a thin membrane was discoverable on the surface of
the pebble where the seeds had lodged, with a naked eye ;
this gradually extended itself, and turned to a darkish olive
colour. It continued increasing in size, till at last there
appeared numerous papillae or buds coming up from the
membrane : these buds, when viewed with a glass, were ra-
ther hollow in the centre, from which a shoot pushed forth :
in some instances they seemed on a short, thick footstalk,
and in this latter case resembled in some measure the
pezizae-formed seedling of F. loreus, and the others without
stems were like the stemless Pezizee. These plants conti-
nued to put forth the central shoots for some time, but
their growth was not rapid after the first efforts ; most
XXX INTRODUCTION.
probably owing to tlieir confined situation ; and as I was
six or eight miles from the sea, and had not the opportunity
of placing the pebbles in some of those pools which are
left by the sea at low water, I discontinued the experiment."
It is much to be regretted that Mr. Sfackhouse, in con-
ducting the above experiment, did not make more use of
the microscope. We are not told how the membrane pro-
ceeded from the spores, nor whether the sprouts arose from
each single spore, or from several associated.
More recently, on the continent, M. J. G. Ayardli, son
of the celebrated Swedish algologist and worthy successor
to his chair, has made more minute observations on the
germination both of spores and of tetraspores, of several
species, and has published magnified figures of the young
plants in various stages of development. His memoir on
this subject will be found in the ' Annates des Sciences
Naturelles^ for October, 1836; and I shall here extract
some of its more interesting matter. According to him,
whatever may have been the shape of the spore before it
issued from the capsule, it soon acquires a spherical form,
and is then undistinguishable from the tetraspores of the
same species, which likewise germinates in the same manner.
In his figures, for I regret to say he has not detailed the
whole process, nor given an account of his method of pro-
ceeding with the plants, he has represented the first effort
of germination as showing itself by the spore acquiring an
oval form ; a minute papilla then issues from one end,
which elongates and becomes the root; the upper end
likewise pushes in an opposite direction, gradually elon-
gating, and increasing in diameter by the production of new
cells, till at length it acquires the character of the species.
He has figured the germination of the spores and tetraspores
of Ceramimn ruhrum and Laurencia pinnatijida, and of
the spores of Fucus vesiculosus ; to all which the above
INTRODUCTION. XXxi
applies. But the most interesting part of the memoir is,
the account given of some curious circumstances attending
the germination of some of the lower Algae, those belonging
to the grass-green series, [ChlorosperinecB, Nob., Zoosper-
me(B, Ag. fil.) I allude to the peculiar motion observed in
the spores of several plants of this group, which has given
rise, on the Continent, to some very startling theories,
which have again produced much warm, not to say angry,
discussion. Without entering into all that has been written
on the subject, which would occupy too much space for
our limits, I shall here transcribe M. Agardh's account of
Conferva area, translating from his memoir above noticed.
" The filaments of C. cerea are, as is well known, articu-
lated or divided at equal distances into little compartments
(joints), which have no communication among themselves
other than what results from the permeability of the dis-
sepiments. The green matter contained in these joints
appears at first altogether homogeneous, as if it were fluid ;
but in a more advanced state it becomes more and more
granular. The granules are, at their formation, found ad-
hering to the inner surface of the membrane, but they soon
detach themselves, and the irregular figure which they
present at first passes to that of a sphere. These granules
congregate by degrees in the middle of the joint, into a
mass, at first elliptical, but which at length becomes per-
fectly spherical. All these changes are conformable to
phenomena known in vegetable life ; those which are to '
follow have more analogy with the phenomena of animal
life. At this stage an important metamorphosis exhibits
itself, by a motion of swarming (un mouvement de fourmille-
ment) in the green matter. The granules of which it is
composed detach themselves from the mass, one after ano-
ther, and having thus become free, they move about in the
vacant space of the joint with an extreme rapidity. At the
XXXU INTRODUCTION.
same time the exterior membrane of the joint is observed
to swell in one point, till it there forms a little mamilla,
which is to become the point from which the moving gra-
nules finally issue. By the extension of the membrane for
the forn)ation of the mamilla, the tender fibres of which it
is composed separating, cause an opening at the end of the
mamilla, and it is by this passage that the granules escape.
At first they issue in a body, but soon those which remain,
swimming in a much larger space, have much more diffi-
culty in escaping, and it is only after innumerable knockings
(titubations) against the walls of their prison, that they
succeed in finding an exit. From the first instant of the
motion one observes that the granules or sporules are fur-
nished with a little beak, a kind of anterior process, always
distinguishable from the body of the sporule by its paler
colour. It is on the vibrations of this beak that the motion,
as I conceive, depends ; at least I have never been able to
discover any cilia. However, I will not venture to deny
the existence of these, for with a very high power of a com-
pound microscope one sees the granules surrounded with
a hyaline border, as we find among the ciliated Infusoria
on applying a glass of insufficient power. The sporules,
during their motion, always present this heak in front of
their body, as if it served to show them the way ; but when
they cease to move, by bending it back along the side of
their body, they resume the spherical form, so that before
and after the motion one sees no trace of this beak. The
motion of the sporules before their exit from the joint con-
sists principally in quick dartings along the walls of the
articulation, knocking themselves against them by innu-
merable shocks ; and in some cases we are almost forced
to believe that it is by this motion of the sporules that the
mamilla is formed. Escaped from their prison they con-
tinue their motion for one or two hours, and, retiring always
INTRODUCTION. XXXllI
towards the darker edge of the vessel, sometimes they pro-
long their wandering com'ses, sometimes they remain in the
same place, causing their beak to vibrate in rapid circles.
Finally they collect in dense masses, containing innumera-
ble grains, and attach themselv^es to some extraneous body
at the bottom or on the surface of the water, where they
hasten to develope filaments like those of the mother plant.
The spherical sporules elongate at first into egg-shaped
bags, attached to the strange body by the narrowest end.
Their development only consists in a continual expansion,
without emitting any root. The green internal matter di-
vides in the middle by a partition, which appears at first
sight as a hyaline mucilage, but which gradually changes
into a complete diaphragm. It is thus, by successive divi-
sions ofthejoint first formed, that the young plant increases.
The position of the mamilla in each joint is uncertain, at
least I have seen it very different in neighbouring joints.
The exit of the sporules does not take place at the same
time in the different joints. One often sees those of one of
the articulations already escaped, while in the neighbouring
one they are not yet completely formed. Commonly the
uppermost joints empty themselves first, so that it is not
rare to see all the upper part of a filament entirely trans-
parent, whilst the lower part continues still to develope.
In this manner the formation and dissemination of the spo-
rules continues during the whole summer, and thus a single
filament suffices for the formation of an infinite quantity of
sporules. If one remembers that each joint contains per-
haps many hundreds of spores, it is not astonishing that
the water becomes perfectly coloured with them ; so that
we might readily take for a Protococcus, or other simple
Alga, what are only the spores of a Conferva. I suspect
that from such a mistake have arisen the theories of meta-
morphosis proposed by many modern algologists."
c
XXXIV INTRODUCTION.
Mr. Agardh then proceeds to detail the results of his
examination of Zyynemntay Ulva claihrata, Bryopsis Ar-
huscula, and other Algae, in all which he has noticed a
motion, apparently spontaneous, among the spores at the
period of germination. Similar observations on other Con-
fervoid Algae have been made by many continental bota-
nists, particularly by Unyer, an abstract of whose account
of Vaucheria clavata will be found in ' Loudoii's May. Nat.
Hist.'' vol. i. p. 305 ; by Meyen, Bory St. Vincent, Guillon,
Treviranus, Milne Edwards, and others who have commu-
nicated their discoveries in several memoirs inserted in the
' Annales des Sciences Naturelles^ ' Encycl. Methodlque^
&c. ; in fact experiments have been so multiplied by inde-
pendent observers, and the result is so invariably the same,
that however difficult it may be to account for these ano-
malous motions, and however little they may accord with
our preconceived notions of the powers of vegetable life, it
is not possible to doubt the fact of their existence ; for we
cannot suppose that all these respectable witnesses have
been themselves deceived, or have wished to impose on
our credulity. The fact of the existence of motion being
granted, it will naturally be asked, how we are to account
for it ? Here we have vegetables producing spores which
exhibit a feature that we have been accustomed to regard
as one of the distinguishing characters of animal life. Are
these spores then animalcules ? This strange opinion is
not without its zealous supporters, who contend that an
actual metamorphosis takes place ; that the spore becomes
[how is not said) a perfect animalcule, which after enjoying
an animal existence for a time ceases to live aninially, and,
reverting to its original nature, gives birth to a vegetable.
Thus, this seed was first vegetable, then animal, and then
again vegetable, and finally giving birth to animals to be
again transformed into vegetables, and so on. This opinion
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
has found many advocates among continental writers,
among which we must number the elder Agardh, who
speaks of the disengaged spores of Telraspora lubrica as
" having become animalcules ; " whilst others have strongly
combated it, and in England it has never been received.
Mr. Berkeley (' Hook. Journ. Bot.' i. p. 233), in combating
such notions, suggests that this motion may arise from the
endosmose or exosmose caused by the spores being of a
different density with the water into which they are dis-
charged ; but, as Mr. Agardh remarks, this cannot be the
reason, for the motion equally exists in Conf.
2 CLASSIFICATION.
In modern systems, therefore, we find a more honourable
position assigned to the Algae ; and in the ' Vegetable
Kingdom' of Professor Lindley they (together with the Cha-
race(B, which I regard as vegetables of higher type), consti-
tute his first Alliance, consisting of five natural orders,
Diatomaceci', Co)ifervace(B, Fucacece, Ceramiaceac and CJia-
racea. To the four first of these groups I confine my idea
of the class Algoe : the last, though with a simplicity of frond
equal to that of some of the less perfect of the Alga), has or-
gans of fructification so much more developed than any met
with among the highest Algae, that I cannot consent to in-
clude it in the class. If we adhere to the established maxim
that the fructification of plants and not their organs of nutri-
tion ought to be our guide in classification, we shall probably
place the CharacecB more nearly on a level with the Hepa-
ticae than with any section of Algae. Their exact position
in the scale of organization is still, perhaps, doubtful. To
me they seem like the remains of a ruined alliance whose
species are diminishing, and of which other members, which
would connect it with neighbouring alliances, are lost. Such
cases are not without parallel in the vegetable world. Eqvi-
setacea is an instance of a small group nearly equally isolated ;
and we have good reason to suppose that both it and Chara-
cecs were much more abundant and of a higher type, in more
remote periods than at present. PodostemacetB, among Exo-
gens, may also be mentioned as an example of the combina-
tion of considerable perfection of the floral organs, with the
greatest imperfection of foliage ; and this order seems fully
as much below the average development of Exogens as the
Cliaracece is below that of the Hepaticae.
Admitting the improvement of breaking up the old order
Algae into several, it may yet be questioned whether the
groups of genera brought together under the above names
are natural orders, or assemblages of a higher value. The
first consists of two very distinct groups of plants, the
Diatoniacete, whose epidermis is formed of silex ; and the
Desmidiacece, in which the external skin consists of simple
cellulose. These two groups may either be regarded as
well-marked sub-orders, or as separate orders of a common
alliance, namely, of the Chlorospermeae or green Algae {Con-
fervacem, Lindl.).
The contents of the three following groups are very much
more heterogeneous. Coi\fervaceC
DESMIOIACE>C
kTOMACEjCy
THE
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The characters of the three sub-classes of Algae are as fol-
lows (we take them in the order in which we propose to
describe them): —
1. Melanosperme.?-:. Plants of an olive-green or olive-
brown colour. Fructification monoecious or dioecious.
1. Spores olive-coloured, either external or contained
singly or in groups in proper conceptacles ; each
spore enveloped in a pellucid skin [perispore), simple,
or finally separating into 2, 4, or 8 sporules. 2. Jn-
theridia, or transparent cells filled with orange-co-
loured, vivacious corpuscles, moving by means of
vibratile cilia. Marine.
CLASSIFICATION. 5
Rhodosperme^. Plants rosy-red or purple, rarely
brown-red or greenish-red, Fructijication of two
kinds, dicEcious, always formed on separate indivi-
duals. 1. Spores (genanules, Ag.) contained either in
external or immersed conceptacles, or densely aggre-
gated together and dispersed in masses throughout
the substance of the frond. 2. Spores (called tetra-
spores, gemmiiles, Thw.) red or purple, either external
or immersed in the frond, rarely contained in proper
conceptacles ; each spore enveloped in a pellucid
skin {perispore), and at maturity separating into four
sporules. Antheridia (not observed in all) filled with
yellow corpuscles. Marine, with one or two excep-
tions.
Chlorosperme.e. Plants green, rarely a livid purple.
Fructijication dispersed through all parts of the frond,
the whole colouring matter being capable of conver-
sion into propagula. 1. Spores {Sporidia, Ag.) green
or purple, formed within the cells, often (always }) at
maturity vivacious, moving by means of vibratile cilia.
2. Gemmules {Coniocysto}, Ag.) or external vesicles
containing a dense, dark- coloured, granular mass, and
finally separating from the frond. Marine, or (more
generally) found in fresh-icater streams, ponds and
ditches, or in damp situations. (The marine species
of this sub-class are alone described in the present
work J .
Sub-class T.
MELANOSPERME^ or FUCALES.
Harv. in Mack. Fl. Hih. part iii. p. 167 (1836). Fucoide^,
J. Ag. Alg. Meclit. p. 24 (1842). Fucoide^. (in part), Ag. Si/st.
p. XXXV. (1824). Aplospore.e (in part), Decaisne, An. Sc.
Nat. vol. 17,;?. 305 (1842). Phyce^ (in part), E/tdl. Gen. PL
3rd Suppl. p. 19 (1843). Fdcace.e (in part), Lindl. Veg.
Kingd. p. 20 (1846).
Diagnosis. — Plants of an olive- green or olive-brown co-
lour. Fructification raoncEcious or dioecious. Spores olive-
coloured, either external or contained, singly or in groups,
in proper conceptacles ; each spore enveloped in a transpa-
rent skin {perispore), simple, or finally separating into several
sporules. Antlieridia, or transparent cells filled with orange-
coloured vivacious corpuscles, moving by means of vibratile
cilia. Marine.
The plants comprised under this head are exclusively ma-
rine, and are known from all other sea-weeds by their olive
or dark brown colour. In some few the colour of the living
plant is a very pale olive, verging to light green ; and some
others assume verdigris tints in decay or in the process of
drying : but as a general rule, it may be said, their colours
are rather on the brown than the green side of olive, and be-
come darker in drying, often changing to black.
Though some of the larger kinds inhabit deep water, and
are never laid bare on the recess of the tide, by far the
greater number are found on tidal rocks, where they are ex-
posed to the influence of sun and air for some hours each
day. And this exposure seems necessary to their healthy
growth and full development, as is proved in the case of
some Fuci which are occasionally raised from deep water.
In such situations fruit is not produced, and the fronds
have a weak and attenuated habit. That these plants are
8 MELANOSPERME.E.
intended for vegetation in shallow water is further proved by
the air-vessels with which most of them are furnished, and
which enable them to keep their long but flaccid fronds in au
erect position, with the uppermost branches either floating on
the surface of the water, or submerged but a short distance
beneath. In specimens growing in shallow water near
high-water mark the air-vessels are either absent or in small
quantity, but in those that grow at a lower level they are
proportionally abundant. And in the Sm-gassum hacciferum ,
the famous Giilf-weed, which floats on the surface of the
great ocean, the air-vessels are in such abundance as to form
the most striking feature of the species.
Some of the Melanosperraeae are of great size, by much
the largest of known Algse, surpassing in the length of their
fronds the tallest forest tree ; but comparatively few of them
attain such a proportionate diameter in their stems as to en-
title them to be called arborescent. In the deep bays of the
southern hemisphere, along the shores of the Falklands and
among the Archipelago of Cape Horn, the species of Lesso-
Qiia and Dm'vill(ea do indeed resemble submarine trees, with
gigantic leaves pendant from the tips of robust branches :
and even on our own shores the fronds of the larger tangles
{Laminaria), seen through clear water of one or two fathoms'
depth, have a similar character, and enable us to conceive
what glorious objects their greater southern analogues must
be when thus seen, waving freely below us. All the larger
kinds grow on rocks, to which they are firmly attached by a
root or holdfast, which is almost always conical, and which
adheres with great force to the rock. In many the cone is
solid, a compact mass of tough cellular tissue, but in others,
as in most of the Laminaride, the cone is composed of nu-
merous stout, branching fibres, growing out, like the aerial
roots of the Screw Pine, one above another, and each with
its extremity taking fast hold of the ground ; so that, with
the increasing growth of the frond, the base is proportionably
strengthened. Some few, like Pycnophycus, spring from
prostrate or creeping stems, which form a matted network
over wide spaces of rocks, and throw up at intervals erect
fronds, that then appear to be densely crowded together. A
great many of the smaller kinds are parasitic, or at least epi-
phytic, attached to other Alga) by minute disks, in every
respect, except size, similar to the conical bases of larger
species. Some are true parasites, as the Elachisledn and
Myrioneuuiia, which seem to be incapable of independent
MELANOSPERME.E. 9
existence: but the majority which grow on other species are
merely epiphytes, many of them indifferently growing on
living plants or on dead substances. Several are minute,
but very few of strictly microscopic size. Almost all have a
distinction, in their vegetation, of root, stem and branches,
and many possess well formed, and even nerved leaves. In
a very few, the frond is a shapeless mass, or a crust lying
close on the surface of rocks. None deposit carbonate of
lime in their tissues, but most, perhaps all of them, yield
iodine, and are the chief source from which that valuable
substance is obtained.
In the fructification of these plants there is considerable
uniformity in the structure and origin of the spores, while
there is a great diversity in the position and grouping together
of those bodies, and in the supplementary organs which ac-
company them. The spores are always formed from a single
cell, within which, as it enlarges, a dense, olive-coloured, granu-
lar substance gradually accumulates and acquires consistence.
In some this internal matter, or endochrome, forms at matu-
rity a single compact mass, giving birth, on germination, to
a single plant ; but in others it is parted into two, four, or
even eight sporules (as in Fucns and Cutleria), each of
which is the germ of a new individual. It is manifest there-
fore that the spore is the representative rather of a seed-ves-
sel, usually one-seeded, but sometimes many-seeded, than of
the seed itself: and therefore the term utricle, applied by
some botanists to this body, is more consistent with organi-
zation. In the simplest individuals of the sub-class the
spore is formed out of one of the surface cells, which rises
above its fellows, and is either altogether naked, or accom-
panied by a few jointed threads, to which the name parane-
mata is given. In the Dictyotacece, in which family the
spores are distributed over the surface, the paranemata are
in general little developed, consisting, as in Punctarla and
Asperococcus, of a few short, confervoid filaments ; but in
SliiopJwra, a more compound genus of the same group, they
form the principal portion of the masses of fructification, and
are considerably organized. In Cliordaria and Mesoyloia
the whole outer coating of the frond is composed of these
organs. It is among the Fucace.e, however, that we find
them in their highest form ; and here there is a manifest
separation of the organ into two parts ; the jointed filament
— simple or branched — and the anther idia, little transparent
cells full of orange-coloured moving particles, borne by the
10 MELANOSPERME^.
branches of the filament. These organs, which are supposed
to represent the male system, will be more fully described in
their proper place. Among the higher families we no longer
find the spores scattered over the surface, but collected into
proper receptacles, formed either at the tips of the branches
or in their axils. Each of these receptacles, in the Fucace^,
contains a number of hollow chambers, communicating with
the water by a pore. These little hollows are called concep-
tacles, and the spores and paranemata are attached to their
walls, like the male and female flowers within the hollow
chamber of the fig.
The genus Lichina, consisting of two minute plants found
along the edge of the sea on rocky shores, was formerly as-
sociated with the Melanosperms, and constituted a small
family called Lichine^, placed immediately after the Fu-
CACE^. I was never well satisfied with this position, and in
the first edition of this work (p. 2) hinted at the near affinity
of these little plants with the true Lichens, among which one
of them had been originally placed. Recent observations
have detected in their receptacles the presence of asci, the
peculiar fructification of Lichens, and abundance oi gonidia
in the stems ; and M. Montague has therefore properly
transferred the genus to that class of vegetables.
Omitting, then, the group Lichineae, the Melanosperms
may be classed under six orders, briefly distinguished as
follows : —
SYNOPSIS OF THE ORDERS.
* Frond leathery or niemhranaceous , forming a compact, cellular
substance.
1. FucACEiE. Spores contained in spherical cavities im-
mersed in the frond.
2. Sporochnace/E. Spores attached to external, jointed
filaments, which are either free, or compacted toge-
ther in knob-like masses.
3. Laminauiace^. Spores forming indefinite, cloud-like
patches, or covering the whole surface of the frond.
4. DiCTYOTACEyE. Spores forming definite groups {sort)
on the surface of the frond.
FUCACEiE. 11
** Frond formed of jointed filaments, u'hich are either free or united
into a compound body.
5. Chordakiace.e. Frond cartilaginous or gelatinous,
composed of vertical and horizontal filaments inter-
laced together. Spores immersed.
(>. EcTocARPACE^. Froncl filiform, jointed. Spores ex-
ternal.
Order I. FUCACE^.
J. Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. i. p. 180. C. Ag. Syst. Alg. p. xxxvii.
(in part). Decaisne, Ess. p. 34 (in part). Fucoideae, Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 1. Harv. Matmal, 1 edit. p. 1. Fuceae,
Cystoseireae, Sargasseae and Halochloae, Kutz. Phyc. Gen.
p. 349. P\icidae and Cystoseiridae, Lindl. Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-coloured, inarticulate sea-weeds, whose
spores are contained in spherical cavities immersed in the
substance of the frond.
Natural Character. — Root almost always a conical disk,
rarely branching or creeping. Fronds of an olive-brown or
olive-green colour, becoming darker in drying; of a tough,
leathery substance and fibrous texture, tearing lengthwise
with facility ; dichotomous or pinnate, rarely irregularly
branched, but very variable in habit. In the simpler kinds
{Splancnidium) there is no distinction into parts (as stem,
leaves and receptacle), but the fructification is equally dis-
persed through all parts of the plant ; in others [Durrill^a,
Sarcophycus) there is a stem ending in a phyllo-caulon or
leaf-like frond, through which the fructifications are scattered;
in others {HimantJialia) there is a .simple frond of small
size, and a branching receptacle of fructification resembling
a frond ; in others [Fucus, Cysioseira, &c.) there is a branch-
ing or imperfectly leafy frond, some portions of whose
branches finally swell, and are converted into receptacles of
fruit ; and finally, in the most perfect kinds {Sargassum,
Marginaria, &c.) there is a branching frond, with well-
formed, mostly distinct and nerved leaves, and receptacles
from their origin set apart as organs of fructification (not
formed by swellings of old branches), developed either in
12 FUCACE^.
the axils or along the edges of the leaves or branches. Air-
vessels are present in almost all, either as bladdery swellings
of the stem or branches (as in Fiicus), or as distinct organs
(in Sargassum, &c.), stalked, and mostly springing from the
same part as the fructification. Receptacles of the fruit
mostly more or less distinguishable from the barren portion
of the frond, swollen, succulent, often filled with slimy mu-
cus, either formed from the metamorphosed ends of the
branches, or evolved from the axils or sides of the branches
or leaves. These receptacles (or the whole frond in genera
which have no proper receptacle) are pierced by minute
pores, which communicate with small, spherical chambers,
formed by an introflexion of the walls of the receptacle, at
the points where they occur. The little chambers (called
conceptacles by some writers, scaphidia by others) contain
sometimes spores, or reproductive bodies analogous to the
seeds of more perfect plants; sometimes antheridia, sup-
posed to be analogues with stamens ; sometimes both organs
in the same chamber. The spores spring from the sides of
the chamber. One of the surface-cells being fertilized, gra-
dually enlarges, projects from the wall of the chamber, be-
comes more or less obovate, and finally is converted into a
perispore, or membranous, transparent case, in which is con-
tained the spore or spores. These last are formed from the
matter contained within the enlarged cell. At first the con-
tents are nearly fluid, of a pale olive colour : gradually they
acquire density, become darker, and at length are consoli-
dated either into a single sporule (as in Cysloseira, Halidrt/s,
&c.), or formed into two, four, or eight sporules (as in Fucus,
Himanthalia, &c.). The antheridia are borne on branching,
jointed threads, called paranemata, which rise, like the
spores, from the walls of the conceptacle, and commonly fill
the greater part of its cavity. Each anilieridium is an ob-
long cell, forming the terminal articulation of the branches
of the paranemata, and is filled with minute, orange-coloured
bodies (called sporidia by J. Agardh) closely resembling the
zoospores of the lower Algae, and, like the latter, endowed
with spontaneous movements. The motive organs are vibra-
tory hairs or cilia, with two of which each little body is fur-
nished. The fronds of many species have numerous mu-
ciferous pores, analogous to the pores of the conceptacles,
but not leading to any internal cavity : from these issue
bundles of transparent filaments, whose use is unknown.
FUCACE^. 13
The Fucaceae are readily known from all other olivaceous
sea-weeds by a character at once natural and easily ascer-
tained, namely, the position of their spores within little hol-
lows sunk in the substance of the plant, and communicating
with the surface by a pore.
This order is much the most extensive among Melano-
sperms, comprising within its limits upwards of 230 species,
which is about equal to the contents of all the other orders
of this division put together. More than half of them belong
to the genus Sargassum, and the rest are distributed among
22 or 23 generic groups, varying in the number of their spe-
cies from I to 20. The order is represented in most climates
from high northern and southern latitudes to the equator,
but the number of generic forms is much greater between
the parallels of 30° and 40°, and the number of specific
forms greater within 30 degrees of the equator on either side.
Very few vegetate in the polar regions of either hemisphere.
In the north the species of Fucus and Himanthalia alone
reach to the Icy Sea ; and in the Antarctic Ocean the order
is limited to Durvillcea, a genus of gigantic growth, resem-
bling Laminaria in outward character, and to ScytothaUa
Jaquinoiii, a fine Alga allied to sub-tropical forms. The
British species, excluding three doubtful natives, are but
fourteen, yet from the strictly social habits of several of them
they cover more surface of tidal rocks than all the other
Algse put together. It is these plants which impart the deep
brown colour to the belts of rock exposed on the recess of
the tide. The species of warmer latitudes are much less
striking to a casual observer, as they rarely occur in masses,
but are more usually dispersed here and there in the recesses
of rocks; thus, though the number and variety of species are
greatly increased, the general effect to the eye is diminished.
The chief centre of the order seems to be along the shores
of New Holland, Tasmania and New Zealand, where the ge-
neric types are most numerous, and the external characters
of the frond most varied. In Sargassvm ^ which extends at
either side of the line to the parallel of 45°, and gradually
increases in number of species towards the equator, we have
the most perfect type of frond which the order affords. In
this genus there is a regular distinction of parts into stem,
branches, leaves and inflorescence : the leaves in most spe-
cies furnished with a midrib, and developed in a sub-spiral
order, like those of more perfect plants.
In an officinal point of view the Fucaceae are among the
14 SARGASSUM.
most valuable of marine plants. Besides the use made of
their decayed fronds for manure, kelp is abundantly procured
from their ashes. They are the chief source of iodine ; man-
nite may be prepared in considerable quantity from many ;
and several afford a grateful winter pasturage to the herds of
cattle along the inclement shores of northern Europe.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
* Air-vessels stalked.
I. Sargassum. Branches bearing ribbed leaves. Air-
vessels simple. [Plate ], A.]
IT. Halidrys. Frond linear, pinnate, leafless. Air-ves-
sels divided into several cells by transverse partitions.
[Plate 1, C]
** Air-vessels immersed in the substance of the frond, or none.
III. Cystoseira. Root scutate. Frond much branched,
bushy. Receptacles cellular. [Plate 1, B.]
IV. Pycnophycus. Root branching. Frond cylindrical.
Receptacles cellular. [Plate 2, A.]
V. Fucus. Root scutate. Frond dichotomous. Recep-
tacles filled with mucus, traversed by jointed threads.
[Plate 1, D.]
VI. Himanthalia. Root scutate. Frond cup-shaped.
Receptacles (frond-like) very long, strap-shaped, di-
chotomously branched. [Plate 2, B.]
I. Sargassum. Ag. [Plate 1, A.]
Frond furnished with distinct, stalked, nerved leaves, and
simple, axillary, stalked air-vessels. Receptacles small, li-
near, tuberculated, mostly in axillary clusters, cellular,
pierced by numerous pores, which communicate with im-
mersed spherical conceptacles, containing parietal spores and
tufted antheridia. Name, altered from sargazo, the Spanish
term for the masses of floating seaweed common in some
latitudes.
HALIDRYS. 15
1. S. vulgare, Ag. ; stem flat, slender, alternately branched;
leaves linear-lanceolate, serrated, dotted with mucous pores ;
air-vessels few, spherical, on flat stalks ; receptacles cylin-
drical, racemose. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 2, t. \ ; Hook. Br. Fl.
n.p. 264; E. Bat. t. 2114.
Occasionally cast ashore. Orkneys, Mr. P. Neill. — Stem 12 — 18 inches
long, pinnated with simple branches. Leaves very variable in breadth.
Colour, when recent, olive, reddish brown when dry.
2. S. hacciferum, Turn. ; stem cylindrical, slender, much
branched, flexuose ; leaves linear, serrated, mostly without
pores ; air-vessels abundant, spherical, on cylindrical stalks ;
receptacles unknown. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 3; Hook. Br. Fl.
W.p. 264; E. Bot. t. 1967; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cix.
Occasionally cast ashore with the preceding. Orkneys, Mr. P. Neill,
Shore of Castle Eden Dean, Durham, Mr. W. Backhouse. — Root un-
known. Stems extremely brittle. Leaves 1 — 2 inches long, and about a
line wide, of a very pale olive colour when recent. This and the preceding-
species have no just claim on our Flora, being natives of the tropics, occa-
sionally driven, together with cocoa-nuts and other tropical productions, by
the force of the western currents, on our Atlantic coasts.
II. Halidrys. Lyngb. [Plate 1, C]
Frond compressed, linear, pinnated with distichous
branches. Air-vessels lanceolate, stalked, divided into seve-
ral cells by transverse partitions. Receptacles terminal,
stalked, cellular, pierced by numerous pores, which commu-
nicate with immersed, spherical conceptacles. Naiue, aAj,
the sea, and ^^vg, an oak or tree.
Obs. — In this and the two following genera the internal
substance of the receptacle is composed of small, polygonal
cells closely packed together into a solid flesh ; a structure
technically called cellular. In Fucns and Himanthalia the
internal substance is loosely gelatinous, the gelatine traversed
by a network of jointed threads.
1. H. siliquosa, L. ; branches linear, very narrow; air-
vessels compressed, linear-lanceolate, slightly constricted at
the septa, mucronate. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 9, #. 1 ; Hook. Br.
FL ii. p. 266; E. Bot. t. 474; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 53.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixvi. — (3. minor; smaller in every part,
with fewer vesicles. Turn. Syn. i. p. 61.
On rocks and stones in the sea, at and below half-tide level. Common
on the British shores. Perennial. Winter and spring. /3. in shallow
pools left by the tide. — Root an expanded disk, from which spring several
10 CYSTOSEIRA.
fronds 1 — 4 feet long, alternately branched ; branches about a line wide,
pinnated with similar raniuli, and in the upper part with air-vessels and
receptacles. Air-veessels resembling pods or siliquae, whence the specific
name. The beautiful Fuctis osmundaceus, Turn. Hist. t. 105, is a second
species of this genus.
III. Cystoseira. Ag. [Plate 1, B.]
Frond much branched, occasionally leafy at base ; branches
becoming more slender upwards, and containing strings of
simple air-vessels within their substance. Receptacles ter-
minal, small, cellular, pierced by numerous pores, which
commimicate with immersed spherical conceptacles, con-
taining parietal spores and tufted antheridia. Name, KvaTig,
a bladder, and a-et^a, a chain ; because the air-vessels are
generally arranged in strings or series.
1. C ericoides, Good. & Woodw. ; stem thick, woody,
short, cylindrical, beset with numerous, slender, filiform
branches, vai-iously divided, and densely clothed with small,
spine-like, awl-shaped ramuli (or leaves) ; air-vessels small,
solitary near the apices : receptacles cylindrical, terminal,
spiny. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 4 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 265 ; E.
Bot. t. 1968; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 1 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. cclxv.
Rocks between tide-marks, chiefly in the S. West of England and West
and South of Ireland ; common. Perennial. Summer and autumn. —
Root a large and very hard disk. Frond one or two feet long, remarkably
bushy, of a fine olive or yellowish green when removed from the water, but
appearing, whilst growing beneath the surface, to be clothed with the rich-
est iridescent tints. Air-vessels generally solitary, and immediately sub-
tending the terminal receptacles, very small ; sometimes scattered along
the branches.
2. C. granulata, L. ; stem cylindrical, covered with ellip-
tical knobs, each of which bears a slender, repeatedly divided,
dichotomo-pinnated, cylindrical branch, irregularly set with
scattered, incurved, awl-shaped, spine-like ramuli ; air-ves-
sels small, linear-oblong, two or three together in the upper
part of the branches ; receptacles elongated. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. 5,t.2; Hook. Brit. Fl ii. p. 265 ; E. Bot. /. 2169 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 101. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ix.
Rocky pools left by the tide on the coasts of England and Ireland, not
uncommon. Perennial. Summer. — i2oo< a flattish disk. >S'/f>H about
the thickness of a goose-quill, 7 or 8 inches high ; branches very slender, a
foot or more in length, very much divided, each having at its base a hard
bulbous hioh, which forms one of the most striking characters of the spe-
cies. Colour a semi-transparent olive-green.
CYSTOSEIRA. 17
3. C. harbata, Turn. ; frond cylindrical, stem furnished
with elliptical knobs, each producing a branch many times
dichotomo-pinnate and filiform ; air-vessels lanceolate, chain-
like ; receptacles ovate-elliptical, mucronate. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 6 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 265 ; E. Bot. t. 2170.
A native of the Mediterranean, said to have been gathered on the De-
vonshire coast by Hudson. — Disting-uished from the last species by the
receptacles being lipped with a spine-like point.
4. C foeniculacea, L. ; stem compressed, branches long,
slender, rough with hard points, repeatedly dichotomo-pin-
nate ; air-vessels small, solitary or two together, elliptic ob-
long, near the apices of the branches ; receptacles minute,
linear-lanceolate. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 7 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 265 ; Turn. Hist. t. 252 ; E. Bot. t. 2130 and t. 2131 ;
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 51 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxii.
On rocks in tide-pools: coasts of the South and S. West of England.
Jersey. Perennial. Summer. — Frond \ — 2 feet long; stem destitute of
knobs, nearly cylindrical, 4 — 6 inches high, and bearing numerous, long,
sub-simple, slender branches, which are generally naked toward the base,
but in the upper part closely set with distichous, alternately pinnate or
sub-dichotomous, secondary branches. In the young state, and especially
when growing in deep water, this plant is furnished with long, flat, pinna-
tifid leaves, 1 — 2 lines broad, midribbed, dotted, and irregularly serrated
at the margins, and then constitutes the Cys. discors of Agardh {Funis dis-
cors, L. ; E. Bot. t. 2131) ; but these leaves, as was long since shown by
Mrs. Grifhlhs, and as has been confirmed by Turner, Greville, and subse-
quent observers, finally elongate and become branches, and the plant as-
sumes the appearance as above described.
5. Q. fibrosa., Huds. ; stem woody, compressed, bushy,
very much branched; branches slender, alternately branched,
the upper ones repeatedly divided, and furnished with li-
neari-setaceous, flattish ramuli ; air-vessels elliptical, mostly
solitary, immersed in the branches remote from the apices ;
receptacles filiform, much elongated. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 8 ;
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 266; E. Bot. t. 1969; Wyatt, Alg.
Danm. No. 52. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxxiii.
On rocks near low-water mark and in tide-pools: also in 4 — 15 fathom
water. Perennial. Summer. Frequent on the shores of England and
Ireland. Not found in Scotland. — Root, a hard, spreading disk. Frond
three feet long or more ; stem mostly undivided, gradually diminishing
upwards, and thickly set with distichous, alternate branches, slightly swol-
len at base, and furnished with one or two series of smaller ramuli, the ter-
minal ones being long and setaceous. Air-vessels larger than in any other
British species, and generally occurring near the base of the branches, so-
litary or two or three together. Colour olive-green.
C
18 PYCNOPHYCUS — FUCUS.
IV. Pycnophycus. Kvitz. [Plate 2, A,]
Root composed of branching fibres. Frond cylindrical,
dichotomous. Air-vessels, when present, innate, simple.
Receptacles terminal, cellular, pierced by numerous pores,
which communicate with immersed spherical conceptacles,
containing parietal spores and tufted aiitJieridia. Name,
from TTUHvog, thick, and (puKog, a sea-weed.
1. P. tuberculatus, Huds. ; Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 18; Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 269 ; Wyatt, Alg. Daiim. No. 103 ; E. Bot. t.
726 ; Harv. Pliyc. Gen. t. Ixxxix.
In rock-pools left, on the recess of the tide, near low-water mark. Pe-
rennial. Summer and autumn. Cornwall and Devonshire. West of
Ireland. Jersey. — Root fibrous, matted over the surface of the rocky bot-
tom, i^rorerf^ gregarious, 12 — 20 inches long, as thick as a goosequill,
repeatedly forked : the axils obtuse. Air-vessels frequently absent. Re-
ceptacles terminating the branches, cylindrical, obtuse, more or less tuber-
culated, composed of compact cellular tissue. Colour, when growing, a
clear olive; when dry, black. Substance brittle when dry. — This plant,
separated from Fucus by Kiitzing, appears to me to be the type of a dis-
tinct genus, known from Fucus by its branching root and the compact cel-
lular structure of its receptacles. By Prof. J. Agavdh it is included in
what appears to me a very heterogeneous group, which he calls Fucodium.
V. Fucus. L. [Plate 1, D.]
Root scutate. Frond linear, either flat, compressed or
cylindrical, dichotomous (rarely pinnated). Air-vessels,
when present, innate, simple. Receptacles either terminal
or lateral, filled with gelatinous matter traversed by a net-
work of jointed fibres, pierced by numerous pores, which
communicate with immersed spherical conceptacles, contain-
ing parietal spores, or antheridia, or both. Name, ipv«oj, a
sea-iveed.
* Frond Jiat, with a midrib.
1. F. vesiculosus, L. ; frond plane, coriaceous, thick, linear,
dichotomous, quite entire at the margin, midribbed ; air-ves-
sels globose, mostly in pairs ; receptacles elliptical, terminal.
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 267 ; E. Bot. t. 1066 ; Grev. Crypt, t.
319; Wyatt, Alg. Da?im. No. 152; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
cciv. — 13. hallicus ; very small, densely tufted, with an in-
distinct midrib, and destitute of vesicles or receptacles. F.
hallicus, Ag. ; Grev. Crypt, t. 181.
FUCUS. 19
Rocky shores, most abundant. /3. in salt-marshes, occasionally flooded
by the sea. — Very variable in size and general appearance, often destitute
of air-vessels. /3. is a remarkable state, 1 or 2 inches high, scarcely a line
wide, and of a tawny yellow colour, forming dense masses. This plant is
extensively used in the manufacture of kelpi and furnishes besides excellent
winter food for the cattle in the western islands of Scotland. See Light-
foot, Fl. Scot. vol. ii. p. 906.
2. F. ceranoides, L. ; frond plane, coriaceo-membvanaceous,
linear, subdichotomous, entire at the margin, midribbed,
without vesicles ; lateral branches alternate, dichotomous,
multifid, level-topped ; receptacles siibcylindrical, acumi-
nated. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 14; Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 267 ; E.
Bot. t. 2115; Wyatt, Alg. Dimm. No. 153.
Sea-shores, less common than the last. Perennial. Spring and sum-
mer.— Nearly related to the last species, but " it is far less tough, much
thinner and more transparent in every part, both in the growing and the
dried state. The midrib is finer and more clearly defined." — Grev.
3. F. serratus, L, ; frond plane, coriaceous, linear, dicho-
tomous, serrated, midribbed, without air-vessels; receptacles
flat, solitary, terminating the branches, serrated. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 15 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 267; E. Bot. t. 1221 ; Wy-
att, Alg. Damn. No. 2; Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. xlvii.
Eocky sea-shores, very common. Perennial. Spring and summer. —
Frond 2 — 6 feet long, very variable in breadth, dark olive-green. This is
sometimes used in the manufacture of kelp, but rarely, as it is far less pro-
ductive than F. vesiculosus. It however forms excellent manure, and in
Norway it is used, mixed with meal, as provender for cattle.
** Frond flat or compressed, without a midrib.
4. F. noclosus, L. ; frond compressed, coriaceous, sub-di-
cliotomous ; branches linear, somewhat pinnated, attenuated
at base, remotely denticulate, here and there swelling into
oblong air-vessels ; receptacles lateral, globose, stalked,
springing from the axils of the serratures. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. W; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 268 ; E. Bot. t.570; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 154 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clviii.
Sea-shores, very common. Perennial. Winter and spring. — Root a,
large, hard, conical mass, from which spring several /rojifZs 2 — 4 or even 6
feet long, which are once or twice forked, and irregularly pinnated with
alternate simple branches. Vesicles large. Substance extremely tough
and leathery. Colour full olive-green, glossy.
5. F. Mackaii, Turn. ; frond cylindrical or subcompressed,
slender, much branched ; branches dichotomous ; air-vessels
elliptical, solitary ; receptacles lateral, lanceolate, ovate or
c 2
20 FUCUS — HIMANTHALIA.
forked, pendulous, scattered, near the base of the branches.
Grev. Alg. Bril. p. 7 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 268 ; E. Bot. t.
1927 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. lii.
Muddy sea-shores, usually in land-locked bays, and among boulders.
Perennial. April and May. West of Ireland and north and west of Scot-
land.— Frond 6 — 10 inches long, densely tufted, branches crowded, spread-
ing, compressed at base, cylindrical upwards. Vesicles wider than the
frond. Substance leathery, when dry somewhat horny. Colour dull
olive-green.
6. F. canaliciilatus, L. ; frond coriaceous, linear, channel-
led on one side, dichotomous, without air-vessels ; recepta-
cles terminal, oblong- wedge-shaped, swollen, bipartite. Gi-ev.
Alg. Brit. p. 18; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 268; E. Bot. t. 823 ;
Wyait, Alg. Damn. No. 102; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
Rocky coasts, near high-water mark. Perennial. Summer and autumn.
— Frond 2 — 6 inches high, densely tufted, several limes dichotomous, of an
olive-brown or yellowish colour.
VI. HiMANTHALiA. Lyngb. [Plate 2, B.]
Frond top-shaped. Receptacles very long, strap-shaped,
repeatedly forked, springing from the centre of the frond,
filled with mucus traversed by jointed fibres, and pierced by
numerous pores, which communicate with immersed, spheri-
cal conceptacles, containing either parietal spores or anthe-
ridia. Name, from li^ag, a strap, and Oaxog, a branch, or a^j,
the sea; a translation of the common English name"sea-
thongs.''^
1. H. lorea, Lyngb. ; frond top-shaped, at length collapsing,
plano-concave, stalked ; receptacles repeatedly dichotomous,
linear, slightly tapering at the extremity. Grev. Alg. Brit. p.
20. t. 3 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 269 ; E. Bot. t. 569 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 3. '
Rocky sea-shores, common. Biennial. Winter and spring. — Fronds
gregarious, about an inch high; receptacles 2 — 10 feet long, coriaceous,
thong-like, dark olive-green. Authors are at variance as to the duration
of this plant, and also as to the name properly applicable to the long,
branching part, here called a recej)tacle. From recent observations I have
no doubt that this plant is biennial ; and its development, I think, justifies
the views here adopted as to the nature of its several parts. It is a com-
mon habit of biennial plants to spend the first year in perfecting the
organs of vegetation, and to start into fruit in the following season. This
is exactly what takes place in this sea-weed. The top-shaped, or finally
cup-shaped base which is here called a frond, but which in the view of
some authors is a vesicle, takes a whole year to arrive at perfection, and
is fully formed before any part of the strap-shaped receptacle makes its
SPOKOCHNACE^. 21
appearance. This last commences the second year, rapidly attains its
full size, forms its frnit, and falls off at the end of the season. I have
never observed the old fronds to sprout again, but Carmichael asserts that
they do so.
Ordek II. SPOROCHNACE^.
Sporochnoideae, Gi'ev. Brit. Alg. p. 36. J. Jg. Sp. Alg.
vol. i. p. 160. Kutz. Phyc. Gen. p. 342. Endl. ^rd Siippl.
p. 28. Chordarieae, in part. Ag. Syst. p. xxxvi. Sporocli-
nidae, and part of Dictyotidae, Lindl. Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-coloured, inarticulate sea-weeds, whose
spores are attached to external, jointed filaments, which are
either free or compacted together into knob- like masses.
Natural Character. — Root usually a small, scutate disk,
rarely bulbous, and coated with woolly fibres. Fronds, when
living, usually of a clear and rather bright olive colour, and
cartilaginous, firm substance, rapidly becoming flaccid and
changing to a verdigris-green colour in the air ; of mediocre
size and much branched, frequently bushy. Stems and
branches uniform, destitute of distinct leaves, inarticulate,
either cylindrical and filiform, often exceedingly slender, or
more or less compressed ; sometimes flattened, leaf-like, and
furnished with a distinct midrib, and occasionally lateral
nervelets ; the branches very frequently opposite, and almost
always distichous. Air-vessels none. Almost all bear, at some
period of their growth, pencils of delicate, jointed, confervoid
filaments. In some these accompany vegetation, sprouting
out from all the growing apices, and continuing while the
branchlet is in active growth, after which they fall away :
such may possibly discharge the office of leaves in these
leafless plants. In other kinds the filaments spring from
and crown the receptacles of the fructification, falling away,
in like manner, when the spores arrive at maturity. The ox-
gsius oi Jriictijication are varied considerably in this order.
In some the spores are developed on the pencilled filaments,
which spring from all parts of the branches. In others, pro-
per receptacles, formed of minute, branching filaments closely
whorled roimd a central axis, and compacted together by la-
teral cohesion, either terminate the larger divisions of the
frond, or are borne on short, lateral ramuli or peduncles.
To the filaments composing these capiiula or knob-like
22 SPOKOCHNACE^.
receptacles are attached the spores, which are generally
pear-shaped, containing a single mass, lodged in a pellucid
peiispore. The antheridia are unknown,
A small group, of which five (or, according to the views of
some authors, six) genera, comprising twenty-four species,
are at present known to botanists. Notwithstanding such a
discrepancy in the organs of fructification as obliges us to
break the order into two families, yet there is so much simi-
larity in the structure and habit of these plants, and all so
closely agree in the remarkable property of changing them-
selves from olive to a verdigris colour, and then causing the
rapid decay of all delicate Alga brought into contact with
them, that I cannot but regard the assemblage as a natural
one. Their power of destroying other Alga? has long been
known, and another curious property, first observed in Ar-
throclaclia, is common to many, namely, that of rendering
paper for the moment transparent, as if the branches gave
out an oil. This acts but temporarily, ceasing when the
plant is perfectly dry.
The Sporochnacece are chiefly characteristic of cold or
temperate latitudes, between the parallels 64° and 40°. One
genus, Chnoospora, is tropical. Arthroclndia appears to be
confined to the shores of Europe. Of seven species of Des-
marestia, four are known only in the higher latitudes of the
Southern Ocean, while the other three, our British species,
are dispersed throughout the Atlantic and Pacific, both
North and South. D. mridis is excessively common in the
Antarctic Ocean, and D. ligulata is found on the N. West
coast of America, at the Cape of Good Hope and at Cape
Horn. Of six species of Sporochnus, three belong to the
shores of Europe, and three to those of Australia. Of Car-
pomitra four species are known, all of them found on the
Australian coasts, three of them exclusively so ; the fourth
(our C. Cabrerce) is a native of New Zealand, of the south of
Spain, and of the south of England and Ireland. The dis-
tribution of this last-named species is very singular, particu-
larly as it seems to be rare in all its recorded stations.
None of the species are used in the arts.
SPOROCHNACE.E — DESMARESTIA. 23
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
Fam. 1. ARTHROCLADIE.E (J. Ag.). Spores attached to pen-
cilled filaments, issuing from the branches.
I. Desmarestia. Frond solid, filiform or flat, distichously
branched. [Plate 5, D.]
II. Arthrocladia. Frond traversed by a jointed tube,
filiform, nodose. [Plate 5, C]
Fam. 2. Sporochne^. Spores produced in knob-like recep-
tacles, composed of whorled filaments, compacted to-
gether.
III. Sporochnus. i^ece/j^acZes lateral, on short peduncles.
[Plate 5, A.]
TV. Carpomitra. Receptacles terminal, at the tips of the
branches. [Plate 5, B.]
Family 1. ARTHROCLADIE^.
I. Desmarestia, Lamour. [Plate 5, D.]
Frond linear, either filiform, compressed or flat, disti-
chously branched, cellular, traversed by an internal, single-
tubed, jointed filament ; branches producing, when young,
marginal tufts of byssoid, branching fibres. Friictijication
unknown. Name, in honour of A. G. Desmarest, a cele-
brated French naturalist.
1. D. ligulafa, Lightf. ; frond flat, with an obscure mid-
rib, repeatedly pinnate ; pinnae and pinnule linear-lanceolate,
tapering at base, opposite. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 36, t. 5 ;
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 273 ; E. Bot. t. 1636; Wyatt, Alg. Damn.
No. 55. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxv.
On rocks aud stones between tide-marks and at a greater depth. An-
nual. Summer. Frequent on tlie southern shores of England, and the
south and west of Ireland. Frith of Forth, Lightfoot. Orkneys, Rev. C.
Clouston. Yarmouth, Mr. Wigc/. — Frond 2 — 6 feet long, of a clear olive
brown while growing, but soon fading in the air to a verdigris-green ; yel-
lowish when dry. Branches variable in breadth, but all linear-lanceolate
in outline, aud exactly opposite in insertion.
2, D. aculeata, L. ; stem short, cylindrical, throwing forth
24 DESMARESTIA — ARTHROCLADIA.
numerous slender, flattish branches, which are repeatedly
irregularly pinnate ; pinnaj and pinnulce alternate, tapering
at base, filiform, either fringed with minute tufts of delicate
fibres, or set with erect, awl-shapcd, alternate, distichous
spines. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 38, t. 5, /. 2, 3 ; Hook. Br. FL
n.p. 273; E. Bot. t. 2445; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 158,
a. and |S. ; Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. xlix.
Ou rocks, stones and Alfjte between tide-mailvS, and in 4 — 5 fathom
water. Perennial. Common on most shores. — Fronds \ — 3 feet long.
In the young plant the branches are soft and flaccid, and furnished along
their wlaole length with tufts of bright green couferva-like filaments, which
drop off" as soon as the branch has completed its growth. Old plants are
rigid, destitute of these fibres, and the branches set with short awl-shaped
spines or ramuli ; but whenever they shoot out new branches, these are
constantly clothed with the green fibres, which seem to be an indispensable
accompaniment to the process of growth, and perhaps perform the func-
tions of leaves. No fructification has yet been observed either in this spe-
cies or in D. ligulata.
3. D. viridis, Miill. ; frond cylindrical, filiform, repeatedly
pinnate; pinnae and pinnulae capillary, opposite. Dicldoria
viridis, Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 39, t. 6 ; Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 274;
F. Bot. t. 1669; IVgait, Alg. Damn. No. 56.
In the sea, growing on stones and the larger Algae between tide-marks.
Annual. Summer. Not uncommon on the British shores. — Root disk-like.
Frond 2 — 3 feet long, excessively branched in a pinnated manner, all the
branches and ramuli exactly opposite; the main stem about half a line in
diameter at base, gradually attenuated upwards ; the branches becoming iu
each series more and more slender and capillary ; the whole plant having
a strikingly feathery and delicate appearance. Colour., whilst growing,
dark olive or "foxy" (Dr. Drummond) \ quickly becoming a verdigris-
green when removed from the water. Substance at first harsh and rigid,
but soon becoming flaccid on exposure, in which stale it closely adheres to
paper.
II. Arthrocladia. Duby. [Plate 5, C]
Frond filiform, cellular, with an articulated, tubular axis,
nodose ; the nodes producing whorls of delicate, jointed fila-
ments. Fructification : pedicellate, moniliform pods, borne
on the filaments, and containing, at maturity, a string of
elliptic spores. Name, a^d^ov, a joint, and «Aa5b$, a branch.
1. A. villosa, Huds. ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixiv. Sporoch-
nus villosus, Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 42 ; Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 274;
F. Bot. t. 546; JVyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 105.
On submarine substances, in 4—5 fathom water, rather rare. Annual.
Summer and autumn. Coast of England in several places, chiefly in the
SPOROCHNUS — CARPOMITRA. 25
south. Frith of Forth, Mr. Hassell. Ardthm, Capt. Carmichael. Wick-
low and Downshiie coasts. — Fronds, several from the same base, 6 inches
to nearly 3 feet long, very slender, once or twice pinnated ; pinuse distant,
opposite, or rarely alternate, patent, simple, or again pinnated with similar
simple pinnules; all the branches furnished, at intervals of from half a
line to a line, with minute joint-like swellings or knobs, which are whorled
with very delicate, branched, jointed, confervoid filaments, of a pale green
colour. Substance of the branches cartilaginous, soon becoming flaccid.
Fructification : minute, articulated, lanceolate jsof/s, which are finally
much elongated and contracted at the joints in a moniliform manner, and
contain at maturity in each joint a well-formed oval sporule, of an olive
colour, which finally breaks through the membrane and falls away. These
pods are borne by the jointed fibres, several often together, in a secund
manner. The credit of having first pointed out this fructification, which,
now that it has been observed, is found to be very common, is due to the
Rev. M. J. Berkeley.
Family 2. SPOROCHNE^.
Ill, Sporochnus. Ag. [Plate 5, A.]
Frond filiform, solid, cellular, the axis more dense. Fruc-
tification : lateral, crested, stalked receptacles, composed of
horizontal, branching filaments, whorled round a central axis,
and producing obovate spores. Crest deciduous, consisting
of byssoid, jointed fibres. Name, a-Tropog, a seed, and x^ooi^
wool ; because tufts of fibres accompany the fructification.
1. S. pedmiculatus, EJuds.; stem undivided; branches late-
ral, long, simple, horizontal ; receptacles elliptical. Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 41, t. 6; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 274.; E. Bot. t.
545; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 104; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ivi.
On submarine substances, about low-water mark, and in 4 — 10 fathom
water. Annual. Summer. Not uncommon on the eastern and southern
shores of England and Ireland. Frith of Forth. — Stem 6 — 18 inches long,
filiform, quite simple, closely set throughout its length with long slender
branches. Cotour at first a full olive-brown, soon changing to a yellow-
green on exposure.
IV. Carpomitra. Kiitz. [Plate 5, B.]
Frond filiform, or flat and midribbed, subdichotomous, cel-
lular, the axis more dense. Fructification : mitriform recep-
tacles terminating the branches, composed of horizontal
branching filaments whorled round a vertical axis, and pro-
ducing elliptic-oblong spores. Name, xapTro^, fruit, and
iMLTpa, a cap or mitre.
26 LAMINA RIACE^.
1. C. CabrercB, Clem. ; frond irregularly diehotoraous, linear,
narrow, flat, niidribbed ; branches here and there constricted.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xiv. Spoi'ochnus Cahrerce, Ag.; Harv.
in Mack. Fl. Hih. part 3, p. 154; Turn. Hist. t. 140.
Thrown up from deep water, very rare. Perennial ? Winter. Youghal,
County Cork, Miss Ball. Plymouth Sound, Rev. W. S. Hore and Dr.
Cocks. — Root a shapeless woolly tuber. Stems 6 — 8 inches high, much
branched in an irregularly dichotomous manner, flat, nerveless, except
near the base, where there is an obscure midrib, coriaceo-cartilaginous.
Branches erect, with acute axils, distichous, alternate, narrow below, be-
coming rather broader upwards, here and there constricted, the apices
truncate and often discoloured.
Order III. LAMTNARIACE.E.
Larainariea3, Grev. Alg. Brit, p, 24. J. Ay. Symh. p. 4.
Sp. Alg. p. 121. Endl. Sd Suppl. p. 26. Kutz. Phyc. Gen.
p. 344, and part of Chordese, p. 333. Laminaridce, Lindl.
Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-coloured, inarticulate sea-weeds, whose
spores are superficial, either forming indefinite cloud-like
patches or covering the whole surface of the frond.
Natural Character. — Root rarely a simple disk, com-
monly a conical mass composed of numerous stout branching
fibres compacted together. Fronds of an olive-brown or
olive-green colour, becoming darker on exposure to the air ;
sometimes tough and leathery, sometimes delicately membra-
naceous, fibroso-cellular; frequently of very large size, either
simple and tubular, or furnished with a more or less distinct
stipes or stem, terminating in a leafy frond. In the simplest
kinds the frond is a hollow, membranous bag, contracted at
the base into a little stalk, and gradually tapering to the apex ;
in others a little more perfect, the frond is tubular, the tube
divided into several compartments by transverse partitions
placed at equal distances across its cavity. In more perfect
genera the frond is distinctly divisible into two portions; a
cylindrical or compressed stem, and a flattened leafy blade.
The stem is either simple or branched, and is usually solid, at
least in its lower part, and in all cases bears the leafy expan-
sion at its summit, or at the summits of its branches. This
LAMINARIACE.E. 27
expansion is sometimes ribbon -shaped, quite simple and ta-
pering to the extremity; sometimes it is cloven vertically into
many narrow segments; sometimes it is pinnatifid (as in
Ecklo7na); and sometimes (in Aijarum and Thalassiopliyllum)
it is perforated like a sieve. In some it is ribless, in others fur-
nished with a more or less perfect midrib. Air-vessels often
absent; where they occur they are formed by swellings at the
base of the leaf, in the general stipes or in its branches. In
those species which are perennial the stipes lasts for several
years, but the leaf is changed at the end of each season. New
growth, therefore, commences at the apex of the stipes and
base of the leaf, and continues till the old leaf is gradually
pushed off. The fructification consists in innumerable mi-
nute spores, packed vertically together, in strata, extending
either over the whole surface of the plant or covering spaces
of the surface of considerable extent. In the simplest kinds
the whole frond becomes covered with spores (as in Chorda) ;
in more perfect genera indefinite cloud-like patches are dis-
persed over the leafy portion ; and in the most organized
examples (as Alaria) the spores form distinct sori of large
size, situated in proper leaflets. The spores are either sim-
ple, or contain, at maturity, four sporules. Very generally
they are stipitate, or taper at base into a more or less evident
pedicel, formed from the lower half of the sporular cell. In
some genera they are mixed with paranemata^ among which
antJieridia occur ; in others the whole stratum is composed
of spores.
The plants of this family are almost all of large size, and
many of them gigantic, greatly exceeding in bulk any other
marine vegetables. The Oar-weeds and Tangle of our own
coasts have frequently stems six or eight feet long, and fronds
expanding from their summits to as great a length ; and the
sea-thong {Chorda) often measures forty feet in length. But
these dimensions are small compared with their kindred on
the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The Nereoci/stis, a plant of
this family inhabiting the north-western shores of America,
has a stem, no thicker than whipcord, but upwards of 300
feet in length, bearing at its apex a huge vesicle, six or seven
feet long, shaped like a bai-rel, and crowned with a tuft of
upwards of fifty forked leaves, each from .30 to 40 feet in length.
The vesicle, being filled with air, buoys up this immense frond,
which lies stretched along the surface of the sea : here the
sea-otter has his favourite lair, resting himself upon the vesi-
28 LAMINAKIACEiE.
cle, or hiding among the leaves while he pursues his fishing.
The cord-like stem which anchors this floating tree must
be of considerable strength ; and, accordingly, we find it
used as a fishing-line by the natives of the coast. But great
as is the length of this sea-weed, it is exceeded by the Ma-
crocystis, though the leaves and air-vessels of that plant are
of small dimensions. In the Nereocystis the stem is un-
branched ; in Macrocystis it branches as it approaches the
surface, and afterwards divides by repeated forkings, each
division bearing a leaf, until there results a floating mass of
foliage some hundreds of square yards in superficial extent.
It is said that the stem of this plant is sometimes 1500 feet
in length. These are the most lengthy of the family. There
are others whose fronds would weigh more. The Lessonim,
which inhabit the deeper parts of the Laminarian zone in the
latitude of Cape Horn, and along the shores of Chili, have
branching trunks of considerable diameter and length, each
branch crowned with bunches of long ribbon-like leaves, and
the whole plant resembling a submarine arborescent aloe of
large size. The Ecklonice, a noble genus with pinnated
fronds, may be compared to submarine palm-trees. The
best known species, E. buccinalis, the trumpet weed of South
Africa, has a stem often more than twenty feet long, two
inches in diameter at the base, where it is solid, gradually
widening upwards and becoming hollow, and crowned with a
fan-shaped cluster of leaves, each twelve feet long or more.
The stem of this plant when dried is often used in the colony
as a siphon ; and by the native herdsmen is formed into a
trumpet, for collecting the cattle at evening. But perhaps
the most remarkable of the order are the arctic forms, Tlta-
lassiophyllum and Agarum, both furnished with broad leaves
regularly pierced with holes at short distances. In the first
of these genera the sieve-like fronds grow, in spiral order,
round a branching shrubby stem ; in the latter the fronds are
solitary, as in our own simple-leaved species of Laminaria.
The order contains about fifty species, comprised under
three genera, and characteristic of the colder climates both
north and south. Macrocystis, Laminaria and Ecklonia
extend into the tropics.
ALARIA — LAMINARIA. 29
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
* Frond stipitate ; the stipe ending in an expanded leafy portion.
I. Alaria. Leaf' membranaceous, with a cartilaginous,
percurrent midrib. [Plate 3, A.]
II. Laminaria. ieff/" (simple or cleft) without any mid-
rib. [Plate 4.]
** Frond simple, leafless.
III. Chorda. Frond cylindrical, hollow ; the cavity in-
terrupted by transverse partitions. [Plate 3, B.]
I. Alaria. Grev. [Plate 3, A.]
Root fibrous. Frond stipitate, membranaceous, furnished
with a percurrent, cartilaginous midrib, the stem pinnated
with ribless leaflets. Fructijicaiion : pyriform spores, verti-
cally arranged in the thickened leaflets. Name, ala, a iviny,
from the winged base of the frond.
1. A. esculenta, Li. — Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 25, t. 4; Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 271 ; E. Bot. 1. 1759 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixxix.
On rocks, at low-water mark. Perennial. Winter and spring. Com-
mon on the shores of Scotland, and of the North and West of Ireland, and
West of England. — Root consisting of several cylindrical fihres. Frond
solitary, 2 — 12 feet long or more; stem 4 — 8 inches long, pinnated about
the middle with several flat nerveless leaflets, and bearing from its summit
a long, linear-lanceolate, ribbon-like leaf, of delicate texture, through
which the stem is continued as a midrib. " The midrib stripped of the
membrane, and sometimes also the leaflets, are eaten in Ireland, Scotland,
Iceland, Denmark and the Faroe Islands. It is called in Scotland Bad-
derlocks or Hemvare, and in the Orkney Islands Honey -ivare. Dr. Drum-
mond informs me that in some parts of Ireland it bears the name of
Murlins." Grev. Alg. Brit. 6.
II. Laminaria. Lamour. [Plate 4.]
Frond stipitate, coriaceous or membranaceous, flat, undi-
vided, or irregularly cleft, ribless. Fructificntion : cloudy
spots of spores, imbedded in the thickened surface of some
part of the fiond. Name, lamina^ a thin plate, descriptive
of the flat frond.
1. L. digitata, L. ; stem woody, cylindrical, gradually ta-
pering and somewhat compressed upwards, expanding into a
leathery, roundish-oblong frond, deeply cleft into many linear
30 LAMINARIA.
segments. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 27, t. 5 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p.
271; E. Bot. t. 2274; IVi/att, Alg. Danm. No. 166; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. ccxxiii.
Rocks in tbe sea, in deep water, common. Perennial. — Root consisting
of numerous, rii^id, woody fibre?, 2 — 3 inches long. Stem 1 — 6 feet bigh,
solid, very tough, expanding into a flat frond, 1 — 5 feet long and 1 — 3 feet
wide, which is deeply cleft from the apex into an uncertain number of strap-
shaped segments. The power of reproducing its frond, noticed by Turner
and Greville in L. digitata, has been observed by Mrs. Griffiths (to whom
I am indebted for a beautiful series of specimens) to exist also in L. sac-
charina and bulbosa : it may therefore, perhaps, be considered characteristic
of the mode of growth in the genuine Laminarieae. It exists in individuals
of all ages. Some of Mrs. Griffiths' specimens of -L. digitata exhibiting
the new frond, are not more than four inches high, and she has traced the
process upwards to plants of large size. The new frond at first appears
like a roundish expansion between the base of the old frond and the apex
of the stem : this gradually enlarges, becoming of an oval form, and in
large specimens is frequently cleft into segments long before the apex is
free from the base of the old lamina ; thus proving that the splitting of the
frond in this species does not arise from the fortuitous action of the waves,
but from an inherent principle of growth. Fig. 2, in our plate, represents
a young, growing beneath an old, frond.
2, L. hulbosa, Huds. ; stem flat, with a waved margin,
once twisted at the base, rising from a roundish, hollow, rough,
bulbous root ; frond oblong, deeply cleft into many linear
segments. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 29; Hook. Br. Fl. ii, p. 271 ;
E. Bot. t. 1760; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 4, (young plant) ;
Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. ccxli.
On rocky shores, mostly in deep water, frequent. Perennial. — Young
plant with an oblong, undivided, or slightly cleft frond, 4 — 12 inches long
and 2 — 3 wide, with a filiform stem about an inch long, furnished with a
swelling or dilatation in the centre, and springing from several clasping
fibres. As the plant increases in size the stem becomes more and more
expanded, and finally waved at the margin, and what was at first a mere
knot-like expansion results in a large, bulbous, hollow body, which throws
out from its surface stout roots, and becomes the main support of the full-
grown frond. This hulb, in a specimen measured by Mrs. Griffiths from
deep water in Torbay, was a foot in diameter, and supported a frond which,
when spread out on the ground, formed a circle of at least 12 feet in
diameter. Common specimens are about half these dimensions.
3. L. saccJiarina, L, ; stem cylindrical, filiform, expanding
into a cartilaginous or submembranaceous, lanceolate, imdi-
vided frond. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 31 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 272 ;
E. Bot. t. 1376; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 54.-/3. latifolia ;
frond very broad, ovate-elliptical, submembranaceous. L. la-
tifolia, Ag.
On rocks between tide-marks. Perennial. Very common. /3. in deep
water. — Root consisting of numerous clasping fibres ; stem varying from a
CHORDA. 31
few inches to several feet in length, slender; frond 2 — 12 feet long and
4 — 16 inches wide, flat, or waved and curled at the margin. Substance
equally variable ; sometimes leathery or cartilaginous, sometimes delicate
and memhranaceous. Colour a deep olive green inclining to brown.
4. L. Phyllitis, Stack.; stem somewhat flattened, filiform,
expanding into a delicately membranaceons, flat, linear-lan-
ceolate, nndivided frond. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 34 ; Hook. Br.
Fl. '\\.p. 272; E. Bot. t. 1331; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxcii.
Between tide-marks, growing either on stones or on the stems of the
larger Alga. Annual ? Turner ; Biennial ? Greville. Not uncommon. —
T own that I share the doubts entertained by my friends Dr. Greville and
Mrs. Griffiths, regarding the claim of this beautiful plant to rank as a spe-
cies distinct from L. saccharina. The more lanceolate form, delicate sub-
stance, and pale yellowish green colour, constitute the chief marks of
distinction. Stem 1—2 inches high; frond 8 inches to 3 feet or more in
length, and 1 — 6 inches in width.
5. L. fascia, Miill. ; stem very short, setaceous, gradually
expanding into a membranaceous, broadly oblong, wedge-
shaped, lanceolate, or linear frond. Ag. Syst. p. 273 ; TVyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 157; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xlv. L. clebilis,
Ag. Grev. Crypt, t. 277; Alg. t. 5.
In the sea, on sand-covered rocks. Annual? — Root a minute disk.
Stem setaceous, 1—6 lines high, compressed, iusensiblj^ passing into the
frond. Frond 4 — 12 inches long or more, and from 2 lines to an inch in
breadth, either ovate or cuueate, and often much attenuated at base, some-
times tapering at the apex to an acute point, but oftener blunt and some-
what truncate, of a delicate membranous substance and olivaceous colour.
III. Chorda. Stack. [Plate 3, B.]
Root scutate. Frond simple, cylindrical, tubular; its ca-
vity divided by transverse, membranous septa, into separate
chambers. Fructijication : * a stratum of obconical spores,
much attenuated at the base, covering the whole external
surface of the frond. Among these are found elliptical an-
theridia. Name, chorda, a cord.
1. C. JHum, L. ; frond cartilaginous, lubricous, clothed
with pellucid hairs, filiform, very long, tapering to each ex-
tremity, not constricted at the dissepiments. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. 47, t. 7; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 276; TVyatt, Alg. Danm.
No. 159; E. Bot. t. 2487; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cvii. /3. to-
* What are here called spores are by J. Agardh considered as parane-
mata, and what are here termed antheridia are the spores of that author.
Which is the correct view ?
32 DICTYOTACE^.
mentosa ; of small size, more densely clothed with coloured,
olive or green hairs.
On rocks and stones in the sea, between tide-marks ; and extendinjr, in
still water, to the depth of 10 — 15 fathoms. Annual. Summer. — Fronds
from 1 to 20 — 40 feet long-, scarcely twice as thick as a hog's bristle at base,
gradually increasing in thickness to their middle, where they are from a
quarter to half an inch in diameter, and again gradually diminishing to
the attenuated apex. Colour dark olive-brown. Substance lubricous.
2. C. loTtientaria, Lyngb. ; frond membranaceous, con-
stricted at distant intervals, the interstices inflated. Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 48; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 276; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 6 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxxxv. Asperococcus
castaneus, Carm. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 277.
On rocks and stones, between tide-marks. Annual. Summer and au-
tumn.— Fronds 3 — 16 inches long, 1 — 4 lines in diameter, attenuated at
each extremity, constricted at irregular intervals into a series of bag-like
articulations. Substance membranaceous, flaccid. Colour a brownish or
yellowish olive. Asperococcus castaneus of the British Flora is the young
of this species : so also, according to a specimen, communicated by the
author, is Chhrosiphon Shuttleivo^-tliianus, Kulz., which I formerly referred
to Litosiphon pusillus ■ but when I made this reference I had seen no au-
thentic specimen of Kiitzing's plant.
Order IV. DICTYOTACE^.
DiCTYOTE^, Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 46. J. Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. \.
p. 68. Endl. Sd Suppl. p. 24. Dictyotea^, Encoelieae, and
part of Chordea3 and Phycoseridea3, Kiltz. Phyc. Gen. pp.
337, 336, 333, 296. Dictyotida?, Lindl Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-coloured, inarticulate sea-weeds, whose
spores are superficial, disposed in definite spots or lines
{sori).
Natural Character. — Root a disk-like expansion, some-
times naked, sometimes coated with woolly, jointed fibres.
Fronds of an olive-green or olive-brown colour, usually be-
coming paler on exposure to the air; of a membranaceous,
flexible substance, rarely coriaceous or cartilaginous, scarcely
at all juicy ; and of a cellular structure composed of two or
more strata of cells, of which the internal are usually largest :
the outer surface very generally having an areolated or netted
appearance under a lens of moderate power. In outward
DICTYOTACE.E. 33
habit there is considerable diversity among the plants of this
order. The simplest are flat, undivided expansions, consist-
ing of three strata of cells, of which the central one is colour-
less, the two superficial coloured. In others the frond is a
simple bag, closed at both ends. Others, of rather higher
type, are cylindrical and branching, the branches of some
being hollow, those of others solid. Some have flat fronds
pinnated or dichotomously divided ; in others the fronds take
a more or less perfectly fan-shaped outline. In the first of
these, the cells of which the structure is composed are ar-
ranged in parallel series; in the last they radiate fi^-om the
base of the frond as from a central point. One genus only
{Haliseris) is furnished with a distinct midrib, running
through a flat, membranaceous frond; and in no member of
the order is there a distinction into stems and leaves, but
whatever form the frond assumes in its first growth is re-
peated in its after developments. Many of them, and perhaps
all, at some period of their growth, are clothed with exceed-
ingly fine, articulated hairs, which often decompose the rays
of light, reflecting prismatic colours. These are most ob-
servable in Padina and Cutleria, but exist in Punctaria, in
Asperococcus, and other low forms.
The fructiji cation appears under almost as many phases
as the organs of vegetation. In nearly all the spores are sim-
ple ; a single, elliptical or obovate embryonic mass being
contained in a hyaline perispore : but in Cntleria the peri-
spore contains eight sporules. The spores of some are scat-
tered singly ; of others, and these the greater number, they
are collected into spots or sari, which are round, oblong, or
linear, and either dotted irregularly over the whole surface,
or confined to a definite portion of it, or ranged in transverse,
horizontal or concentric bands. In some species both scat-
tered and aggregated spores occur on the same or on different
individuals. In most instances the spores are accompanied
by paranemata, sometimes few in number and of low organi-
zation as in Asperococcus and Piwctaria); sometimes as in
Stilophoi-a) constituting the larger portion of the fructification.
In a few (as Cntleria) antheridia sometimes occupy the place
of spores; and in others {Punctaria, Dictyota, &c.) gem-
mules (.?) of round shape and large size occur on the same
frond which produces true spores, or on diff"erent individuals
of the same species. Perhaps the so-called spores of Striaria
and Dictyosiphon are of this description.
D
34 DICTYOTACE.E.
Next to the Facacecc this order is the most extensive
among Melanospenns, and the species are for the most part
objects of great beauty : some, like the singular Parf/«« or
peacock's tail, almost without a parallel among sea-weeds.
None are of very large size, and none can be called mi-
croscopic. Those that are found between tide-marks gene-
rally grow in open pools, not far from high-water mark, where
they are exposed to the full play of sunshine for some hours
each day. The deep-water species generally frequent quiet,
sandy or muddy bays, or estuaries. Many kinds (like Aspe-
rococcus Turneri), which attain the length of but a few inches
when they grow between tide-marks, form fronds many feet
in length when growing in deep water. Some are nearly con-
fined to the southern shores (as Padina, Taonia, and Haliseris).
Others are equally abundant in all parts of Britain. The
order is, however, chiefly characteristic of the warmer and
more sheltered parts of the sea. The species ai'e very few in
high northern and southern latitudes, and gradually increase
from the fortieth parallel to the equator. Most of the genera
have a wide range, and many of the species are cosmopolites.
Padina Pavonia abounds throughout the tropics and along
the shores of Southern Europe, and reaches its northern limit
in the South of England. Here, however, it shows its sun-
loving propensities by growing in very shallow pools, the
temperature of which, during the recess of the tide, rises con-
siderably : and in warm summers its fronds are double the
size of those developed in cold seasons. Our Diclyota di-
chotoma is fomid from the shores of northern Europe to the
tropics ; then at the Cape of Good Hope, the Antarctic
Lands, the western side of South America, and in New Zea-
land. The Asperococci have as wide a range. Haliseris
polypodioides extends from the tropics to lat. 54° on the West
of Ireland. Of the beautiful genus to which it belongs ten
species are known, all of them natives of tropical or subtro-
pical regions. Zonaria parvula is another straggler, belong-
ing to a genus all the rest of whose species are natives of
warm countries. ^
None of the Dictyotecs arq>Ja^ed in the arts.
DICTYOTACEiE. 35
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
* Root coated with woolly fibres. Frond fiat.
I. CuTLERiA. Frond ribless, irregularly cleft. Sori dot-
like, scattered. Spo?-es pedicellate, containing eight
sporules. [Plate 6, A.]
II. Haliseeis. Frond dichotomous, with a midrib. [Plate
6, B.]
III. Padina. Frond ribless, fan-shaped, concentrically
striate. Sori linear, concentric, bursting through the
epidermis. [Plate 6, C.]
IV. ZoNARiA. Frond ribless, lobed, concentrically striate.
Sori roundish, containing spores and jointed threads.
[Plate 6, D.]
V. Taonia. Frond ribless, irregularly cleft, somewhat
fan-shaped. Sori linear, concentric, superficial, alter-
nating with scattered spores. [Plate 7, B.]
VI. DiCTYOTA. Frond ribless, linear, dichotomous. Sori
roundish, scattered, bursting through the epidermis,
or (on distinct individuals) scattered spores. [Plate 7, A.]
** Root a minute, naked disk. Frond cylindrical, branched.
VII. Stilophora. Spores concealed among moniliforra
threads, which are collected into convex, wart-like
sori. [Plate 7, C]
VIII. DiCTYOSiPHON. Spores irregularly scattered, solitary
or in dot-like sori. [Plate 7, D.]
IX. Striaria. Spores in dot-like sori, ranged in trans-
verse lines. [Plate 8, A.]
*** Root a minute, naked disk. Frond cylindrical or fiat, unbranched.
X. PuNCTARiA. Frond flat, leaf-like. [Plate 8, B.]
XI. AsPEROcoccus. Frond membranous, tubular, either
cylindrical or compressed. Spores in dot-like sori,
mixed with a iew jointed threads. [Plate 8, C]
XII. LiTOSiPHON. Frond cartilaginous, filiform, subsolid.
Spores scattered, subsolitary. [Plate 8, D.]
D 2
.^
3() CUTLERIA.
T. CuTLEKiA. Grev, (Plate 6, A.]
Root clothed with woolly fibres. Frond flat or compressed,
carlilagineo-meiubranaceoiis, ribless, somewhat fan-shaped,
irregularly cleft. FrucUJicatioii : dot-like tufts of pedicellate
spores, scattered over both surfaces of the frond; each spore
containing several sporules. Antheridia on distinct plants,
linear, transversely dotted, attached to minute, tufted fila-
ments, occupying the position of the sori. Named by Dr.
Greville in honour of Miss Cutler, a distinguished British
Algologist.
1. C. imiltijida, Sm.; frond thickish, polymorphous, fla-
belliform, irregularly cleft into numerous, narrow lacinite ;
axils very acute ; apices attenuated, pencilled. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 60, t. 10; Honk. Br. Fl. ii. ji. 281; Wyatt, Alg.
Dcuwi. No.Q\; E. Bot. t. 1913 (Ulva) ; Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. Ixxv.
In the sea, on rocks and shells, in 4 — 15 fathom water. Annual.
Summer and autumn. Coasts of Enj^laiul and Ireland; very rare in
Scotland. Orkney. — Frond 2 — 8 inches long, of a broadly wedge-shaped,
or somewhat fan-shaped outline, cleft into several segments, often nearly
to the base, and these again splitting into others; segments linear, I — 3
lines wide, slightly dilated upwards. Fructification scattered over the
whole frond, dot-like, prominent. Substance between cartilaginous and
membranaceous, at first crisp, but becoming flaccid and closely adhering
to paper in drying. Colour olivaceous, often with a rusty hue : young and
perfect plants are frequently fringed with minute fibres.
11. Haliseris. Tozzetti. [Plate 6, B.]
Root, a mass of woolly filaments. Frond flat, linear, mem-
branaceous, with a midrib. Fructijication : ovate spores,
forming distinct sori or groups, mostly arranged in longitudi-
nal lines. Grev. — Name, a^?, the sea, cn^ig, endive.
%
1. H. poli/podioides, Desf ; frond dichotomous, entire at
the margin, spots of fructification linear, elongated, forming
a line at each side of the midrib. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 63, t.
8; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 282; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 12;
E. Bot. t. 1758 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xix.
On rocks and stones in the sea, in tide-pools, and in 2 — 5 fathom water.
Biennial!' — Grev. August to October. Several places in the south of
England. Shields beach, Mr. Winch. West and south of Ireland. — Root
PADINA. 37
a spreading^ mass of matted threads. Fronds tufted, 4 — 12 inches high,
about half au inch wide, several times dichotomous, with a strong, percur-
rent midrib; segments linear, mostly obtuse, sometimes acute, the margin
quite entire; surface dotted with tufts of white hairs issuing from minute
pores. Along the midrib are frequently found minute, oval, fleshy protu-
berances or huds, from which new branches frequently spring, so that the
frond often appears as if proliferous. Fructijication of two kinds, on dis-
tinct individuals: 1st, oblong spots of spores, often coufluent, arranged
along each side of the midrib ; 2nd, large oval spores, scattered irregularly
over the surface of the frond ; these were discovered by Mrs. Griffiths, in
August, 1828. The same accomplished lady has also observed a curious
state of frond, probably connected in some manner with fructification,
where the membrane is marked, in the portion usually occupied by spores,
with brown, wavy, map-like lines, inclosing spaces which are usually more
transparent than the rest of the frond. Substance of the membrane thin,
somewhat rigid, not adhering to paper in drying, tearing with facility in
an ol)lique direction toward the midrib, the cellules of which it is composed
particularly large. Colour a brownish olive. Smell, when fresh gathered,
very powerful and off"ensive.
111. Padina. Adans. [Plate 6, C]
Root coated with woolly fibres. Frond flat, ribless, fau-
shaped, marked at regidar distances with concentric lines,
fringed with articulated filaments; the apex involute. Frtic-
tijicalion : linear, concentric 8ori, bursting through the cuti-
cle of the upper surface of the frond, consisting, at maturity,
of numerous obovate spores, fixed by their bases ; each spore
containing four sporules. Name, invented by Adanson, who
has not explained its meaning.
1. F. Pavoiua, L. ; frond wedge-shaped at base, erect,
broadly fan-shaped, entire or deeply cleft, powdery on the
outer surface, and marked with numerous concentric lines,
the margin revolute and fringed. Grer. Alg. Brit. p. 62, t.
10 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 281 ; Wyatt, Aly. Danm. No. 1 1 ;
E. Bot. t. 1276 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xci.
On rocks in shallow tide-pools, at half-tide level. Along the extreme
southern shores of England in several places, rare. Annual. Summer
and autumn. — Fronds tufted, 2 — 5 inches high, slipitate or sessile, broadly
fan-shaped or reniform, sometimes entire, sometimes repeatedly and deeply
cleft; the segments all fan-shaped. The whole frond is marked with nu-
merous concentric zones, one or two lines a])ari, and mostly covered with
a whitish powdery substance on the under-side. The substance in the
lower part is somewhat leathery and opaque ; above it is delicately mem-
branous and transparent. The margin, which always preserves its circular
outline, is rolled backwards, and fringed with extremely delicate, reddish-
brown filaments. The spores are produced in lines along the concentric
zones, originating beneath the epidermis of the frond, through which they
38 ZONARIA — TAONIA.
finally burst and drop off. This most beautiful plant, not incorrectly com-
pared to a peacock's tail, is found pretty extensively in the seas of warm
countries in both hemispheres, perhaps reaching its highest latitude on our
shores.
IV. ZoNARiA. [Plate 6, D.]
Root coated with woolly fibres. Frond flat, ribless, fan-
shaped, entire or variously cleft, marked with concentric
lines ; the cells of the surface radiating. Fructijication :
roundish, or irregular, scattered sori, bursting through the
cuticle of both surfaces of the frond, consisting, at maturity,
of numerous 5/)ore.s, nestling among jointed threads. Name,
from ^cjv>5, a girdle or zone.
1. Z. farvnla, Grev.; frond procumbent, attached by fibres
issuing from its lower surface, membranaceous, suborbicular,
variously lobed ; lobes free, rounded, scarcely marked with
concentric lines. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 63 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 282 ; Grev. Crypt, t. 360.
On rocks and corallines, between tide-marks, and in 4 — 15 fathom water.
Annual.'' Spring and summer. All round the coast. — Fronds spreading
over the rocks in patches, one to several inches in diameter, attached by
means of whitish fibres, except at the margins, which are free and lobed ;
the lobes rounded, smooth, entire, often imbricated. The substance is
membranous, somewhat transparent, and highly reticulated ; the cells
quadrangular. The colour is an olivaceous green. The fructification has
not yet been observed in Britain, but is described, on Swedish specimens,
by Dr. Areschoug.
V. Taonia. J. Ag. [Plate 7, B.]
Root coated with woolly fibres. Frond flat, ribless, im-
perfectly fan-shaped, irregularly cleft, highly reticulated,
marked with concentric lines. Fructijication : linear, wavy,
concentric, superficial sori, on both surfaces of the frond,
consisting of clustered, naked spores, destitute of filaments.
Scattered spores occupy the intermediate spaces. Name,
raoiv, a peacock.
1. T. atomaria, Good. & Woodw. ; frond membranaceous,
broadly wedge-shaped or somewhat fan-shaped, deeply and
irregularly cleft and laciniated ; spores forming waved, trans-
verse lines, with intermediate scattered ones. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 58 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 280 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn.
No. 60; E. Bot. t. 419; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. i.
DICTYOTA — STILOPHORA. 39
Kocks between tide-marks, rare. Annual. Summer. East and south of
England. Fritb of Forth, Grev. Ballycotton, coast of Cork, Miss Ball. —
Fronds tufted, 3 — 12 inches long, with a broadly wedge-shaped or palmate
outline, triangular at base, deeply cleft into numerous segments, which are
again divided into lesser ones, the apices truncate. The colour is a brownish-
olive; the substance thin and transparent, and the whole surface beautifully
marked with broad wavy lines of dark brown spores, from a quarter to half an
inch asunder, the intermediate spaces mottled with scattered groups of spores.
VI. DiCTYOTA. Lamour. [Plate 7, A.]
Root coated with woolly fibres. Frond flat, ribless, mem-
branaceous, reticulate, dichotomous or pinnatifid ; the surface
cells parallel, those at the apices of the segments converging.
Fructijication : roundish, scattered sori, bursting through
the cuticle on both surfaces of the frond, consisting, at matu-
rity, of numerous, obovate, tufted spores; or, on distinct
plants, solitary, scattered spores. Name, ^(«tvov, a net, be-
cause the surface is reticulated.
1. D. dicliotoma, Huds. ; frond regularly dichotomous,
linear ; the segments becoming gradually narrower towards
the extremities ; spores scattered irregularly or clustered. —
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 57, /. 10; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 280;
Wijait, Alg. Dmim. No. 10 ; E. Bol. t. 774 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. ciii. — B. iiitricata, Grev. ; frond very narrow, much
branched, twisted and entangled.
On rocks and sea plants in the sea, between tide-marks, and in 4 — 15
fathom water. Both varieties common. Annual. Summer. — Fronds
3 — 12 inches long, 1 — 4 lines wide, of a clear olive-green colour and mem-
branous substance, regularly dichotomous. Spores either scattered over
the surfaces, or (in distinct plants) collected into dense spots.
VII. Stilophora. J. Ag. [Plate 7, C]
Root a small, naked disk. Frond filiform, solid or tubular,
branched. Fructijication : convex, wart-like sori scattered
over the surface, composed of obovate spores nestling among
moniliforra, vertical filaments. Name, (ttiA)), a point or dot,
and (pop£(o, to bear, in allusion to the dot-like fructification.
1. S. rhizodes, Ehr. ; frond subsolid, much and irregularly
branched, the branches subdichotomous, acute ; ramuli scat-
tered, forked ; sori densely covering the branches and ramuli.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 43, t. 6 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 275 ; E.
Bot. t. 1688 ; Wyatl, Alg. Danm. No. 5 ; Harv. Pliyc. Brit,
t. Ixx.
40 DICTYOSIPHON.
Near low-water mark, growing on rocks or Alga. Annual. Summer.
Frequent on the shores of England and Ireland. Jersey. — Fronds solitary
or tufted, (3 — 24 inches in length, (iliforni, either pretty regularly dichoto-
mous, or alternately branched ; the branches forked. Ramuli more or
less abundant, irregularly scattered. Apices acute or acuminate. The
warts oi fructification densely cover the whole frond, giving the branches
a beaded appearance. When young the frond is solid, but in advanced
age, owing to the decay of the central strata of cells, it becomes hollow.
Substance cartilaginous, dissolving into a slimy jelly if macerated in fresh
water. Colour, a yellowish or olive-brown.
2. S. Lynghyei, J. Ag. ; frond tubular, at length distended,
much branched, the branches dichotomous, spreading, with
wide, rounded axils, much attenuated towards the apices ;
ramuli scattered, forked, capillary ; sori subdistant, disposed
in transverse lines. Harv. PJiyc. Brit. /. ccxxxvii. Spo-
rochnns rhizodes, /3. -paradoxa^ Ag. i. Harv. Man. 1 ed. p.
27. Chordaria paradoxn, Lyngh. t. 14. Striaria Grevil-
liana, Polle.vfen MS.
Dredged, generally on a muddy bottom, in 4 — 10 fathom water. An-
nual. Summer. Land-locked bays on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland,
abundant in many places. — Fronds from two to four feet long or more,
forming large tufts, or spreading, in society, over wide spaces, excessively
branched, nearly regularly dichotomous, tapering to a capillary fineness
towards the apices. Substance membranaceous, at first crisp ancl very fra-
gile, becoming soft in a short time. Colour, a pale olive-brown, or foxy,
becoming greenish olive in drying.
VIII. DiCTYOsiPHON. Grev. [Plate 7, D.]
Root a small, naked disk. Frond filiform, tubular,
branched ; its walls composed of several rows of cells, of
which the inner are elongated, and connected in longitudinal
filaments ; the outer small, polygonal, forming a membrane.
Frnclijication : solitary or aggregated naked spores, scat-
tered irregularly over the surface. Name, ^iktuov, a net, and
(Ti(puv, a tube ; from the tubular, reticulated frond.
1. D. foeniculaceus, Huds. ; Grev. Aly. Brit. p. 56, t. 8 ;
Hook. Br. Fl. n.p. 279 ; Wyatt, Aly. Damn. No. 205.
Between tide-marks, on stones, or parasitic on other Algae. Annual.
Spring and summer. All round the coast. — Fronds 1 to many feet long,
tufted, very much branched and bushy ; the main stem nearly a line in
diameter, undivided, bearing through its whole length alternate, elongate,
cai)iUary liranches, which again bear a second and a third series, each more
slender than the last, and all tapering at the extremity. Fructijicution rare.
Colour yellowish olive or rusty brown.
STRIARIA — PUNCTARIA. 41
IX. Striaria. Grev. [Plate 8, A.]
Root naked and scutate. Frond filiform, tubular, continu-
ous, membranaceous, branched. Fruclijication : groups of
roundish s/?oye5 forming transparent lines. Grev. — Name,
from the ti'ansverse stri(B formed by the lines of fructification.
1. S. atteniiata, Grev.; Hook. Br. Fl. '\\. p. 279; Grev.
Cvjjpt. Scot. t. 288 ; Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 55, t. 9 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Dcmm. No. 160; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xxv.
Between tide-marks, and in 4 — 5 fatliom water, growing on other Algae,
rare. Annual. Summer. Found all round the coast. — Fronds iiiiiieA,
3 — 12 inches high, half a line to a line in diameter, set with many patent,
elongate, simple or sub-simple, mostly opposite branches, much attenuated
at both extremities, and sometimes bearing a second series of similar
branches. When in fructification the branches are marked, at spaces of
half a line asunder, with transverse rings or bands composed of clusters of
spores, sometimes accompanied with filaments. The substance is delicately
membranaceous, and the colour a pale olive. The branches are sometimes
irregularly scattered, sometimes, especially in the Devonshire plants,
whorled, 3, 4 or 5 in a whorl. This plant is also a native of the Medi-
terranean .
X. PuNCTARiA. Grev. [Plate 8, B.]
Frond undivided, membranaceous, flat, ribless, with a
naked scutate root. FructijivatioH scattered over the whole
frond, in minute, distinct dots, composed of roundish, promi-
nent spores, intermixed with club-shaped filaments. Name,
punctnnt, a dot ; from the dot-like fructification.
1. P. latifolia, Grev. ; frond pale olive-green, thickish, ge-
latinous and tender, oblong or obovate, suddenly tapering at
base. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 52 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 278 ;
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 9 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. viii.
On locks and Algse between tide-marks. Annual. Spring and sum-
mer. Sidmouth and Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. Near Belfast, Dr. Drum-
moncl. West of Ireland. Root a minute disk. — Fronds generally tufted,
8 — 16 inches long, 1 — 3 wide, oblong or lanceolate, flat or curled, gene-
rally obtuse at both extremities, occasionally tapered, delicately membra-
naceous and semitransjjarent, somewhat gelatinous, of a pale olive-green
colour. Dots of fructification minute, roundish, scattered over both
surfaces.
2. P. plataginea. Roth ; frond dark brown, coriaceo-mem-
branaceous, obovate, much attenuated at base. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 53, t. 9; Hook. Br. FL ii. /;. 278; E. Bot. t. 21-36 ;
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 206; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxviii.
42 ASPEROCOCCUS.
Between tide-marks, attached to rocks, stones, corallines, or some of tbe
larger Algs. Annual. Summer. Various places on the coasts of Eng-
land, Ireland and Scotland. — Fronds 4 — 12 inches long, ^ an inch to 1^
inch wide, obtuse, generally much tapered at the base, of a thickish mem-
branous, tough, subopaque substance and full brown colour. Dots of
fructification oblong, larger than in the preceding species, from which this
character, with the thicker substance and darker colour, serve to distin-
guish it. This has very much the outline and general appearance of
Laminaria fascia, with which it has sometimes been confounded.
3. P. tennissima, Grev. v; frond sub-linear, very thin, trans-
parent. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 54 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 279 ;
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxlviii.
Parasitic on Zostera marina, !kc. Annual. Summer. — Fronds 2 — 8
inches long, 1 — 3 lines wide, fringing the plant on which they grow, al-
ways tapering at base, and often alsp at the apex, of an exceedingly deli-
cate, transparent substance, closely adhering to paper ; the margin more
or less toothed. Fruit unknown. According to Mrs. Griffiths this is the
young of P. latifolia.
XI. AsPEROCOCCUS. Lamour. [Plate 8, C]
Frond unbranched, tubular, cylindrical or (rarely) com-
pressed, continuous, membranaceous. Root minutely scu-
tate, naked. Fructificntion scattered over the whole frond,
in minute, distinct dots {sori), composed of roundish, promi-
nent spores, mixed with club-shaped filaments. Name,
asper, rough, and fcoKJcog, a seed.
1. A. compressus, Griff. ; frond compressed, flat, linear,
obtuse, tapering at base into a short stem ; dots of fructifica-
tion oblong. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 278 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn.
No. 8 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixxii.
Cast up from deep water ; rare. Annual. Summer. South coast of
England. — Fronds 6 — 18 inches long, from a quarter to nearly an inch
wide, tapering from within an inch of the base into a minute, setaceous
stem ; thence upwards nearly of equal breadth, obtuse, formed of two
membranes closely appressed and cohering together. Colour a yellowish
or olivaceous green. Substance tender and adhering to paper. Dots of
fructification large, oblong, irregular, densely scattered over both surfaces.
The frond is sometimes constricted at intervals. I have gathered at the
Cape of Good Hope specimens exactly agreeing with those from Devon-
shire, except in being of larger size.
2. A. Turneri, Dillw. ; frond inflated, cylindrical, obtuse,
oblong or club-shaped, suddenly contracted at base into a
short stem, thin and membranaceous ; dots of fructification
minute, roundish. Grev. Alg. Brit. /^ 51 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 277; E. Bot. t. 2570; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. 59; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. xi.
LITOSIPHON. 43
Between tide-marks, on stones and the larger Algfe ; also in 4 — 15
fathom water in muddy bays. Annual. Summer. All round the coast.
— Fronds 8 — 16 inches to 6 feet in length, half an inch to 2 or 6 inches in
diameter, suddenly contracted at base into a cylindrical stem, inflated, here
and there occasionally contracted, of an oblong, linear or club-shaped out-
line, a semi-transparent, delicately membranous substance and pale olive
colour, adhering to paper. Dots of fructification very minute, roundish,
densely scattered over the surface.
3. A. echinatus, Mert. ; frond cylindrical, obtuse, linear,
gradually tapering at base. Grev. Alg. Br. /?. 50. A.Jistu-
losus, Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 277 ; Wyait, Alg. Damn. No. 7.
Ulvajist. t. 642 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxciv. j3. vermicu-
laris, Griff. ; frond setaceous, filiform, twisted. A. vermicu-
laris, Moore, Ord. Survey, Londonderry, Bot. p. 9 ; 0.
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 207.
Rocks between tide-marks ; common. Annual. Summer and autumn.
jS. Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. — Very variable in size ; the fronds from two
inches to two feet in length, and from the thickness of a hog's bristle to
half an inch in diameter, linear, more or less tapered at base. Dots of
fructification crowded, and often completely covering the surface. ^, which
is usually as slender as a bristle, and at most scarcely a line in diameter,
might easily pass, at first sight, for a distinct species, but there are inter-
mediate sizes between it and the normal state. Enccelium Lyngbyanum,
Grev. Crypt, t. 290, represents a large variety of this species.
XII. LiTosiPHON. Harv. [Plate 8, D.]
i^rowfl? unbranched, cylindrical, filiform, cartilaginous, sub-
solid, at length tubular, composed of several rows of cells ;
the surface areolated. Fructijication : solitary or aggre-
gated naked spores, scattered irregularly over the surface of
the frond. Name, xitos, slender, and (ri(pcov, a tube.
1. C. pusillus, Carm.; fronds tufted, thread-shaped, very
long, equal in diameter throughout, reticulated, clothed with
pellucid hairs ; spores scattered. Asperococcus inisillus,
Carm. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. Til ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 58 ;
Harv. Man. ed. 1, p. 35 ; Kirv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxx.
Parasitical on Chorda flum. A.inual. Summer. — Fronds 2 — 6 inches
long, as thick as a hog's bristle, straight or curled, densely covering the
fronds of the Chorda in patches 1 — 2 feet or more in length. Spores oval,
prominent, scattered, or one or two together.
2. C. Laminarice, Lyngb. ; fronds stellately tufted, short,
subulate, tapering to an obtuse point, smooth, transversely
banded, the bands close together ; spores four or more in
each transverse band. Bangia Laminar im. Hook. Br. Fl.
ii. p. 316 ; Harv. Man. ed. 1, p. 172.
44 CHORDAKIACE^.
Parasitical on Alaria esculenta. Aiinual. Smnmer. — Fronds J to ^ inch
long-, straight, growing; in stellate tufts, scattered over the surface of the
leafy portion of the Alaria, tapering from a widish base to a lilunt point,
dull olive-brown.
Orders. CHORDARFACE.^.
Chordarieae, Harv. in Mack. FL Hih. part 3, p. 183.
Man. p. 45. ./. Ag. Sp. Alg. p. 45. Chordariea3 (excl. gen.),
J. Ay. Alg. Medit. p. 31. Endl. Sd Supp. p. 23. Dne. Ess.
p. 33. Mesogloiaceas, K'utz. Plujc. Gen. p. 329. Chovdavi-
dsB (excl. gen.), Lindl. Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-colomed sea-weeds, with a gelatinous
or cartilaginous frond, composed of vertical and horizontal
filaments interlaced together. Spores attached to the fila-
ments, concealed within the substance of the frond.
Natural Character. — Root in the more perfect kinds a
conical disk, in others forming the under surface of a crusta-
ceous frond. Frond very variable in form, in all cases com-
posed of articulated threads, variously combined together,
lying in a transparent gelatine of rather firm consistence.
This gelatine is sometimes in small quantity, and then the
fronds are firmly coriaceous : but more generally the gelatine
is abundant, causing the threads to lie separate one from
another, and giving to tlie substance of the frond either a car-
tilaginous and elastic or a soft and gelatinous nature. The
least organized genus of this family {Ralfsia) has a crustaceous
frond, spreading over the surface of rocks in circular or ob-
long patches, and bearing on its surface small prominences,
which eventually contain spores. Next to this in develop-
ment is Zea/Aesw, whose frond is either shapeless or variously
lobed, reseuibling small tubers heaped together. This genus
is closely allied in structure to Mesogloia, whose frond as-
sumes a branching, more or less regularly pinnated habit;
and in Cliordaria we reach the greatest compactness and
composition that our waters supply. A further advance,
however, is found in the genus Scgtothantnns of New Zea-
land, where the frond, still clearly consisting of filaments
lying in gelatine, is so firmly knit together as to resemble in
substance one of the Fucace.e. Elacltistea and Myrioncnia
are somewhat abnormal in character, partaking in much of
CHORUARIACE^. 45
the structure of Ectocarpace.e, but allied in their fructifica-
tion too strongly to Leathesia to be separated from that ge-
nus. The spoj-es in this order are very generally obovate,
tapering to their lower extremity and very obtuse above, al-
ways furnished with a pellucid perispore, and containing a
dark-coloured homogeneous mass. They are attached to the
sides of the filaments composing the periphery or outer stra-
tum of the frond, and very generally are surrounded by pa-
ranemata. In Ralfsia alone they form prominent wart-like
sori, similar to those of Dictyotace/E. The prevalent colour
of the frond is olivaceous, varying from a dark brown to a
light greenish olive, nor is it much changed by drying.
In this order we have an obvious declension from the
structure of the more perfect Melanosperms ; as it were, the
resolution of a compound frond into its constituent parts. In
the Fucaceic, the highest plants in the series, the frond is si-
milarly constructed of interlacing filaments; but in that order
the filaments are so closely pressed together and compacted
into a fleshy substance, that they cease to be obvious except
after a minute dissection. But in the ChordariacecB the
sti'ucture is so loose that the filamentous nature of the frond
is apparent the moment that a branch is brought under a
moderate magnifying power.
The plants comprised in this order, notwithstanding a
considerable difference in habit, form a natural group allied
through Ralfsia to the Dictyotace^, and through Elachis-
tea to the Ectocarpace^. There are collateral affinities
also with GioioclacUeoi and Batrachospermace^, whose
fronds have a similar structure.
The Chordariace^ are widely dispersed ; the genera
Mesogloia, and Chordaria, and perhaps some others, cosmo-
politan. Leathesia tuheriformis is as common on the shores
of South Africa as on those of Britain ; and so is Chordaria
flagelliformis .
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
* Frond cylitidrical, branching.
I. Chordaria, Axis cartilaginous, dense ; filaments of
the circumference unbranched. [Plate 10, A.]
II. Mesogloia. Axis gelatinous, loose ; filaments of the
circumference branching. [Plate 10, B.]
46 CHORDARIA.
** Frond either tuber-shaped or crustaceans and spreading.
III. Leathesia. Frond tuber-shaped. [Plate 10, C]
IV. Ralfsia. Frond ciustaceous. [Plate 10, D.]
*** Parasites, consisting of densely tufted filaments, connected at the
base, free above.
V. Elachistea. Filaments pencilled, rising from a tuber-
cular base, composed of vertical fibres. [Plate 10, E.]
VI. Myrionema. Filaments pulvinate, rising from a flat
base, composed of decumbent fibres. [Plate 10, F.]
I. Chordaria. Ag. [Plate 10, A.]
Frond filiform, much branched, cartilaginous ; the a.vis
composed of densely packed, longitudinal, interlaced, cylin-
drical filaments ; the periphery of simple, club-shaped, hori-
zontal, whorled filaments, and long, byssoid, gelatinous fibres.
Fructijication : obovate spores, seated among the filaments
of the periphery. — Name, from Chorda, a cord.
1. C. Jlagelliformis,Mw\\.; frond filiform, equal through-
out • branches alternate, long and mostly simple ; filaments
of the periphery club-shaped. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 44 ; Hook.
Br. Ft. ii. p. 275 ; E. Bot. t. 1?22 ; Wi/att, Alg. Damn. No.
57 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxi.
Between tide-marks, on rocks and stones, common. Annual. Summer.
— Root small, discoid. Fronds from three inches to three feet long, slen-
der, about half a line in diameter, with a central stem, which is either
simple or irregularly divided in its upper part, and bears numerous lateral,
irregularly inserted, long, generally simple branches, of equal thickness.
The colour is dark olivaceous green ; the substance firm and cartilaginous.
The whole frond, if viewed in the water, appears fringed with exceedingly
fine colourless fibres, which give to the surface a slimy feel. They have
some resemblance to the colourless fibres of Myriotrichia.
2. C. divaricata, Ag. ; frond irregularly divided ; branches
divaricate, subdichotomous, flexuous, furnished towards the
apices with short, very patent, mostly forked ramuli ; filaments
of the periphery capitate. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xvii.
Thrown up from deep water, at Carrickfergus, Mr. M'cCalta. Annual.
Autumn. — Fronds 1 — 3 feet long, not a line in diameter, forming globose
MESOGLOIA. 47
tufts, the branches spreading- in all directions from a centre ; very irregu-
larly divided. Branches mostly forked, with very patent axils. The sur-
face is slimy, the colour olive, much paler than in the preceding species,
and the filaments of the periphery are of a different form. It shrinks much
in drying.
II. Mesogloia. Ag. [Plate 10, B.]
Frond filiform, much branched, gelatinous: the axis com-
posed of longitudinal, sub-simple, interlacing fibres, invested
with gelatine ; the periphery formed of radiating, dicholo-
mous, coloured filaments. Fruciijication : ovate or elliptical
olivaceous spores, attached to the ramuli of the periphery, —
Name, ixzaoi, the middle, and vAoiOf, viscid ; from the gelatinous
axis. "
1. M. vermicularis, Ag.; frond clumsy; branches irregu-
larly pinnate, thick, worm-like, lineari-fusiform ; ramuli co-
pious, long, flexuous, resembling the branches. Hook. Brit.
Fl ii. p. 387. Riv. verm. E. Bot. t. 1818; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 100; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xxxi.
On rocks and stones between tide-marks, common. Annual. Summer,
— Fronds 1 — 2 feet high, gelatinous and flaccid ; the branches clumsy, of
unequal diameter, generally much attenuated at each end. Colour pale
olive-green or yellowish. Spores ovate, commonly produced.
2. M. Griffithsiana, Grev. ; frond slender, equal through-
out; branches alternate or irregular, filiform, long, simple,
nearly bare of ramuli. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 387; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 48.
Between tide-marks, rare. Annual. Summer. South of England and
West of Ireland. — Fronds 8 — 16 inches high, of a rather pale olive-green,
which becomes greener in fresh water. Stem sub-simple, beset throughout
with very long, slender, simple, opposite or alternate branches ; the surface
covered with long colourless fibres, similar to what occur in Chordariafla-
gelliformis, which make the plant, as it waves in the water, look of much
greater diameter than it really is. Spores pyriform.
3. M. mrescens, Carm. ; frond filiform, gelatinous ; branches
long, erecto-patent, slender, villous ; ramuli numerous, patent,
short, flexuous, obtuse. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 387 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 49; Berk. Gl. Alg. t. 17,/. 2; {also M. affi-
nis, Berk., and M. gracilis, Carm. ; Berk. I. c. t. 16, 2, and
t. 17, 1) ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixxxii.
Seashores. Annual. Summer. Not uncommon. — Fronds 8 — 12 inches
high, olive-green, tender, gelatinous, slippery, excessively branched;
48 LEATHESIA.
branches lonj?, simple or forked, furnished with numerous alternate or se-
cuiid, spreading, flexuous raniuli. Frond to the naked eye appearing
villous, owing to the filamenls composing the periphery being very much
protruded beyond the gelatine, and accompanied also by colourless fibres,
similar to those of M. Griffithsiana. I have examined the M. (jracilis of
Carmicliael, and do not consider it specifically distinct from the present ;
and though I have not seen specimens of Mr. Berkeley's M. affinis, yet,
judging from the figure and description given in the ' Gleanings,' I ven-
ture to refer it to the young of this species.
III. Leathesia. Gray. [Plate 10, C]
Frond globose or lobed, carnoso-cavtilaginous, composed
of jointed, colourless, dichotomous filaments, issuing fi'om a
central point ; their apices (which constitute the fleshy coat-
ing of the frond) coloured and tufted. Fructification : oval
spores attached to the coloured tips of the filament. — Name,
in honour of the Rev. G. JR. Leaihes, a well-known British
naturalist.
1. L. tuberiformis, Sm. ; fronds olivaceous, tuberous, when
young filled with cottony fibres, at length hollow. Coryne-
phora marina, Ag. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 390 ; IVi/att, Alg.
Danni. No. 149. Rivularia tuberiformis, Sm., E. Bot. t.
1956.
Between tide-marks, on rocks, corallines and Algge, abundantly. Annual.
Summer. — Fronds fleshy, forming many hollow lobed or distorted tubers,
and spreading over a large surface, olive-brown. " In young plants the
central cavity is traversed by a system of very wide, inflated, jointed, hya-
line tubes, branching dichotomously, while they radiate in all directions to
the surface, where each branch terminates in a tuft of short, club-shaped,
moniliform, coloured ramuli ; among these last, which by their lateral co-
hesion form the whole substance of the plant, the sporidia are found nestling.
They are obovate, smooth, and mostly solitary." — Carm. MSS.
2. L. Berkeleyi, Grev. ; fronds dark brown, depressed,
fleshy, solid ; filaments densely packed. Harv. Phyc. Brit.
t. clxxvi. Chcstophora Berkeleyi, Grev. in Berk. Gl. t. \,
f. 2 ; Harv. in Hook. I. c. p. 390 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No.
'231.
On submarine rocks, between tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Soutli
of England and West of Ireland. — Fronds gregarious, 1 — 2 inches in di-
ameter, \ — \ inch thick, convex, but depressed, soft and fleshy. Filaments
very densely packed. Spores pear-shaped, produced in autumn.
RALFSIA — ELACHISTKA. 49
IV. Ralfsia. Berk. [Plate 10, D.]
Frond coriaceo-crustaceous, fixed by its inferior surface,
orbicular, concentrically zoned ; composed of densely packed,
vertical, simple filaments. Fructification : depressed warts,
scattered over the upper surface, containing obovate spores
fixed to the bases of vertical filaments. — Name, in honour of
John Ral/s, Esq., of Penzance, the well-known author of a
monograph on British DesmidiecB and other works.
1. ^. verrucosa, Xxe9>c\\.; frond orbicular, spreading; the
margin thin and closely adherent ; the disk densely covered
with irregular warts. R. deiista. Berk. ; Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. xcviii. [not of Ag). Pndina deusta, Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 281 ; Harv. Man. Ed. I, p. 31.
On rocks between tide-marks, common. Perennial. Winter. — Fronds
forming lichen-like patches on the surface of flat rocks, from one to six
inches in diameter; when young orbicular, but becoming very irregular in
outline when old. In young specimens the surface is nearly flat and even ;
but in full-grown plants is exceedingly rough, with wart-like prominences.
Structure very dense and opaque. Fruit rare, and difficult to find. Colour
a dark brown. Substance leathery, hard.
V. Elachistea. Fries. [Plate 10, F.]
Frond parasitical, consisting of a dense tuft of free, simple,
articulated, olivaceous filaments, rising from a common tuber-
cular base, composed of vertical branching fibres closely com-
bined into a cartilaginous mass. Fructijication : pear-.shaped
spores attached to the bases of the filaments, concealed in
the tubercle, and frequently accompanied by paranemata. —
Name, sxaxftrra, the least ; from the small size of these plants.
1. E. fucicola, Velley ; tufts pencilled ; filaments elongate,
flaccid, membranaceous, attenuated upwards ; articulations
once or twice as long as broad ; tubercle hemispherical.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxl. Conferva fucicola, Hook. Br.
Fl.p. 354; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 192; Dillw. Conf. t. 66.
Parasitical on Funun vesiculosus, very common. Annual. Summer. —
Tufts an inch long, olivaceous or rusty brown, rising from a hemispherical
tubercle composed of dichotomously branching fibres. The filaments rise
from the terminal cells, and are surrounded at their origin by four or five
slender, club-shaped paranemata, among which the spores nestle, and
which, by their lateral cohesion, form the periphery of the tubercle.
E
50 ELACHISTEA.
2. ^.Jiaccida, Dilhv. ; tufts pencilled; filaments elongate,
flaccid, membranaceous, much attenuated to the base ; the
lower articulations half as long as broad, upper of equal
length and breadth ; tubercle hemispherical. Conferva flac-
cida, Dillw. Couf. t. G. Harv. I. c. p. 355; Wyait, Alg.
Banm. No. 292 ; Hnrv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclx.
Parasitical on Cystoseira fibrosa, common. Annual. Summer. — Fila-
ments half an inch long, dull olive-brown; tubercle similar to that of £".
fucicola.
3. E. curta, Dillw. ; filaments minute, rising from a tuber-
cle, rather rigid, pencilled ; articulations about as long as
broad. Dilliv. Conf. t. 76 ; Harv. I. c. p. 355.
On Fuci. — Filaments ] — 3 lines long. A very little-known plant, not
found by any recent collector.
4. E. pidvinata, Kiitz. ; tufts very minute, globose ; fila-
ments fusiform, much attenuated towards both ends, the basal
articulations 3 — 4 times, the middle once and a half, the
apical about as long as broad ; spores linear-obovate, sub-
sessile at the base of the filaments. E. attemiata, Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. xxviii. A.
Parasitical on Cystoseira ericoides. Annual. Summer and autumn.
South of England and West of Ireland. — Tufts about a line in diameter,
globose, very dense, composed of innumerable minute filaments. A beau-
tiful microscopic object. This is the Myriactis puhnnata of Kiitzing, a
fact of which I was ignorant when I published the figure in Phyc. Brit.
Kiitzing's specimens came from the Mediterranean.
5. E. stelhtlata, Griff. ; tufts very minute, starry ; fila-
ments tapering to the base, short, clavate, surrounded by
paranemata, and rising from a tubercle ; articulations twice
as long as broad. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxi. Conf. stellu-
lata, Griff, in Harv. Man. Ed. 1, p. 132.
Parasitical on the fronds of Dictyota dichotoma. Torquay, Mrs. Grif-
fiths.— Tufts half a line in diameter, resembling minute stars, or Echini.
Filaments rising from a distinct tubercle, composed of large ellipsoidal
cells, disposed in forking series or strings. Paranemata inserted with the
filaments, and about one-third their length. I have not seen spores.
6. E. scutulata, Sm. ; filaments short, rising from an ob-
long, convex, shield-like tubercle, composed of densely-
packed branching fibres ; articulations about as long as broad.
Conf. scutulata, Sm. E. Bat. t. 2311; Harv. I. c. p. 355;
Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 223.
Parasitical on the thongs ot Himanihaiia lorca. Annual. Summer. —
Tubercles resembling long warts, half an inch to an inch or more in
length.
MYRIONEMA. 51
7. E. velutina, Grev. ; spreading in thin, indefinite, vel-
vety patches ; filaments very minute, equal in diameter
throughout, dissepiments slightly contracted ; articulations
as long as or rather longer than broad ; spores elliptical, pe-
dicellate, Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xxviii. B. SphaceUiria velu-
tina, Grev. Crypt, t. 350 ; Harv. I. c. p. 325.
Parasitical on the thongs of Him. lorea, frequent ; also on Fucus serratus,
fide Greville. Annual. Summer. — It often accompanies the last species,
to which it is closely allied.
VI. Myrionema. Grev. [Plate 10, E.]
Minute parasites, consisting of a mass of short, erect,
simple jointed filaments, which spring from a thin expansion
formed of decumbent, cohering filaments, spreading in patches
on the surface of other Algae. Spores oblong, affixed either
to the erect or to the decumbent filaments. — Name, (Wy^ioj,
numberless, and vw/wa, a thread.
1. M. stranyulans, Grev . ; patches convex, confluent,brown,
vertical filaments clavate, densely set, spores obovoid, on
short stalks, attached to the decumbent filaments. Grev.
Crypt, t. 300; Hook. Br. Ft. ii. p. 391 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
Parasitical on Vlvce and Enter omorpha. Annual. Summer. — Forming
a small, dark brown, dot-like patch on the flat frond of the Ulva, or a ring-
like collar round the branches of Enteromorpha.
2. M. Leclaiicherii, Chauv. ; patches orbicular, thin and
with few vertical filaments towards the edges, convex with
crowded filaments in the centre ; vertical filaments cylin-
drical ; spores on long stalks, attached to the decumbent
filaments. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xli. A.
On decaying fronds of Rhodymenia pahnata ; also on Ulva latissima in
deep water. Annual. Summer and autumn. — Patches from a line to a
quarter inch in diameter, at first appearing like a thin expansion, very si-
milar to a Coleochcete ; at length, from the growth of the vertical filaments,
becoming convex.
3. M. punctiforme, Lyngb. ; patches globose ; filaments
tapering to the base ; spores linear-obovate, affixed to the
vertical filaments, near the base. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xli.
B.; Hook. I.e. /?. 391.
Parasitical on Ceramium rubrum, Chylocladia clavellosa, &c. — Patches
very minute, at first flat, then globose. Spores very narrow.
4. M.' clavatum, Carm. ; " very minute, rather convex ;
filaments clavate, mostly bifid; spores pedicellate, affixed to
e2
52 ECTOCARPACE^.
the filaments." Carm. Alg. Ap. ined. ; Harv. in Hook. I. c.
p. 391.
" On a thin purplish crust {Hildenbrantia rubra ?) which covers the peb-
bles at the half-tide level. The parasite is so much of the colour of the
crust that it requires a microscope to detect it.'' — Capt. Carmichael. I
have never seen this plant.
Order VI. ECTOCARPACE.^.
Eclocarpese, C. Ag. Spec. Alg. vol. ii. p. 9, (excl. gen.)
Han-. Man. p. 36. Ectocarpeae and Spbacelarieae, J. Ag.
Alg. Meclif. p. 26. Sp. Alg. i. p. 6—27. Dne. Ess. p.
33—42. Kniz. Phyc. Gen. pp. 287, 291. Ectocarpidae (in
part) and Sphacelaridse, Lindl. Veg. King. p. 22.
Diagnosis. — Olive-coloured, articulated, filiform seaweeds,
whose spores are (generally) external, attached to the jointed
ramuli.
Natural Character. — Root generally a small disk, which
is occasionally coated with woolly fibres. Frond filiform
and slender (in technical language, ^/amew^o^^s), more or less
conspicuously articulated, each articulation composed either
of several cells disposed in a ring roimd an axis, or of a
single cell, in which latter case the frond is a Jilament,
formed of a series of simple cells, placed end to end, and
strung together. In some of the higher forms (Cladosiephus
and some Sphacelarice) the main stem and the larger branches
are inarticulate, formed of a multitude of minute cells, the
central ones of which are frequently foiu'-sided, closely com-
pacted together into a firm, somewhat horny, rigid substance.
The frond is rarely unbranched ; very generally it is exces-
sively divided, the branches disposed differently in diff'erent
genera. In Cladostephus the branchlets are whorled round
the stem and branches, and deciduous at the close of each
season. In Sphacelaria the whole frond is distichous, the
lesser divisions being repeatedly pinnate, and in this genus
also, a portion of the smaller ramuli appears to be deciduous.
In Eclocarpus the stem is sometimes, but rarely, simple;
someiimes branched in a subdichotomous manner; but in
the majority of cases it is distichous, the branches being
either alternate or opposite, usually rather distant one from
another ; but someiimes closely pinnated, and occasionally
secund and pectinated. In one or two instances the thread-
like fronds are bundled together into ropes, which, branching
ECTOCARPACE.E. 53
at intervals, constitute a spongy, compound frond. The
fructification is perhaps of two kinds ; the first, or spore,
being oval or spherical, furnished with a pellucid skin or
perispore and containing a dark coloured granular mass.
Such spores are sometimes sessile, sometimes stalked, and
either scattered over the branches or confined to particular
parts of the frond. The second description of fruit (called
propagulton by Agardh) is in Eciocarpus lanceolate or
linear, often shaped like a pod, or sometimes conical, trans-
versely striate, and containing an olive, granular substance; in
Spliacelaria it is mostly club-shaped, and contained in the
distended tips of the branches and ramuli. The plants
of this order are seldom gelatinous : some of the more deli-
cate kinds are very soft, and liable to be rapidly decomposed;
but the majority are membranous, and almost all of the first
sub-order are of a singularly rigid, almost horny substance.
The colour varies from dark brown to pale greenish olive,
and is subject to a little change in fresh water.
This order is closely connected with the last, especially
through the genera Myrionema and Elachistea, the latter of
which is, by J. Agardh, placed here. The free filaments of
that genus do indeed associate well with the similar filaments
of the simple Ectocarpi, but" the remaining part of the
organization has so much in common with Leathesia, an un-
doubted Chordariaceous plant, that I am unwilling to place
it in a different order.
Continental authors, in general, regard our two sub-
orders as distinct ordinal assemblages, and in the system of
Endlicher they are widely separated from each other. To
me the connection between them appears close ; the differ-
ence chiefly technical, — one being a simpler form of the
other, — and I am imwilling to sanction what seems an
unnecessary division of orders. Such plants as Ectocarpus
Mertensii are nearly intermediate between the two groups.
The Ectocarpaceae are the least compound, the lowest in
organization, of the olive-coloured Algae, yet among them
we find, as not rarely happens in similar cases, some of the
most elegant and delicately beautifid structures of the group.
None are of large size, and many require the aid of the mi-
croscope to develope their full beauty. The genera, and
several of the more common species, are very widely dis-
persed, nor are there any generic forms known which are not
represented in our flora.
54 CLADOSTEPHUS,
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GE'.NERA.
Sub-order 1. SPHACELARiEiE. Frond rigid; each articula-
tion composed of numerous cells.
I. Cladostephus. Ramuli whorled. [Plate 9, A.]
II. Sphacelaria. Ramuli distichous, pinnated. [Plate
9,B.]
Sub- order 2. Ectocarpe^e. Frond flaccid ; each ai'ticu-
lation composed of a single cell.
III. EcTOCARPUS. Frond branching; ramuli scattered.
[Plate 9, C]
IV. Myriotrichia. Jy-owf/ unbranched ; ramuli whorled,
tipped with pellucid fibres. [Plate 9, D.J
Sub-order 1. Sphacelarie^.
I. Cladostephus. Ag. [Plate 9, A.]
Frond inarticulate, rigid, cellular, whorled with short, arti-
culated, sub-simple ramuli. Fruit elliptical, pedicellate.
Spores borne by accessory ramuli. — Name, «Aa3bj, a brancit,
and (7TE(pof, a crown.
1. C.verlicillains, Lightf. ; branches slender, ramuli mostly
forked, regularly whorled, the whorls at short intervals. —
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. /?. 322 ; Wyatt, AUj. Danm. No. 82 ; E.
Bot. f. 1718, and /. 2427, /. 2 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xxxiii.
In the sea, on rocks and corallines, frequent. Summer and winter.
— Filaments 3 — 9 inches high, irregularly dichotoraous, the lesser branches
often opposite. Colour a dull olive-green. Mrs. Griffiths notices that in
summer the ramuli of this and the following species frequently contain dark
grains imbedded in their withered tips, as in the genus Sphacelaria. In
winter most of the whorled ramuli fiill off, and the frond becomes clothed
with irregularly disposed, slender (accessory) ramuli, which bear numerous
lateral, stalked spores, furnished with a transparent border, and containing
a dark olive mass.
2. C. spongiosus, Iluds, ; branches thick and clumsy; ramuli
naostly simple, irregidarly whorled, densely imbricated. Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 322 ; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 169 ; E. Bot. i.
2427, /. 1 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxxviii.
SPHACELARIA. 55
In the sea, on rocks and stones, common. Summer and winter. — Fila-
ments 3 — 4 inches higli, irregularly branched, the branches thick and flex-
uous, obtuse, densely clothed with erowded, mostly simple, but occasionally
forked ramuli. Colour dull brown or dirty olive-green. Fructification as
in the preceding.
II. Sphacelaria. Lyngb. [Plate 9, B.j
F^7rtme«/.s jointed, rigid, distichonsly branched, pinnated,
rarely subdichotomons. Apices of the branches distended,
membranous, containing a dark, granular mass. Fructifica-
tion, oval spores, borne on the ramuli. — Name, I,revails are considerably
diversified, according to the quantity and consistence of the
gelatine ; some being flaccid and slimy, others of a cartilagi-
nous or horny nature. In others there is no distinct arrange-
ment of the cells into filaments, but the frond consists of a
multitude of six- or twelve-sided cells homogeneously packed
together, and compressed into a membranous or fleshy sub-
stance. Such a structure is technicall}'^ called cellular, in
contradistinction to the former, which is said to hejilninenioits.
In some cases all the cells of the frond contain colouring
matter ; in others, colour is confined either to the surface
cells or to a stratum of varying thickness beneath the surface.
In the latter cases the colourless cells contain either a granu-
lar matter or are wholly empty. So far for the internal
nature of the frond. Externally it is formed, sometimes into
twiggy bushes, sometimes into broad lamina3 ; and very
frequently both these characters are combined ; the lower
part being cylindrical, the upper branches expanding at the
apex into flat phyllodia. Regularly formed leaves sometimes,
but rarely, make their appearance, as in Delesseria ; or in
the beautiful exotic genus Polyzonia, which has the stem and
branches of a Poli/sipho/iia, the frmi of Das j/a, and leaves
that resemble those of a Jmigermannia. But the most
curious and beautiful varieties of form are found in certain
exotic genera, formed, on various systems, into pieces of net-
work, resembling fine lace, and, like that article, wrought in
divers elegant patterns. One of these lacy plants occurs in the
Mediterranean. It resembles a Callithamnion in structure,
but all its ramuli anastomose into a net-work, instead of form-
ing a branching stem. The seas of the tropics aff"ord a much
more complex structure, with a central stem, round which is
coiled, in spiral order, a delicate lacy net; and Australia
gives us several genera in which the idea is further improved
upon. One {TJmretia) resembles the skeleton of an oak-leaf,
but, when seen under the microscope, is found to be much
more complex. Another [Claudea) exhibits the retiform
structure in its highest perfection ; for here each fibre of the
net-work is itself a little leaf, with its midrib and lamina, and
the net is formed by the growing together of these little
leaves, on a regular plan ; the tip of one constantly uniting
itself to the rib of another.
Several of this sub-class assimilate carbonate of lime in
large quantities, so that the frond becomes perfectly stony,
and not recognizable, except by its vegetable form, from
RHODOSPERME^. 67
mineral masses. Such are the corallines or Nullipores, the
humblest of which are simple incrustations covering rocks or
the stems of other Algoe ; nor can we determine their vegeta-
ble nature until we have subjected them to chemical exa-
mination. Acid will remove the mineral matter and leave
behind a cellular body, in form resembling the original mass
and in composition similar to many of the Algie, Thus their
nature is established. Under similar treatment the jointed
corallines will be found to be bodies of a similar nature.
Some of these are among the most beautiful of marine plants.
I speak of those of tropical countries, for this group is pecu-
liarly characteristic of the tropics, and those of our own
shores are few and not very beautiful. The shores of Aus-
tralia seem to be peculiarly rich in beautiful corallines ; some
forming fans, like our Padina, but rose-coloured ; others
triply pinnate, like the most delicate Callithamnion ; others
with whorled ramuli, like Charce, &c.
The fructification of this sub-class is deserving of much
attention, and has been the cause of no small trouble to sys-
tematic botanists. We here find plants, seemingly furnished
with two sorts of spores, both fertile, both equally capable of
reproducing the species ; each always developed by itself, the
two being never found on the same individual, though both
have been found on different individuals of almost the whole
of the known species. Analogy forbids our regarding both
these organs as spores, of the same value, and formed by si-
milar agency. There is no such thing as two systems of
fructification among other plants. But we do find many
plants in which the species is propagated by two modes;
first, by the ordinary way of seeds ; and secondly, by (jemmcB
or buds, which, originating like ordinary buds, do not deve-
lope into branches on the parent, but drop off in a bud-like
form, acquire roots, and grow into independent plants.
Hence it has been held that the double fruit of the Rhodo-
sperms should be explained in a similar manner; the hud or
gemnmle being here reduced to its simplest form, consisting
of a single cell. But here, too, the spore or representative of
a seed is equally simple ; and thus it becomes a matter of
uncertainty, in the present state of our knowledge, to deter-
mine to which of the spore-like bodies the rank of spore, and
to which that of gemmule, shall be assigned. We are igno-
rant, at present, of the circumstances attending the formation
of these bodies : we must therefore take them as we find them
formed in the plant, and reason on the appearances presented
F 2
68 RHODOSPERME.E.
to our observation. One sort of fruit, — the tetraspore, —
though extremely various in position, is uniform in structure
throughout tlie whole sub-class. It consists invariably of a
membranous, sub-gelatinous sac or perispore, containing a
mass of red colouring matter that separates, at maturity, into
four parts or sporules ; sometimes by a transverse division
[zoned or annular) ; sometimes by two cross lines into four
equal parts {cruciate) ; and sometimes by triradiate lines into
four unequal parts {iernaiehj-paried). This little body is
very rarely found in a proper conceptacle or capsule, as we
should expect the representative of a seed to be. In the co-
rallines^ in the Australian genus Cienodns, and in a few other
instances, we do find tetraspores enclosed in hollow cases.
In many others they are found in pod-shaped bodies called
stic/ridia, as in llytipldcea, Dasya, Plocamium, &c. ; these
stichidia being sometimes formed by alteration of portions of
branchlets or leaves, and sometimes independently developed
from definite points of the frond. In others the tetraspores
are naked (as in CaUithamnion), scattered over the sides, or
fixed at the tips of the branchlets. But in by far the greater
number of cases these little bodies are immersed in the sub-
stance of the branches or leaves, making no external show,
except that the parts where they congregate are of darker
colour than the rest; and they must be sought by careful ex-
amination and dissection under a lens. In these latter cases
they appear to be formed either from the cells of the external
coat, or from those immediately beneath the surface-cells.
If we give due weight to the evidence derived from position,
it appears to me that the weight of that evidence would favour
the supposition that tetraspores were gemniules, and not true
spores. And such is the opinion advocated by Mr. Thwaites,
contrary to that of Decaisne, of J. Agardh, and of almost all
modern writers of repute. In cases where they occur dis-
persed through the frond, one can hardly conceive their
formation by a sexual process ; and in such plants as Cal-
lithamnion they clearly originate in the alteration of one
of the cells of the ramuli. In this genus also we fre-
quently find them viviparous, or converted into innumerable
graniform cells, strung together. Such bodies have been
called antlieridia, but, I think, without suflicient warrant.
To me they have always appeared to be metamorphic tetra-
spores. Again, the advocates of the opposite view, who
regard the tetraspore as a true spore, appeal to its perfectly
regular structure, uniform tlu'ough the whole sub-class, and
RHODOSPERME.E. 69
one of the principal characteristics of the sub-class. But
there is no reason why similar regularity should not accom-
pany the formation of gemmules, if this latter be one of the
modes of propagation which Nature has specially assigned
to these vegetables.
The second kind of fruit — the simple spore {ov gei/imiile
of J. Agardh) is a much less organized body than the tetra-
spore, and more irregular in form ; but it is superior, for the
most part, in the position it occupies. That is to say, sim-
ple spores are never, like tetraspores, dispersed through the
tissue of the frond, but are always grouped together in defi-
nite masses, which verj^ generally are enclosed in a more or
less perfectly formed pericarp or conceptacle. They have
therefore, to the unassisted eye, much more the appearance
of fructification than tetraspores have, unless where the latter
are placed in sticltidia. In the simplest form of conceptacu-
lar fruit, such as we find in Hahjmenia and Dumontia,
there is no proper conceptacle, but the spores are collected
in spherical masses, and either attached to the wall of the
frond or imbedded in its substance, in which case, the tissue
surrounding the mass of spores is destitute of colouring mat-
ter. Such a fructification is called a favclluUurn ; and the
name is commonly extended to fruits of a similar structure,
but which are not perfectly immersed, such as we find in
Gigariina, Gelidium, &c., where they exist as tubercular
swellings of the branches. In some cases these swellings
communicate at maturity with the surface by a pore, through
which the spores find exit. When such a fructification is
wholly external, as in Callithamnion and Ceramimn, it is
called a farella. Nearly related to this, and especially to
the semi-external favellidia of Gigartina, &c., is the fruit
called coccidium, the characteristic conceptacle of Rhody-
menia, Delesseria, NUopJiyllum, &c. This may either be
borne on lateral branches, or sessile on the surface of the
frond. It consists of a hollow case, with thick, cellular
walls, containing a dense tuft of angular spores attached to a
central placenta. Most generally it is impervious, but occa-
sionally pierced by a pore, through which the spores are
discharged. Lastly, in the ceramidmm the conceptacular
fruit is brought to its highest development. This organ is
ovate or urn-shaped, furnished with an apical pore, and con-
taining a tuft of pear-shaped spores, rising from the base of
the cavity. The walls are usually thin and membranous,
and the hollow space considerable. Such is the conceptacle
of Polynphonia, Dasya, Lanre/icia, &c. These are the
70 RHODOSPERMEiE.
principal varieties of conceptacular fruit, properly speaking.
But there are other bodies, called nemaihecia^ sometimes
confounded with fructification, but in which nothing resem-
bling spores are found. They exist as external warts, of
very irregular shape, often of considerable size and thickness,
composed altogether of vertical filaments, resembling those
of which the frond is composed (for they are only met with
in Crytonemiacece), but generally of larger calibre. 1 am
disposed to regard them as imperfect conceptacles, a view
which is favoured by their sometimes occurring (as in Phyl-
lophora mernhranifolia) on the same individuals that bear
proper conceptacles. With these nemaihecia must not be
confounded the wartlike fructification of GymnogongruSj
which is a form of sorus, composed of tetraspores.
The conceptacular fruit is perfectly regular in its position
and uniform in structure in the same species at all times.
It therefore bears every impress of being a normal function
of the Rhodosperms, whether we consider its contents as
gemmules or spores. In the filiform kinds, as Polysiplionia,
the ceramidium is formed by the metamorphosis of one of
the ramuli ; but in the leafy genera of the same group
{Odonthalia, and many exotic genera) these organs spring
from the margin on the surface of the phyllodia, and can by
no means be regarded as altered ramuli, for they do not oc-
cupy the same position. Coccidia are very frequently seated
on the midribs in leafy plants, but occasionally occupy the
lamina ; and in ribless fronds they very frequently are
formed along the margin. Sometimes, in these last, they oc-
cur where the frond has been accidentally injured, and this
fact has been seized on to prove their abnormal character.
But the cases in which they are formed on definite points of
uninjured fronds greatly out-number those in which they
have been observed to spring from injured ones; and the
latter must therefore be regarded as exceptions to a genei'al
practice. On the whole, I am of opinion that the evidence
in favour of the conceptacles being a form of fructification
and not of gemmation, is at least as strong as that advanced
in favour of tetraspores, nor do I think that we are yet suffi-
ciently informed on the development of either fructification
to determine ahsohitcly the relative value of letraspore and
spore : that is, to which tlie term gemmule should be applied.
In the mean time, certain arguments, supported by strong
analogies, appear to me to favour the supposition that the
contents of the conce})tacles should be regarded as true
spores, or fructification ; and that the ietrrfspore is a yem-
RHODOSPERME.E. 71
mule or vegetating bud. I do not pretend that analogical
inferences are here to be received as proof; I merely wish
to claim for them plausibility — and force, quite equal to that
of the evidence brought forward by the advocates of te-
traspores.
Arguments in favour of the conceptacular fruit may be de-
rived from watching its developments and that of the frond,
and reasoning on the morphological relations of the parts.
Polysiphonia offers a peculiarly favourable field of observa-
tion. If we examine a young growing specimen of a plant
of this genus, we find the tips of all its branches to terminate
in a tuft of dichotomous fibres. These are peculiarly ob-
vious in P. Jihrata and P. Jihrillosa ; but will be found in
every species, if the specimen examined be in a sufficiently
young state. In P. hyssoides they are persistent, and found
at all ages on every part of the frond, constituting the single-
tubed ramelli of that species ; and in Dasya they form the
ramelli which clothe the branches. The branch which bears
these fibres or ramelli consists of a number of elongated
cells (siphons) placed, in a radiant manner, like the spokes
of a wheel, round a central cavity. Round the tips of the
branches these radiating cells are gradually shorter, and
each cell of the uppermost whorl or wheel ends in one of the
dichotomous fibres {ramelli). The rameUus never changes
its shape or character till it falls away, but the cells of
the branch below it lengthen, and grow wide till they assume
their proper size and shape. Growth, in this case therefore,
takes place below the insertion of the ramellus. Such is the
case in the primary branches. When a new lateral branch
is about to be given off from a primary one, a ramellus, simi-
lar to those at the apex of the old branch, makes its appear-
ance opposite to one of the dissepiments of the old branch.
At the base of this ramellus a cellular nucleus begins to be
formed, which increases in size and gradually assumes the
appearance of one of the ordinary branches, new ramelli
being developed at its apex as it acquires complexity. As
such ramelli are constantly found on all the growing apices,
it is natural to suppose that they are actively concerned in
causing the growth which takes place exactly at the point
of their attachment ; for, if they were unnecessary, we should
scarcely find them so universally present on growing points.
Besides, similar fibres occur on the young parts of other
Algae, especially of the Sporochnoidese and Dictyotacea^, in
the former of which orders they are evidently very essential
organs. Everything connected with these fibres — their pro-
72
RHODOSPERME.*;.
duction — their position — their supposed office — tends to
show that they are of the nature of acrogenous leaves: — per-
forming such of the functions of leaves as the exigencies of
the plant require, some of which functions are, I admit, dis-
charged by the surface of the branches generally, as is the
case in all frondose plants, whether cryptogaraous or phaj-
nogaraous. No arguments, based on their imperfect deve-
lopment, affect their morphological relations: — and if we
may be allowed to regard these ramelli as the representatives
of leaves, we establish the first step in our argument.
We have next to determine the morphology of the cera-
midium, or spore-case, in which the tuft of spores is con-
tained. The inspection of any PolysipJionia, Dasya,
RJiodomela or Laurencia is sufficient to show that, in these
genera, the ceraniidium is simply a truncated branch of the
frond : — a branch diverted fi'om its normal character and
changed into an ovate or pitcher-shaped, hollow body,
pierced at the apex and containing a tuft of spores. Let us
observe how this metamorphosis has occurred. The cera-
midiuiu makes its appearance as a young branch does, from
the side of an old one ; or else it is formed at the apex of
an old branch. In either case it is at first a little round
knob, destitute of apical fibres {rcunelll). This knob gradu-
ally swells, but does not greatly lengthen — becomes urceolate
or ovate — and is at last pierced at the apex. On opening it
we find a tuft of fibres with their terminal cells converted
into pear-shaped spores, attached to the cellular placenta at
the base of the spore-case.
J 1 How are we to understand
this structure ? The length-
ening of the branch is ar-
rested at a definite point,
and the powers of life are
concentrated on the elabora-
tion of the contents of the
ceramidium. The placenta
at the base is evidently the
apex of the branch ; the fi-
bres that carry spores are evi-
* Explanation of Diagram. Fig. 1 .—Supposes the peripheric stratum
(i) to have grown beyond the true apex (a) to a certain point, forming the
outer membrane of the wall of the ceramidium, and then to have doubled
back, and returned along the inside of the wall to the insertion of the spores,
(f) ; forming thus a double membrane. Fig. 2.— Simply supposes the stra-
tum (b) to have grown beyond the ape.x (a) leaving a cavity, containing the
spores (c) at its base.
Diagram of supposed Structure of
a Ceramidium*
RHODOSPERME.E. 73
dently metamorphosed ramelli. But how shall we accomit for
the walls of the ceratnidiiim? We must either suppose these
walls to be formed of the union of the first developed or low-
est ramelli; or, w^hich I think more probable, consider the ce-
ramidium as an introverted branch, whose apex either turned
inwards, or stopped short while the cells of the periphery con-
tinued to grow around and above it, until they finally enclosed
it. In either case the ceramidium would be formed as shown
in the imaginary diagram annexed. The cells of the walls are
always of irregular shape and irregularly placed, as if pushed
from their position. Such dislocation would naturally result
from the continued lateral growth of the radiating cells of
the apex of the branch, after the cessation of growth up-
ward, however that cessation originate. Were the walls
formed from the coherence of ramelli into a membrane, we
should expect to find their fibrous origin indicated in the
structure of the membrane ; but no fibrous structure appears
in the walls. Whatever the nature of the walls of the cera-
midiuni, there seems no reason to doubt that its contents —
the tuft of spore-bearing fibres — are a metamorphosed condi-
tion of the ramelli, which would have tipped the cerami-
dium, had it been developed into an ordinary branch. I
have already endeavoured to show that the ramelli are
the representatives of leaves ; and if the structure now attri-
buted to the ceramidium be considered established, we shall
have strong analogical evidence in favour of the spores being
considered of the nature of seedn, and not as buds ; and by
consequence, that tetraspores should be regarded as gem-
mules. For we find, in flowering plants, transformations
strikingly similar to what I have been describing. In them
the flower is a truncated branch, and all its parts are meta-
morphoses of leaves : this flower produces seeds. In Poly-
siphonia, &c., the ceramidium is a truncated branch, and its
contents are modifications of ramelli (or supposed leaves) :
this ceramidium produces spores. The seeds in the first
case, and the spores in the second, are formed — so far as po-
sition goes — under analogous circumstances ; and therefore
it seems not unreasonable to infer that an analogical rela-
tionship exists between them. More than this I do not
consider established, for we do not yet know the cause of the
formation of conceptacles and the production of spores. We
know that seeds result fi-om the joint agency of stamens and
pistils. But we do not know whether any process similar to
fertilization takes place with the spores of these Algae. It
74 RHODOSPERME^.
is true that bodies supjDosed to be of the nature of stamens
(and called antheridia) are found on many Algae, but how
they act, or whether they act on the spore at all, has not
been ascertained. But granting that antheridia are stamens,
the analogical arguments now put forward in favour of spores
being seeds would be materially strengthened. For, in flow-
ering plants, with whose metamorphoses we have been com-
paring those of Algffi, we know that stamens and pistils are
modifications of a common type, altered for a special purpose,
and now assuming one form and function, now the other.
And in Polysiphonia we find both spore and antheridinni hav-
ing a common origin, both being a cellular growth of the
apical fibres or vamelli ; the spore being formed on the ra-
melli when the branch is metamorphosed into a conceptacle,
and the antheridium on the ramelli of the unchanged
branches and developed externally.
These organs [antheridia) , supposed to be representatives
of the male system, have been observed in several genera.
They are especially obvious in Rhodomelace/E (Polysipho-
nia, Rhodomela, &c.), when they consist of minute, pod-
shaped bodies, full of yellow, vivacious granules, and borne
on the colourless fibres in which the branches and ramuli
terminate. In Laurencia the antheridia are contained in
cup-shaped bodies, resembling very open ceramidia, and oc-
cupying the place of those organs.
The Rhodosperms are distributed in seven orders, as
follows : —
SYNOPSIS OF THE ORDERS.
7. Rhodomelace.e. Frond celhdar, areolated or articu-
lated. Ceramidia external. Tetraspores in rows,
immersed in ramuli or contained in proper recep-
tacles [stichidia).
8. Laurenciace.e. Frond cellular, continuous. Cera-
midid external. Tetraspores scattered, immersed in
the branches and ramuli.
9. CoRALLiNACE/E. Frond calcareous or crustaceous, ri-
gid. Ceramidia external, containing the tetraspores.
10. Delesseriace.e. Frond cellular, contimious, areo-
lated. Coccidia external. Tetraspores collected into
definite clusters (sori).
EHODOMELACEiE. 75
11. Rhodymeniace.e. Frond cellular, continuous, the
superficial cells minute. Coccidia external. Tetra-
spores scattered through the frond, or forming unde-
fined, cloud-like patches.
12. Cryptonemiace.e. Frond fibroso-cellular, composed
of articulated fibres, connected together by gelatine.
FavelUdia immersed in the frond, or sub-external.
Tetraspores immersed in the frond.
13. CeramiacE/E. _Fro«(/ filifoi'm, consisting of an articu-
lated filament, simple, or coated with a stratum of
small cells. Favelhe naked, berry-like masses. Te-
traspores external, or partially immersed.
Oeder VII. RHODOMELACE.E.
Rhodomeleae, J. Ag. in Linn. vol. xv. p. 23. Aly. Medit.
p. IIG. Endl. Gen. pi. 3, Suppl. p. 44. Harv. Ner. Austr.
p. 9. Rytiphlaea;, Dne. Class, p. 02. Ceramieae, Chon-
drieaj, and Thamnophorese (in part) and Anomalophylleae,
Dne. I. c. Dasyeae, Polysiphonieae, Chondrieae (partly), Bo
tryocarpese (partly), Amansiea), Rhytiphl^eaceae, Carpoble-
pharidea) (partly), and Claudieae, Kdlz. Phyc. Gen. 414 —
451. Rhodomeleae, Lindl. Veg. Kingd. p. 25.
Diagnosis. — Red or brown-red seaweeds, with a leafy or
filiform, areolated or articulated frond, composed of polygo-
nal cells. Fruit double : 1. Conceptacles (ceramidia) exter-
nal, ovate or urn-shaped, furnished with a terminal pore, and
containing a tuft of pear-shaped spores : 2. Tetraspores im-
mersed in distorted rarauli or in lanceolate receptacles
{stichidia), usually in rows.
Natural Character. — Root mostly a simple disk, in some
accompanied by creeping fibres ; and in some the principal
stems are prostrate and creeping, the branches erect. Frond
very variable in aspect (if we take in the exotic forms of the
order) ; sometimes forming a net-work, sometimes filiform.
The leafy forms of the order are more numerous in the seas of
warm countries, and exhibit, as we approach the tropic,
leaves of more perfect formation. The flat, thin frond, with
its obscure midrib, of our Odonthalia, which is the nearest
76 RHODOMELACE.E,
to a leafy form that we possess, is replaced in the more ge-
nial waters of the Mediterranean by the delicate Dlciijmenke,
in which the surface of the leaf is composed of large cells ;
and, pursuing our course to warmer regions, this form gives
place to Amansia, whose leaves are still more delicate,
with their cells arranged in transverse lines, each cell exactly
of the same length as its neighbour cell, and regularly twelve-
sided. Such fronds resemble a fine piece of mosaic pave-
ment, and exhibit the areolated structure in its greatest per-
fection. In several of the leafy genera, the leaves are
nerveless, in others nerved, and in some traversed by a sys-
tem of brandling veinlets, that spread through the whole
substance. In one or two they are thick and fleshy, contain-
ing large chambers filled with mucus. In many they are
proliferous, the new leaves springing from the disks or mar-
gin of the old. The net-work fronded, such as Claudea,
have been already noticed. The filiform kinds, to which be-
long nearly the whole of the British species, are either arti-
culated, or furnished with an articulated axis coated with a
stratum of small, irregularly formed, polygonal cells. They
are all constructed on the same plan : there is a central, arti-
culated filament, usually devoid of colouring matter, and
round this filament is ranged a circle of elongated cells, of
equal length, to which the name siphons or tubes has been
given. These whorls of cells, placed one above the other,
form the filiform frond ; and the points of the connection
of their ends, the joints, when the frond is articulated. When
ihere is no visible articulation it exists in the centre of the
frond, but is concealed from view by a coaling of cells,
of greater or less thickness, as in Rhodomela, or is partially
visible, as in Rytiphlcea.
Many of the Rhodomelacecc are of a brown-red, and some
of them of a full brown colour, and nearly all become darker
in drying. Some that are rose-coloured, as Pol. b}/ssoides,
when living, become quite dark after they have been dried, and
others turn completely black, a peculiarity which has sug-
gested the ordinal name (signifying red-black). Many dis-
charge a quantity of dark coloured, offensive matter, when
steeped in fresh water, and several will rapidly decompose
when brought in contact with that medium. Others may be
kept in it for days without injury, or even with advantage,
for by this means the tendency to dry black is lessened.
All, except some of the Bostrychiic, are strictly marine, and
generally grow near low-water mark. Our own Bostnjchia
ODONTHALIA. 77
scorpioides is araphibions, growing, sometimes in the sea
and sometimes in ditches of brackish water, and a similar
indifference to habitat was observed by Dr. Hooker in
B. vaga, of Kerguelin's land.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
I. Odonthalia. Frond flattened, linear, with an obsolete
midrib, pinnatifid, alternately inciso-dentate. [Plate
11, A.]
II. Rhodomela. Frond cylindrical, inarticnlate, opake.
Tetraspores contained in pod-like receptacles [sti-
chidia). [Plate 11, B.J
III. BosTRYCHiA. i^yowc^ cylindrical, inarticulate, dotted ;
the smface cells quadrate. Tetrasporea in terminal
pods. [Plate 11, C]
IV. Rytiphl^a. Frond cylindrical, inarticulate, trans-
versely striate. Tetraspores in pod-like receptacles.
[Plate 11, D.]
V. PoLYSiPHONiA. Frond cylindrical, articulated, wholly
or in part ; the branches longitudinally striate. Te-
traspores in distorted ramuli. [Plate 12, A.]
VI. Dasya. Frond cylindrical, the stem inarticulate ; the
ramuli articulated, composed of a single string of
cells. Tetraspores in pod-like receptacles {stichidia),
borne by the ramuli. [Plate 12, B.]
I. Odonthalia. Lyngb. [Plate 11, A.]
Frond plano-convex, two-edged, vinous-red, distichous,
obsoletely ribbed, alternately toothed at the margin, cellular;
central and surface-cellules minute, irregular. Fructification
twofold, on distinct plants ; 1, ceramidia, containing a tuft
of pear-shaped spores ; 2, lanceolate pods [stichidia) con-
taining tetraspores in a double row. Name, o^oug, a tooth,
and Oaxog, a branch.
78 RHODOMELA.
1. O. dentaia, L. ; frond vaguely branched in an irregu-
larly pinnate manner ; branches linear-oblong, narrowed at
base, pinnatifid ; lacinia? alternate, sharjjly toothed at the
truncate extremities ; capsules clustered on branched pedun-
cles. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 101, t. 13; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p.
293 ; Harv. PIujc. Brit. t. xxxiv. Fucus dentatus, E. Bat.
t. 1241.
On rocts in the sea. Perennial. Fruiting from January to March.
Frequent on the shores of Scotland, and of the north of England and
Ireland. — Fronds rising from a hard disk, tufted, 3 — 12 inches long, much
branched, furnished with an imperfect midrib toward the base, flat and
membranaceous above; the main stem simple or forked, 2— 4 lines wide,
narrower at base, alternately toothed ; branches issuing from the axils of
the teeth of the main stem, attenuated at base, simple, or somewhat pal-
malely divided, and either toothed or pinnatifid, the lobes in the latter case
being toothed, and, as they become larger, pinnatifid. The frond preserves
throughout nearly the same breadth, rarely exceeding 4 lines. Fructifica-
tion borne along the margin on very slender pedicels, which are either
simple or branched ; ceramidia ovate, containing a cluster of pear-shaped
spores, which are finally discharged through a terminal pore ; stichidia
lanceolate, containing a double row of ternate tetraspores. Substance car-
tilagineo-membranaceous, scarcely adhering to paper ; structure densely
cellular. Colour a deep vinous red, becoming darker in drying.
II. Rhodomela. Ag. [Plate 11, B.]
Frond filiform, solid, much branched, inarticulate, reticu-
lated ; the axis composed of concentric layers of oblong,
hyaline cells ; the periphery of several rows of minute, irre-
gular, coloured cellules. Fruciijication twofold, on distinct
plants ; 1, ceramidia, containing a tuft of pear-shaped spores ;
2, tetraspores contained in lanceolate pot/.? (stichidia) or in
swollen branchlets. Name, poho^ red and jttEXaj, black ; be-
cause these plants become darker in drying.
I. R. lycopodioides, L. ; frond elongate, mostly simple,
densely beset with slender, finely divided branchlets, mixed
with the short, rigid, bristle-like remains of a former series.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 102; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 294; Harv.
Pliyc. Brit. t. 1. Fucus lycopodioides, E. Bot. t. 1163.
On the stems of Laminaria digitata. Perennial. Summer. Common
on the shores of Scotland and of the north of England and Ireland. —
Fronds 4 — 18 inches long, tufted, filiform, attenuated upwards, simple or
subsiniple, clothed, in its winter state, with short, rigid, simple or slightly
branched ramuli, half an inch to an inch in length ; in summer throwing
out from these and the main stem numerous capillary, multifid, slender ra-
muli, usually 1 or 2 inches long, but which, in some magnificent specimens
gathered by my friend Mr. W, Thompson, at Bangor, Co. Down, arc
BOSTRYCHIA. 79
lengthened into branches 6 — 14 inches lonpf, and clothed at short distances
with broad tut'ls of multifid ramuli, resembling those usually borne by the
main stem. Some of these specimens seem almost intermediate with R.
subfusca, and strikingly resemble Polyniphonia Brodimi on a large scale.
Fructification is plentifully produced by the summer ramuli. Substance
cartilaginous, the summer branches adhering to paper. Colour purplish
brown, becoming black in drying.
2. R, subfusca, Woodw. ; frond filiform, miicli and irregu-
larly branched; branches virgate, set with scattered, subu-
late, simple or pinnulated, alternate branchlets, often crowded
towards the end of the branches. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 103 ;
Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 294; Harv. Phyc. Brit t. cclxiv. ;
Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 111. Fucus sub/uscus, Woodw.;
E. Bot. t. 1164.
In the sea, on rocks and Algae. Perennial. Summer. Frequent. —
Stem 4 — 10 inches high, undivided or branched, set throughout with nu-
merous, alternate, long branches, which bear a second or third series of al-
ternately multifid ramuli. In winter these finely divided branches drop
off, leaving the frond with the stunted remains of its branches rigid and
broken ; but early in the following spring a second series of ramuli arises
from the branches, and on these the fructification is produced. Substance
rigid in winter, cartilaginous and rather flaccid in summer, when the frond
adheres to paper. Colour reddish or brownish, becoming darker in drying.
An extremely variable plant in ramification, and in its summer and winter
states presenting a startling contrast.
III. BosTRYCHiA. Mont. [Plate 11, C]
Frond dull purple, filiform, much branched, inarticulate,
dotted ; traversed by a jointed tube surrounded by one or
more concentric layers of oblong coloured cells, which are
gradually shorter towards the circumference ; the surface
cells cubical. Fruclification twofold, on distinct plants ; 1,
ceramidia ; 2, fetraspores, contained in terminal, lanceolate
j)ods. Name, ^oa-r^uxo;, a ringlet or curl of hair.
1. 'Q. scorpioides,Givci.; frond cylindrical, slender, attenua-
ted, three or four times pinnated with horizontal branches,
the uppermost involute at the extremity. Gi-ev. Alg. Brit,
p. 105; Hook. Br. Fl. u. p. 294; Wyalt, Alg. Danm. No.
69 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xlviii. Fucus amphibius, E. Bot.
t. 1428
On rocks in the sea, or in salt-water ditches. Annual ? Summer. North
Wales, Rev. H. Davies. Abundant at Shoreham, growing on Atriplex por-
tulacoides, Mr. Borrer. Mouth of the river Dart, Mrs. Griffiths. Tydd
Marsh, Cambridgeshire, Mr. Skrimshire. Shore of Blackwater at Maldon,
Mr. E. Forstcr,jun. Selsea Marshes, Marti/n. At Portstewart, North of
Ireland, Mr. D. Moore, and elsewhere. — Fronds forming entangled tufts,
80 RYTIPHL^A.
very slender, cylindrical, excessively branched in a distichous manner, the
branches very patent or divaricatino;, alternate, furnished with a second or
third series of similar patent ramuli, the apices very much involute. Cap-
sules unknown in this country ; receptacles of granules forming pinnate
tufts, either teniiinal or lateral. Colour pale purplish, becoming blackish
in drying. Substance somewhat cartilaginous, tender. A very curious
plant, forming, with some tropical, and several antarctic species, a dis-
tinctly marked little group — remarkable for their amphibious habits.
IV. RYTIPHL.EA, Ag. [Plate 11, D.]
Frond filiform or compressed, pinnate, transversely striate,
reticulated ; the axis articulated, composed of a circle of
large, tubular, elongated cells (siphons) surrounding a cen-
tral cell ; the periphery of several rows of minute, irregular,
coloured celltiles. Fructification twofold, on distinct plants ;
1, ceramidia, containing a tuft of pear-shaped spores; 2,
tetraspores, contained in minute, lanceolate /?ofZ.s [stichidia),
in a double row ; or immersed in swollen ramuli. Name,
puriq, a wrinkle, and (pxoiog, the hark, because the surface is
transversely wrinkled (when Avy).
1. R. pinastroides, Gm.; frond terete, irregularly branched ;
lesser branches pectinato-pinnate ; the pinnae secund, with
their apices hooked inwards. Rhodomela pinastroides, Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 104, t. 13; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 294 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 112; Harv. Phyc. Brit, t. Ixxxv. Fuciis
pinastroides, E. Bot. t. 1042.
On submarine rocks, near low-water mark. Perennial. Fruiting in
winter. Southern shores of England, frequent. — Frond 4 — 8 inches high,
cylindrical, subsimple at base, much branched above, the branches alternate
or secund, long, spreading in a fan-like manner, much divided, the lesser
ones set with secund, erect ramuli, about half an inch long, and either
straight, or, more generally, hooked at the extremity. The whole plant
marked, at short intervals, with transverse striae, giving it a jointed appear-
ance. Capsules minute, spherical, scattered on the ramuli ; tetraspores im-
bedded in the ramuli of distinct plants. Substance cartilaginous. Colour
a dull red, becoming black in drying.
2. R. complanata, Ag. ; frond brown-red, compressed,
pinnate or bi-tripinnate, the lower pinnae short or abortive,
the upper long, straight, erect, virgate, once or twice com-
pounded ; pinnules subulate or bifid, erect, closely set ; the
axils acute. Harv. Phyc. Br. t. clxx. Pol. cristata, Harv.
in Mack. Fl. Hib. part 3, p. 205.
On the rocky beds of shallow tide-pools, exposed, at low- water mark, to
full sunshine. Very rare. Perennial. Summer. South of England and
West of Ireland. — Stem 2 or 3 inches high, erect, nearly simple below, de-
compound above, compressed, half a line in breadth, nearly equal through-
RYTIPHL.EA. 81
out ; branches eiecto-patent, with acute axils, the uppermost becoming
rather broader towards the apex, more or less regularly bipinnate ; the
lower pinnae very short, with minute, subulate, simple pinnules, the upper
much longer, with decompound or sometimes again pinnated pinnules ; all
the divisions very erect. Colour a dark brownish red. Frond reticulated
with veins, and marked with arched, transverse striee, or dark lines, at dis-
tances of about half the diameter apart; these indicate the joints of the
internal axis, seen through the surface. Fruit has not been found in
Britain.
3. R. thuyoides, Harv. ; stems erect, rising- from creep-
ing fibres, terete ; below simple and set with short, sj^ine-
like ramuli ; above much branched ; branches crowded,
very erect, bipinnate; pinnae pinnato-multifid; axils rounded.
Harv. in Mack. Fl. Hih. iii. /?. 205 ; Wyatt, Aly. Danm.
No. 305 ; Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. cxxii.
On rocks in tide-pools, frequent. Perennial. Summer and autumn. —
Stems 3 or 4 inches liigh, twice as thick as hog's bristles, cylindrical, erect,
below either naked, or furnished with short, spine-like ramuli, or with
broken remains of old branches ; much branched above ; branches long,
crowded or fasciculate, quadrifarious or distichous, very erect (with a deter-
minate oblong-lanceolate outline), bipinnate, middle and lower pinnse pin-
nato-multifid, ultimate ones simple, or with the tips cloven. Articulations
obscure, shorter than broad, scarcely obvious in the branches, more con-
spicuous in the ramuli, reticulated with veins. Capsules ovate, scattered
or clustered, borne by the ramuli, very rare ; tetraspores ternate, in distorted
ramuli, frequent. Antheridia bright yellow, gelatinous, constantly pro-
duced in summer. Colour a dull brown or brownish yellow, becoming
black in drying.
4. R. fruticiilosa, Wulf. ; stems diffuse, branched from
the base ; branches divaricating, pinnato-dichotomous, inar-
ticulate, set in the lower part with short, horizontal, multifid
ramuli ; in the upper, more or less pinnated with larger, si-
milarly divided branchlets ; axils rounded ; ramuli marked
at short distances with transverse striae, as if jointed ; veins
reticulated. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxx. Pol. friiticulosa,
Harv. in Mack. Fl. Hih. iii. p. 205 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 327,
[in part). Fuciis fruticiilosus,E. Bot. t. 1686.
Between tide-marks, on sand-covered rocks. Perennial. Summer.
Common. — Fronds 3 — 6 inches high, robust, cylindrical, much branched
from the base, branches divaricating, with very patent axils, repeatedly di-
vided in a pinnato-dichotomous manner, set in the lower part with short,
alternate, horizontal, squarrose, multifid ramuli, about a line in length, in
the upper distantly pinnated with similar but larger branchlets. Articula-
tions scarcely obvious in the larger branches, very apparent in the ramuli,
reticulated with veins ; the transverse striae or dissepiments opaque. Cap-
sules ovate, sessile, very rare ; granules ternate, in swollen ramuli, common.
Antheridia frequently occur, imparting a yellowish colour to the plant.
Substance cartilaginous. Colour dull reddish brown, or greenish yellow.
G
82 POLYSIPHONIA.
V. PoLYSiPHONiA. Grev. [Plate 12, A.]
Frond filamentous, partially or generally articulate ; joints
longitudinally striate, composed of numerous radiating cells
{siphons) disposed round a central cavity. Fructijication
twofold, on distinct plants; \, ceramidia, containing a tuft
of pear-shaped spores ; 2, ietraspores imbedded in swollen
branchlets. — Name, TroWg, many, and aicpuv, a tube. A vast
genus, of which nearly 300 species, from all parts of the
world, have been described ; many, probably, more than
once under different names.
Sub-genus I. Oligosiphonia. Primary tubes four, rarely five.
* Frond articulated ; the articulations distinctly visible to the base of
the stem.
1. P. urceolata, Sm. ; threads rigid, setaceous, much
branched, loosely entangled ; branches dichotomous, erecto-
patent, more or less furnished with short, patent, or recurved
ramuli ; joints bi-striated, those of the main branches 3 — 5
times longer than broad, of the ramuli very short ; ceramidia
pitcher-shaped, with a produced, contracted mouth, generally
stalked. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxvii. ; Hook. Br. Ft. ii. p.
330; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 133. Conf. urceolata, E.
Bot. t. 2365. — ft. patens. P. patens, Grev. Hook. I.e. Conf.
patens, Dillw. t. G.
On rocks, and the larger Algae, often covering the steins of Laminaria
digitata. Annual. Summer. — Stems 3 — 9 inches high, dark red, as thick
as horse-hair at the base, loosely entangled in large bundles, scarcely at-
tenuated, rigid, not collapsing on removal from the water, and very imper-
fectly adhering to paper. Articulations very variable in length, in different
parts of the plant ; dissepiments broad and colourless. 3. is less branched,
with shorter joints, the branches beset throughout their length with short,
recurved ramuli. It is the P. patens of authors, and of ' British Flora,'
in which work I have expressed doubts whether it be specifically distinct
from P. urceolata. A longer acquaintance with the subject induces me,
unhesitatingly, to unite them. j3. is generally found on the stems of Lami-
naria digitata ; a. on rocks, but not invariably so.
2. P. formosa, Suhr. ; threads exceedingly slender and
flaccid, much divided ; branches long, flexuous, bearing a
second or third series; ramuli scattered, spreading; joints
of the main branches many times longer than broad ; cera-
midia pitcher-shaped, with a produced contracted mouth,
P. formosa, Suhr.; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxviii. P. graci-
lis, Grev. MSS. ; IVyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 216.
POLYSIPHONIA. 83
On rocks, &c., between tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Not uncom-
mon.— Filaments 6 — 10 inches high, exceedingly slender and flaccid, much
divided, with many long, slender, wavy branches, bearing a second or third
series, and ultimately a few irregular, spreading, or erect ramuli. Joints
of the main branches very long, those of the ramuli shorter, two-tubed.
Capsules sessile or shortly stalked ; tetraspores large, in the ramuli, often in
beaded strings. This species has many points in common with P. urceo-
lata, but is a much more slender and flaccid plant, and the capsules are
different.
3. P, stricta, Dillw. ; filaments densely tufted, setaceous,
flaccid, bi-stnated,dichotomous; branches and ramuli straight,
erect ; axils acute ; upper articulations 4 or 5 times longer
than broad ; 'capsules ovate, sessile. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p.
329. Conf. stricta, Dillw. t. 40.
In the sea, on sand-covered rocks. " Not uncommon ; " Dillw. — Fila-
ments 2 — 10 inches high, rising from a mass of creeping fibres. Colour
dull red or purplish. A very ill-defined, confused species, which I do not
understand, nor can it be determined without a careful examination of the
original specimens, figured by Dillwyn. In herbaria we sometimes find
P.formosa, sometimes P.fihrala under this name.
4. P. pulvinaia, Ag. ; filaments rising from a mass of
creeping fibres, tufted and interwoven, short, very slender,
flexuous, sparingly and irregularly dichotomous, more or less
furnished with very patent or recurved, simple ramuli ; arti-
culations variable in length, bi-striated ; ceramidia pitcher-
shaped, very large, scattered. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cii. P.
macrocarpa, Harv. in Fl. Hih. iii. p. 296; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 215.
On rocks and Algae between tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Not un-
common.— Tiifts dense, intricate, about an inch in height, composed of very
slender, capillary, flexuous filaments, variously branched. Colour a dull
brownish-red or purplish. Capsules very large for the size of the plant,
several times the diameter of the filament from which they spring. Sub-
stance soft and flaccid, soon decomposing in fresh water.
5. P. Jibrata, Dillw. ; stems setaceous, flaccid, gelatinous,
simple or alternately branched, bearing at greater or less dis-
tances, dichotomously divided, more or less pencilled or
tufted ramuli, whose tips are fibrilliferous ; axils patent ; ar-
ticulations bi-striate, varying greatly in length ; ceramidia
ovate, generally stalked. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccviii. ; Harv.
in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 329 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 39.
Conf. Jihrata, Dillw. ! Conf. Syn. p. 84, t. G.
On rocks, stones, and Algae, between tide-marks, not uncommon. An-
nual. Summer and Autumn. — Stems 2 — 10 inches long, densely tufted,
dark red-brown, tender and gelatinous, decomposing rapidly in fresh water;
G 2
84 I'OLYSIPHONIA.
main thread alternately or sub-dichotomously branched, rather stouter than
the branches, which are frequently lonirand much divided ; lesser divisions
more or less furnished with pencil-like tufts of dichotomously divided
ramuli. Joints bi-striate, the striae frequently crossing, those of the main
thread sub-opaque, very short at base, becoming longer upwards, in the
middle 4 — 8 times longer than broad, in the lesser ramuli 2 or 3 times.
Tips of the ramuli truncate, bearing byssoid fibres and antheridia. Cap-
sules ovate or globose, plentifully scattered over the ramuli ; granules large,
imbedded in the upper ramuli. Mrs. Griffiths finds at Ilfracombe, and
Mr. D. Moore at Island Magee, Co. Antrim, a variety which diflers from
the common state in being less branched, the branches more distant, with
much denser and more finely divided pencils of ramuli.
6. P. spinulosa, Grev. ; " dark red ; branches divaricate,
somewhat rigid ; the ramuli short, straight, subulate, divari-
cate ; articulations about equal in length and breadth, three-
tubed." Grev. Crypt. FL f. 90 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 330.
In the sea ; extremely rare. Annual? Appin, Capt. Carmichael, who
only found one specimen. — Frond 1 or 2 inches in length, of a dark red
colour, much branched, with a rigid and spinulose habjt; main branches
rather remote, irregular, much divaricated, somewhat flexuous ; ultimate
ramuli straight, subulate, almost thorn-like, divaricated like the rest, some-
times minutely divided at the apex, and each of the divisions terminated
by a long, hyaline, jointed filament. Articulations about as long as broad,
striated, with three internal tubes, of a pale brown-pink under the micro-
scope. Tubercles (young) " very minute, quite sessile, round, dark red,
scattered freely on the branches, and containing several dark granules."
Grev. I. c. This is a very rare and little known plant, of which I have seen
no specimen save the original one, found by Capt. Carmichael, and now
preserved in the Hookerian Herbarium. Dr. Greville's figure is very cha-
racteristic. A transverse section of the stem exhibits four large siphons,
with smaller secondary ones at their external angles. The Devonshire
habitat, given on the authority of Mrs. Griffiths, in our first edition,
belongs to Pol. simulans, a plant of very difierent structure, though veiy si-
milar aspect.
7. P. Richardsoni, Hook. ; stems cartilaginous, setaceous ;
branches alternate, elongated, divaricate, beset in the upper
part with very patent, straight, sub-dichotomous ramuli ; ar-
ticulations of the stem and branches 2 or 3 times longer than
broad, irregularly veined, of the ramuli shorter; ceraraidia
sessile, globose. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 333 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. X.
At Colvend, Dumfries, .Sir /o/m Richardson . — Stems 3 or 4 inches high,
rigid, nearly as thick as a hog's bristle at base, branched throughout ;
branches alternate, often issuing at right angles. Colour a dull red, be-
coming darker in drying. Main articulations marked with numerous,
anastomosing, irregular tubes, those of the lower branches 3 — 5 tubed, of
the ramuli 2 or 3 tubed. Ca^ww/es sessile, scattered, subglobose, with a very
wide aperture. Siphons five in the stem. — Of this species nothing is
POLYSIPHONIA. 85
known beyond a single specimen preserved in the Hookerian Herbarium,
and figured in Phycologia Britannica, as above quoted.
8. P. Griffithsiann, Harv. ; stem rigid, attenuated, alter-
nately branched ; branches long, patent, sub-sixnple, furnished
with numerous sub-dichotomous or alternate, slender, patent,
flaccid ramuli ; articulations of stem, branches and ramuli,
about once and a half as long as broad, with straight
veins ; capsules broadly ovate, sessile. Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t.
ccxxviii.
Parasitical on Polyides rotundus at Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. Isle of
Portland, Miss White. Annual. Summer. Very rare. — Stems 3 or
4 inches high, as thick as a bristle, gradually attenuated upwards, altei--
nately branched, the branches long, pateut, simple or divided, furnished
with numerous, sub-dichotomous or alternately divided, slender, patent
ramuli, the ultimate ones often recurved, having a feathery character.
Articulations of the stem visible to the base ; they, as well as those
of the branches and ramuli, about once and a half as long as broad,
usually equal in all parts of the plant. Substance rather rigid in
the stem and branches, imperfectly adhering to paper, flaccid in the ra-
muli, not decomposing, nor giving out colour in fresh water. Colour,
below brownish, above rosy or pink. Nearly allied to P. Richardsoni, but
in Mrs. Griffiths' opinion distinct. It is chiefly remarkable for the equaliti/
of its short joints, and for its property of resisting fresh water; "though
kept long in Iresh water it gave out neither colour nor smell, nor did it de-
compose as others would in the time.'' 3frs. Griffiths in litt.
9. P. elongella, Harv. ; stems setaceous, rigid, sub-dicho-
tomous ; branches very patent, beset with flaccid, somewhat
tufted, elongated, multifid ramuli, not tapering at base; joints
of the branches about as long as broad, those of the ramuli
rather longer, both marked with three parallel veins ; disse-
piments pellucid. Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 334 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 84 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxlvi.
On rocks, &c., between tide-marks. Biennial. Spring. Rather rare ;
but generally distributed round the British shores. — Stems 2 — 4 inches
high, in the lower part rigid, cartilaginous, and as thick as hogs' bristles,
attenuated upwards to a capillary fineness ; main branches distant, very pa-
tent or divaricated; ramuli more or less crowded, sometimes densely tufted,
straight, dichotomous, somewhat tapering to the apex, not at all contracted
at the base. Articulations distinctly visible in all the main branches,
obscure towards the root ; veins all parallel. Colour of the stems brown-
ish, of the ramuli rose-red. Ceramidia large, ovate, scattered on the ra-
muli. This closely resembles small specimens of P. elongata, but is easily
and clearly distinguished by the distinctly jointed branches, and the paral-
lel (not reticulated) veins which they contain. It probably undergoes simi-
lar changes.
86 POLYSIPHONIA.
** Frond partially inarticulate ; the articulations of the stem and branches
obsolete, or indistinct, the surface-cells being small and irregularis/ shaped.
10. P. eloiif/ata, Huds. ; stems robust, cartilaginous, in'e-
gularly branched, beset, especially towards the tips, with
slender, tufted, multifid ramuli, which are attenuated at base;
joints about as long as broad, those of the stem reticulated
with veins. Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 333 ; Wyatt. Alg.
Damn. No. 40. Conf. clongata, E. Bat. t. 2429. — /3. denu-
data ; filaments nearly opaque, distorted, beset with wart-like
excrescences and bare of ramuli. Cerainium brachygoniiim,
Lyngh. Hyd. Dan. t. 36. — y. sanguinolenta ; ramuli forming
broad, dense tufts, of a fine crimson, mostly at the tips of the
branches. Ag. Sp. Alg.n.p. 85. P. rosea, Grev.! Fl.Edin.
p. 310.
In the sea, on stones, shells, corallines, &c. Biennial. Spring. /3. and
y. are perhaps rather states of the plant than distinct varieties. — Stems 6
— 12 inches high, as thick as whip-cord, tapering to the base and apex, ir-
regularly branched ; the branches erect or spreading, producing the first
season but few ramuli. In the winter these ramuli fall ofl", leaving the
branches bare, and the tips broken : but early in spring, broad tufts of
crimson, multifid ramuli, 1 or 2 inches or more in length, issue from the
tips and upper part of the branches, and on these the fruit is borne. Cera-
midia ovate, sessile, either in clusters or scattered ; granules either imbedded
in the ramuli, or borne in minute, pod-like processes of the branches. Stems
scarcely adhering to paper ; ramuli very flaccid, and closely adhering.
11. P. GrevilUi, Harv. ; stems inarticulate, marked with
broken tubes, thick, cartilaginous, irregularly branched ;
branches subdivided, rather bare below, above densely
clothed with long, irregularly dichotomous, very slender,
pencilled, crimson ramuli ; axils acute ; articulations of the
ramuli 3 — 6 times longer than broad, two-tubed. P. Lyng-
hycei, Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 328 ; (not Hutchinsia
Lynghy^i of Agar dh).
Shores of Bute, on the larger Algae, Dr. Greville. — Frond 6 — 10 inches
high ; stem as thick as that of P. elongata, cartilaginous, inarticulate,
marked with short, flexiious veins, and wholly destitute of joints. Branches
irregular, patent, sparingly divided, their lower part almost bare, the upper
densely clothed with long, very slender, crimson ramuli, which spread in
broad pencils, are much branched, straight, irregularly dichotomous, not
in the least attenuated at base, their axils very acute ; articulations marked
with two stria;, rosy under the microscope, 2 — 4 — 6 times longer than broad ;
dissepiments pellucid.
12. V. violacea, Ag. ; brownish-red or purple ; stem in-
articulate, marked with irregularly-broken tubes, rather robust,
alternately branched ; branches quadrrfarious, several times
POLYSIPHONIA. 87
divided in an alternate manner, bushy or feathery, the ultimate
ramuli exceedingly slender, fibrilliferous ; articulations of the
ramuli few-tubed, 2 — 4 times longer than broad. Harv,
Phijc. Brit. t. ccix. ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 176. Hutch-
insia violacea, Ag. Sp. Alg. ii. p. 76.
On rocks and stones in tbe sea. Annual. Early summer. All round
the coast. — Frond 6 — 8 inches high, with a principal stem, sometimes
much more slender than a hog's bristle, set from top to bottom with long,
alternate or irregular, quadrifarious branches of unequal length, but gra-
dually diminishing upwards, which again bear a second, third or fourth
series, gradually lessening in diameter and length, so that the plant has a
singularly feathery or finely bushy character, the ultimate ramuli exceed-
ingly slender, naked at base, with a few divisions near the summit, erecto-
patent, the tips splitting into byssoid fibres. Articulations of the stem
generally indistinct, irregularly tubed ; of ramuli 2 or 3-tubed, twice or
four times as long as broad. Colour a brownish red, often assuming a
fine purple in drying. Substance tender, gelatinoso-cartilaginous, quickly
decomposing in fresh water. Capsules ovate, sessile or shortly stalked ;
tetraspores large, binate or ternate, in the ramuli. Tbe P. violacea of
' Brit Flora,' is a purple variety of P. nigrescens.
13. P. Carmichaeliana, Harv. ; filaments tufted, rigid,
branched from the base ; branches alternate, inarticulate, di-
varicating ; ramuli sub-dichotomous, very patent, their arti-
culations as long as broad. Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. |?.
328. P. divaricata, Carm. (not of Ag.)
Parasitical on Desmarestia aculeata at Appin, Capt. Carmichael. — Fila-
ments tufted, 4 inches high, rigid, thicker than hogs' bristles ; branches
scattered, issuing at right angles, ramuli sparingly divided, patent and di-
varicating. Stein and principal branches longitudinally striated, inarticu-
late, or towards the apex having an obscure appearance of joints ; articu-
lations of the ramuli 2 — 4 striate, somewhat swollen at the joints. Colour
reddish brown, changing to black in drying, in which state it adheres very
imperfectly to paper. Of this plant I have only seen the single specimen
found by Capt. Carmichael, and preserved in Sir W. J. Hooker's herbarium.
14. V.Jihrillosa, Dillw. ; pale straw colour ; stems inarti-
culate, robust, alternately branched ; branches patent, resem-
bling the stem, but somewhat jointed, sub-simple, thickly set
with very slender, finely divided, short ramuh, whose tips are
fibrilliferous ; articulations of the ramuli 2 or 3 tubed, rather
longer than broad. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 334 ; Wyatt, Alg,
Damn. No. 136.
On rocks and stones, and on Algae between tide-marks. Annual.
Summer. Common. — Frond 6 — 10 inches long. 3Iain stem sometimes
nearly half a Hne in diameter, always thicker than a bristle, attenuated up-
wards, furnished with several long, alternate or irregular, patent branches,
of nearly its own thickness, which sometimes issue horizontally, sometimes
are erecto-patent, but generally form considerable angles with the stem.
88 POLYSIPHONIA.
These branches are usually simple, in luxuriant specimens furnished with
a second series, somewhat naked at base, in the upper part clothed with
slender, finely divided, irregular ramuli, which are either short, and giving
the branches a squarrose appearance, or elongated and divided, then giving
them the feathery character of P. violncea. Articulations of the stem in-
distinct, of the branches somewhat nodose, many-slriate, and about as long
as broad, of the ramuli 2 or 3 tubed, rather longer than broad. Apices
splitting into numerous byssoid fibres. Colour a pale straw or somewhat
rosy when recent, becoming purplish in drying. Substance tender and
gelatinous, very fragile and soon decomposing. Capsules generally stalked ;
granules in distorted ramuli.
Sub-genus 2. Polystphonia. Primary tubes six or more.
* Frond partially inarticulate ; the articulations of the stem and branches
obsolete, the surface-cells being small and irregularly shaped. {Siphons
seven).
15. P. BrodifBi, Dillw. ; stems inarticulate, robust, cartila-
ginous, alternately branched ; branches virgate, clothed with
spreading, pencilled, multifid, delicate, flaccid ramuli ; arti-
culations of the ramuli 3 or 4 tubed, rather longer than
broad ; siphons of the stem about seven ; dissepiments trans-
parent. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxcv. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p.
328 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 83. Co;?/. Brodiiei, E. Bot. t.
2589. — /3. suhsimplex. Hutchinsia penicellata, Ag. Sp.
Alg. ii. p. 65.
On rocks and the larger Algae, between tide-marks. Annual. Summer.
Common on most of our shores ; first noticed by the late J/r. Brodie, of Brodie,
near Forres. — Frond 6 — 14 inches long, generally with an undivided, inar-
ticulate, robust stem, furnished with numerous alternate branches, which
are set at short distances with short, multifid, pencil-like ramuli, from half
an inch to an inch long ; the ramuli jointed, and repeatedly divided in an
alternate manner. Coloiir a dark brownish purple. Substance gelatinous,
instantly decomposing and giving out a disagreeable smell if immersed in
fresh water. ^., which we have from Capt. Carraichael, who gathered his
specimens at Statfa, differs from the usual state of the plant in being less
branched, more rigid, of a darker colour and with more dense ramuli.
** Frond articulated throughout ; primary tubes six or seven.
16. P. variegata, Ag. ; filaments brownish purple, seta-
ceous and rigid below, gradually attenuated upwards to a ca-
pillary fineness, dichotomous, the lower axils very patent ;
branches somewhat zigzag, elongated, much divided, set
with lateral, capillary and very flaccid, multifid, purple ra-
muli ; articulations near the base shorter than their breadth,
in the principal branches twice as long as broad, in the ra-
muli short, marked with three broad, parallel, oblong tubes ;
POLYSIPHONIA. 89
siphons six or rarely seven ; ceramidia ovate, on short stalks.
Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. 2, p. 81 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. civ.
On mud-covered rocks in bays and estuaries, and on Zosfera, &c. An-
nual. Summer and Autumn. Very local. Hitherto only found, in
Britain, in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, hut there abundant. — Tufts
dense, 4 — 8 — 10 inches long, rigid below, very flaccid, and bright purple
above. Filaments much branched, dichotomous, clearly articulated to the
base. A distinct and beautiful species, and widely dispersed. It is abun-
dant on the shores of France and Spain, in the Adriatic, and on the east
coast of North America, in several places.
*** Frond articulated throughout ; primary tubes from eight to twenty.
17. P. obscura, Ag. ; tufts of small size, densely matted
together; filaments creeping, throwing up erect, simple, se-
cond branches, which are either naked or furnished with
a few secund ramuli; articulations as long as broad, many
tubed; siphons 12 — 13. Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. 2, p. 108; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. c\\. A.
On rocks, &c. at half-tide level. Jersey, Miss White. Sidmouth, Rev.
R. Cresswell. — Plant spreading over the surface of rocks, in patches of six
inches to a foot in diameter, covering the roots offuci, &c. Filaments de-
cumbent, attached by rootlets which issue from the lower surface, sub-
simple, furnished, along the upper surface, with erect, recurved branches,
from a quarter to half an inch in length. Articulations visible in all parts
of the frond. Colour a dark brown-red.
18. V.simulans, Harv.; filaments slender, bushy, branched
from the base ; branches alternate, patent, repeatedly (but
irregularly) pinnate ; the penultimate branches long and
simple, set with short, distant, spine-like ramuli ; articula-
tions of the branches once and half as long as broad, of the
ramuli shorter, many tubed ; siphons about twelve ; cera-
midia globose. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxxviii. P. spinu-
losa, of Herbaria, not of Grev.
On rocks, &c., between tide-marks. Annual ? Summer. Rare. Tor-
quay, Mrs. Griffiths, 1831. Valeiitia, Kerry, JV. H. //., 1845. Orkney,
Rev. J. H. Pollexfcn. Jersey, Miss White and Miss Turner. — " Colour
reddish. Substance stiff" and brittle. Stems set with spines irregularly,
which hold the plant together, so that it is difficult to disentangle.'' Mrs.
Griffiths. The ceramidia are nearly spherical, witli a wide mouth. This
has the habit of P. spinulosa, with which it has been hitherto confounded,
but it is really much more nearly related to P. nigrescens. It is, however,
a smaller and more slender plant, more irregularly branched, and with
much fewer siphons in the stem. Some of Miss Turner's specimens are
closely pinnated, and have something the aspect of Sphacelaria cirrhosa ;
but usually the main branches are distant, and irregularly set.
19. P. nigrescens, Huds. ; filaments robust, rigid, and
generally rough with broken branches below, much branched
90 POLYSIPHONIA.
and bushy above : branches alternate, repeatedly divided in
a pinnate manner ; ramuli distant, elongated, awl-shaped, al-
ternate, the upper ones sometimes having a few processes
near the tips ; lower articulations short ; upper rather longer
than broad; siphons about twenty; capsules ovate, sessile.
Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. jy. 332 ; Harv. Phijc. Brit. t.
cclxxvii. ; Wyatt, Alg. Banm. No. 135. Conf. fucoides and
Conf. nigrescens, E. Bot. t. 1743 and 1717. P. atro-purpu-
rea, Moore.
On rocks, &c. in the sea. Common. Perennial. Summer. — Fronds
tufted, 6 — 8 inches high. Stems below rioid, subsimjile, and either naked
or rough with the remains of broken branches ; above more or less soft and
flaccid, much branched and bushy, the branches short or long, erect or
spreading, repeatedly divided in a somewhat pinnate manner, the different
series of ramuli gradually more slender ; ramuli alternate, 2 or 3 lines long,
erecto-patent, distant, the uppermost occasionally crowded, subulate, mostly
simple. Capsules ovate, with a narrow aperture ; granules ternate in the
ultimate ramuli. Colour a dull brown, becoming darker in drying. Mrs.
Griffiths finds an extraordinary plant at Larderham, Torbay, which, for
the present, I consider a variety of this species. It is distichously branch-
ed, about triply pinnate, with the pinnae and pinnulse extremely patent, al-
most horizontal. The colour, when fresh, was "a pale straw,'' but becomes
brownish when dried ; the substance "stiff, and when recent resembled that
o{ a Sertularia ; the branches compressed." Mrs. Griffiths. P. rrigrescens
varies considerably in size, and in the comparative rigidity and greater or
less division of the branchlets. I cannot distinguish P. atropurjmrea from
one of its common stales.
20. P. offinis, Moore ; filaments robust, elongated, cartila-
ginous below, flaccid above, irregularly divided ; branches
patent, naked at base, multifid and with an ovale outline
above ; ramuli very erect, simple or divided, acute ; articula-
tions multi-striate, the lower 2 or 3 times longer, the upper
as long as broad; siphons about sixteen-; ceramidia ovate,
stalked. Moore, in Ord. Surv. Londonderry, with a plate.
On rocks, c*icc. in the sea, Carnlough, near Glenarm, Dr. Drummond.
Cushendall, Mr. Moore. — Fronds 4 — 8 inches high, as thick as bristles, ei-
ther divided in an irregular or subdichotomous manner, into a few principal
branches, or alternately branched ; branches patent, naked at base, multifid
and with a fan-like outline above, the lesser branchlets all naked at base,
furnished above with a few alternate or secund ramuli, very erect, the low-
est longest, the apices somewhat fastigiate or corymbose, contracted at base,
acute. Substance of the stem cartilaginous, adhering to paper ; of the ra-
muli flaccid. Articulations of the stem 2 or 3 times longer ; of ramuli as
long as broad : those of the stem sometimes obscure. Capsules ovate or
subglobose, stalked ; granules large, in the ultimate ramuli. Described
from 3Ir. Moore's specimens.
21. P. suhulifera, Ag. ; stems flexuous, cartilaginous, flac-
cid, irregularly branched ; branches divaricating, furnished
POLYSIPHONIA. 91
with scattered, subulate, simple, patent ramuli ; articulations
as long as broad, multi-striate ; siphons about thirteen.
Harv. in Hook. Journ. Bot. p. 301 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No.
178; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxxvii. Hutchiiisia subulifera,
Ag. Sp. Alg. ii. p. 97.-8. Templetoni ; more slender, the
joints 2 or 3 times longer than broad.
In deep water; very local. Annual. Summer. TiOX({\my, Mrs. Grif-
fiths. Weymoutb, between tide-marks, Miss White. /3. Belfast Bay, Mr.
Templeton and 3Ir. W. Thompson. Carrickfergus and Roundstone Bay,
Mr. McCalla. — Filaments 4 or 5 inches long, as thick as hogs' bristles,
attenuated upwards, subdichotomous or irregularly branched ; branches di-
varicating, flexuous, long, subdivided, beset at distances of 1 or 2 lines with
very short, scattered, spine-like, patent, acute, simple, or rarely subpin-
nated ramuli, the pinnulce extremely short. Articulations ol' the branches
as long as broad, 4 — 6 striate, the strias straight and slender ; of the ramuli
shorter than broad ; dissepiments opaque. Substance tender and flaccid.
Colour purplish. /3. which I find among the late Mr. Templeton's plants
under the name of Conf. spinifera, and which I have also received from Mr.
Thompson, differs from the Devonshire specimens in being more slender,
the ramuli shorter, more patent and spine-like, with the joints 2 or 3 times
longer than broad in the main stems, but variable in this respect. Mr.
Thompson's specimens are more robust, and have shorter joints than Mr.
Templeton's, thus approaching the Devonshire plant. Nearly related to
the following, but with a more patent branching.
22. P. atro-ruhescensy Dillw. ; filaments sparingly or much
branched, somewhat rigid, dark brownish-red ; branches
long, alternate, very erect, furnished with short, sub-fascicu-
late or scattered, subulate ramuli ; articulations variable ; the
lower, 2 or 3 times, — the upper, once and a half as long
as broad, marked with several spirally curved tubes ; siphons
about thirteen ; ceramidia ovate, stalked or sessile. Harv.
in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 331; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxxii.
ConJ. atro-ruhescens, Dillw. t. 70. Conf. nigra, E. Bot. t.
2340. P. Agardhiana, Grev. Crypt, t. 210, and Harv. I. c. ;
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 134. Also P. hadia and P. denu-
data, Grev. and Harv. I. c.
On rocks in the sea ; not uncommon. Perennial. Summer and autumn.
—Stems densely tufted, or covering the rocks in wide patches, 2—6 inches
high, thicker than horsehair, sub-simple, more or less furnished with long,
alternate, erect, simple branches, which sometimes bear a second series, and
are in greater or less abundance clothed with short, subulate, or spindle-
shaped, erect ramuli. The joints vary considerably in length, but seldom
exceed thrice their diameter. The tubes are very frequently, but not con-
stantly, spirally curved. Colotir deep red or brownish, becoming l)lackish
in drying. Substance rigid, not adhering or but slightly to paper. Capsules
with a very wide aperture, subglobose. With consent of Dr. Greville and
Mrs. Griffiths, I gladly unite P. Agardhiana, hadia and denudata, with the
present species.
92 rOLYSII'HONIA.
23. P. furcellata, Ag. ; filaments elongated, tufted, en-
tangled, flexuous, repeatedly and closely dichotomous ; axils
broad, rounded ; raniuli erect, their points hooked in ; middle
articulations 3 — 5 times longer than broad ; tubes about
eight. Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 332 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. vii. Hutchinsia furcellata, Ag. Sp. Alg. ii. p. 91.
Floating in the sea, at vSidmoutb ; Mrs. Griffiths and Miss Cutler.
Dredged in Torbay, Mrs. Griffiths. Carrickferous, Mr. M'Calla. Round-
stone, W. H. H. — Filaments slender, 5 or 6 inches long, much entangled,
and excessively branched, flexuous, the divisions dichotomous, very close
towards the extremities. Articulations with several slender striae, which
sometimes cross each other, variable in length ; those of the larger branches
3 — 5 times, of the ramuli about twice as long as broad. Colour, when re-
cent, "a bright brick-red" {Mrs. Griffiths), changing in the herbarium to a
deep umber-brown. Substance, according to the same lady, "at first firm,
but becoming flaccid immediately." Cajjsules unknown. A most distinct
and beautiful species.
24. P. fastigiata, Roth. ; filaments rigid, setaceous, of
equal diameter throughout, forming globular tufts, many
times dichotomous ; axils patent ; articulations shorter than
their diameter, multi- striate ; siphons sixteen to eighteen.
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 333; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. 177.
Conf. polymorpha, E. Bot. t. 1764.
Parasitical on Fucus nodosus and vesiculosus, especially the former ; very
common. — Filaments 2 — 4 inches long, rigid, forming globose, dense, bushy
tufts of a brown or yellowish colour. The above characters abundantly
distinguish this from every other species.
25. P. parasitica, Huds. ; slender, rigid, full-red, alter-
nately branched, distichous ; branches bi-tripinnate ; pinnae
alternate, erect, awl-shaped ; articulations about as long as
broad, three-tubed ; siphons eight ; ceraraidia ovate, on
short stalks. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 330 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
cxlvii. ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 175. Conf. parasitica, E.
Bot. t. 1429.
On the larger Alga, and (more frequently) on nullipores at the extreme
limit of low- water, not uncommon on many of our coasts, but nowhere very
abundant. — Stems half an inch to an inch and a half high, somewhat com-
pressed, rigid, simple, dislichously branched; branches alternate, short
below, longer above, from two lines to three-fourths of an inch long, pin-
nated or bipinnated with awl-shaped, simple, acute, erecto-patent ramuli.
Articulations of the branches about as long as broad, of the ramuli much
shorter, marked with 3 or 4 broad tubes, with wide, transparent intervals.
Substance cartilaginous, imperfectly adhering to paper. Colour rose-red,
becoming brownish when dried.
26. P. byssoidcs, Good, and Woodvv. ; stems rigid, seta-
ceous, cartilaginous, alternately or distichously branched ;
UASYA. 93
decomposito-pinnate, patent; more or less densely clothed
with minute, slender, dichotomous, single-tubed, byssoid ra-
muli ; joints of the stem variable in length, 3 or 4 striate ;
the striae parallel. Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 334 ; Wyait,
Alg. Danm. No. 85; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxxxiv. Co?)/,
hyssoides, E. Bot. t. 547.
Ou rocks, &c., in the sea. Annual. Summer. Abundant on the east-
ern and southern shores of England and Ireland ; rare in Scotland and
the west of Ireland. Frith of Forth, Dr. Richardson. Ayrshire, Mr. W.
Thompson. Bantry, Miss Hutchins. Malbay. — Frond 4 — 12 inches long;
A.o>ca/ji.og, interiwined hair ; alluding to
the finely branched fronds.
1. P. coccineum, Huds. ; frond narrow, cartilaginous, pia-
no-compressed ; branches irregularly alternate, patent ; ra-
rauli subitlate, secund, three or four consecutively, pectinate
on their inner edges ; tubercles lateral, sessile ; stichidia
scattered, simple or branched. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 98, t. 12 ;
120 RHODYMENIACEiE.
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 293 ; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 20 ; Harv.
Phijc. Brit. t. xHv. Fucus coccineus, E. Bot. t. 1342.
On rocks and Algae, common evei^ where. Perennial. Summer and au-
tumn.— Root librous. Fronds tufted, 2 — 12 inches long-, excessively branch-
ed and bushy, compressed, two-edged, very narrow, main stems half a line in
diameter, irregularly divided, thickly set with patent alternate branches,
which are throughout furnished with short distichous ramuli, which are either
simple and subulate, or bearing a second and third series of similar subu-
late ramuli from their inner face, the compound ramuli resembling small
combs. Tubercles solitary, sessile on the edge of the upper branches ;
tetraspores oblong, transversely divided into several joints, contained in
little branching receptacles borne by the ramuli.
Order XL RHODYMENIACEiE.
SphaerococcoideaB, J. Ag. Alg. Meclit. p. 148. Endl. 3rd
Suppl. p. 55, Sphserococceae, Liiidl. Veg. Kingd. p. 25.
Part of Gasterocarpeae, Sphaerococcoidese, and Chondrieae,
Bne. Class, p. 64—65.
Diagnosis. — Purplish or blood-red sea-weeds, with an ex-
panded or filiform, inarticulate frond, composed of polygonal
cells ; occasionally traversed by a fibrous axis. Superficial
cells minute, irregularly packed, or rarely disposed in fila-
mentous series. Fructijication double : 1, Conceptacles
{coccidia) external or half immersed, globose or hemispheri-
cal, imperforate, containing beneath a thick pericarp a mass
of spores affixed to a central placenta : 2, Tetraspo-res either
dispersed through the whole frond, or collected in indefinite,
cloudy patches.
Natural Character. — Root disk-like or branched^ some-
times much matted. Frond very variable in habit and
colour, either leafy or filiform and much branched, never ar-
ticulate ; in some an intense scarlet, in some crimson, in
others brown-red or purple, usually growing somewhat darker
in drying. The leaf-like expansions of the frond are very
rarely symmetrical ; and never (except in Stenogramme,
which is scarcely a real exception) furnished with well-
defined midribs, but in several the central portion is some-
what thickened and traversed by a bundle of closely packed
filaments which constitute an internal rib. Such a rib occurs
in several of the filiform species, where it is only discoverable
on dissection. The frond is commonly dichotomously or
RHODYMENIACE.E. 121
palmately cleft; it is rarely pinnatifid, and when so cleft the
lacinisB are alternate. The lower part of the frond is fre-
quently narrow and cylindrical, or contracted into a stipe,
and the outline in such species, is often a segment of
a circle, all the tips being of equal length. The substance is
seldom delicately membranous : it is more commonly rather
thick, composed of several strata of cells. The internal cel-
lular structure is rather lax, the cells being of large size, fre-
quently empty, though sometimes filled with granular matter,
polygonal, about as long as broad, and either lying close to-
gether or separated by wide air-cells or passages. Towards
the circumference the substance becomes gradually more
dense ; the cells smaller and more filled with colouring mat-
ter; and the cells of the outermost layers are always of very
minute size. In some genera (as Gracilaria) the outer
strata of cells which form the periphery, are arranged in
lines, or filaments, perpendicular to the surface ; and these
genera indicate a passage into CryptonemiacecB, a group
which touches the present order (as at present constituted)
at many points. In the leafy species the coccidin are either
confined to the margin or scattered over the surface. They
are always prominent, very convex, and contain a mass of
spores, various in character and in degree of perfection.
Sometimes the spores are exceedingly minute and numerous,
the whole substance of the nucleus breaking up into a pow-
der ; sometimes (as in Rhod. ciliata) they are formed from
the terminal cells of radiating filaments. In the filiform spe-
cies the coccidia are either lateral, or they are, more rarely,
lodged in the centre of the branches, forming nodose swell-
ings at intervals. The tetraspores are never collected into
well-defined sori, and are most usually dispersed over the
smaller branches of the frond. When sori exist they are
spreading and cloud-like, without exact limit. In several
species the tetraspores are transversely parted or zoned ; a
character which may, perhaps, be advantageously employed
in defining genera, but which is not taken up in the present
work. Zoned tetraspores exist in Rhod. ciliata, R. jnhata,
and R. bifida ; in Hypnea ; and in several others.
The Rhodynieniace^e are widely dispersed; all our genera
having representatives in very distant countries with very
various climates. Rhodymenia is an ill-defined genus, as it
stands at present, and will probably be eventually broken up
into several. Its species are most numerous in temperate la-
titudes, between the parallels 40° and 50" at either side the
122 REIODYMENIACEiE.
line : and many, especially of the section Calophijllif; (typi-
fied by R. laciniata) are among the most splendidly coloured
of crimson and carmine Algae. Others, as R. Homhroniana,
are clothed in royal purple ; while others, like the sober
dulse of our coasts {R. palmata) have often nearly as much
of brown as of purple in their attire. The " dulse," whose
"crimson leaves" an American poet compares to
" a banner bathed in slaughter,''
is probably R. laciniata, a species by no means dulse (dulcis).
Stenogramme, though with but two species, inhabits two
great oceans; one of its species being a native of the shores
of California, the other of Portugal and the South of
England. Spharococcus is equally scattered, if S. crinifus,
a Kamtschatkan plant, is a congener with our S. coronopi-
folius. The Gracilarioi extend from high latitudes to the
\ropics, and our G. confer voides and G. multipartita are
among the commonest tropical Algse. Hypnea, typified by
H. musciformis, is chiefly tropical, and is a very common
form throughout the tropical oceans.
I have altered the name of this order, not merely for
the sake of euphony, but because SphcerococcHS does not
correctly typify the 'structure of the great bulk of the plants
composing the order. I have some doubts whether Spha-
roccus should not be transferred to Cryptonemiacece, and
placed near Gelidiiw), an affinity already suggested by
M. Montague. Both orders require a thorough revision,
which would probably lead to the transfer of some genera
from one to the other, and perhaps the establishment of one
or more new orders.
Many of the RhodymeniacecB are valuable in an economic
sense. On our own shores R. palmata, the Dulse of the
Scotch and Dillisk of the Irish, is largely collected on many
parts of the coast ; and in the west of Ireland it forms an im-
portant item in the household condiments. It is frequently
the only relish eaten with the potato, serving for salt and
butter. It is even brought to market in the inland towns,
forming a common article on the huckster's stall ; and I re-
member to have heard it cried about the streets of Limerick,
with the recommendation — bawled out in sonorous brogue,
—'"Twill kill the worms and cure the ladies ! " Many of the
Gracilaricc are largely used in the East as ingredients
in soups and jellies, and also as substitutes for glue. One of
STENOGRAMME. 123
them {O. spinosa) is the Agar- A gar of the Chinese, and is
largely collected both for culinary purposes and as a compo-
nent part of some of the strongest Chinese glues. It has re-
cently been imported into England, and is occasionally
used instead of carrigeen, in making jellies and blancmanges.
Any other species which would boil down into jelly may
be used, as all are tasteless or nearly so, after having been
cooked.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
* Frond flat., expanded, leaf-like, dichotomous or palmate.
I. Stenogramme. Conceptacles linear, rib-like. [Plate
15, D.]
II. Rhodymenia. Conceptacles hemispherical, scattered.
[Plate 16, A.]
** Frond coinpressed or terete, linear or filiform, much branched.
III. Sph^rococcus, i^;•o/^(i? linear, compressed, two-edged,
distichously branched, with an obscure midrib.
[Plate 16, B.]
IV. Gracilaria. Frond filiform, compressed or flat, irre-
gularly branched ; the central cells very large. [Plate
16, C."]
V. Hypnea. Frond filiform, irregularly branched, tra-
versed by a fibro-cellular axis. [Plate 16, D.]
I. Stenogramme. Harv. [Plate 15, D.]
Frond rose-red, leaf-like, nerveless, laciniate, cellular ; the
central cells large, transparent, in several rows, those next
the surface minute, coloured, closely packed. Fructification:
1, linear, convex, longitudinal, (nerve-like) conceptacles^
containing a dense mass of minute spores ; 2, tetraspores
(unknown). — Name, from (t-tevoj, narrow and ypafjifxy), a line;
alluding to the linear fructification.
124 STENOGRAMME. — RHODYMENIA.
1. S. ititerrupta, Ag. ; frond stipitate, membranaceous,
flabelliform, more or less deeply laciniate ; laciniae repeatedly
dichotomous, their apices obtuse ; conceptacles forming a
nerve-like line through the centre of each lacinia, and usually
abruptly terminating opposite the fork, Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. clvii. Delesseria interrupla, Ag. Spec. Alg. vol. 1, p.
179.
Washed up from deep water. Annual. November. Very rare. Bovi-
sand, and near Plymouth, Dr. Jahn Cocks (1846). Mount Edgecombe,
Rev. W. S. Hore. Minebead, Somerset, Miss Gifford. — Root discoid.
Frond with a short stem, which soon becomes compressed, and rapidly ex-
pands into a fan-shaped membrane, 3 — 5 inches long, and about as wide.
This membranous lamina is either cleft to its base into numerous, linear,
dichotomous laciniae ; or the lower half of the lamina is undivided, the up-
per variously cloven. The margin is usually flat and very entire, but now
and then sends out minute leafy lobules ; and when the segments are
injured at the apex they frequently sprout out into proliferous growth.
Barren fronds are quite nerveless ; fertile ones have the centre of each la-
cinia traversed by a slender, raised, nerve-like line, which commences just
below one of the forkiugs and terminates nearly opposite to another fork :
this is the commencement of fructification. It rarely happens that the
whole line proves fertile; but portions varying from 1 to 4 lines in length
become much thickened, raised, and of a dark red colour, and at maturity
are filled with innumerable minute spores. Substance cartilagineo-mem-
branaceous. Colour a fine, clear, pinky-red, very similar to that of Rhod.
Palmetta, which this plant resembles in several of its external characters.
For a fuller account see Phyc. Brit. I. c.
II. Rhodymenia. Grev. [Plate 16, A.]
Frond flat, membranaceous, or subcoriaceous, ribless, vein-
less, cellular ; central cells of small size, those of the surface
minute. Fruclijicalion : 1, convex tubercles [coccidia) hav-
ing a thick, cellular pericarp, and containing a mass of mi-
nute spores : 2, tetraspores, either zoned or tripartite, im-
bedded among the cells of the surface, scattered, or forming
cloudy patches. — Name, pod'sog, red, and w/aw, a membrane.
1. H. bijida, Good, and Woodw. ; frond thin and trans-
parent, rose-red, dichotomously divided from the base ; seg-
ments linear; the apices obtuse; tubercles generally con-
fined to the margin, sessile. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 85 ; Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 289 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. QQ ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. xxxii. F. bijidus, E. Bot. t. 773. — @. ciliata; frond
somewhat thicker than usual, opaque, brownish-red, narrow,
much divided ; the margins fringed with leafy cilia.
RHODYMENIA. 125
On rocks and Algae, in the sea. Annual. Summer. Frequent on the
shores of England and Ireland ; rare in Scotland. — Fronds thin and deli-
cate, 1 or 2 inches high, tufted, irregularly dichotomous, the axils rounded;
the segments linear or somewhat wedge-form, 1 — .3 lines wide; the apices
rounded or truncate. The margin is either entire, or fringed with minute
processes which sometimes become branches. Tubercles globose, either
marginal, or rarely scattered over the surface of the terminal lobes. Te-
traspores transversely zoned, forming cloudy spots on the upper segments,
both marginal and scattered. Colour a fine rose-red ; substance transpa-
rent and delicate, nearly as thin as in Nitophyllum ; but the cellules are
smaller and denser, aud the fructification very different.
2. R. laciniaia, Huds. ; frond tbickish or sub-cartilagi-
nous, opaque, brigbt red, more or less palmate or flabelli-
forin, cleft into numerous, broad, wedge-shaped segments,
which are again divided in a sub-dichotoraous manner ;
the apices obtuse ; the margin, when in fructification, fringed
with minute cilia, in which the tubercles are imbedded.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 86 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 289 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 17; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxi. F. lacinia-
tiis, E. Bot. t. 1068.
On rocks and stones, in deep water. Biennial ? In fruit from January to
July. — Fronds rising from a disk, several from the same base, 3 — 10 inches
long, with a short, flat stem, which soon expands into a deeply cleft frond,
divided in a dichotomous manner, the segments all becoming broader up-
wards, varying in width from half an inch to 3 or 4 inches ; the apices ob-
tuse, but frequently lacerated. When bearing ttihercles the margin is
closely fringed with minute ciliary processes, in which the tubercles are
placed. Teiraspore.1, tripartite or cruciate, forming cloudy spots along the
margin, which is then smooth and entire. Substance soft, between carti-
laginous and membranaceous, adhering to paper. Colour a fine blood red,
glossy when dry.
3. R. Palmetta, Esper. ; stem cylindrical, sub-simple, ex-
panding into a fan-shaped, rose-red frond, which is more or
less cleft in a dichotomous manner ; the segments wedge-
shaped ; axils rounded ; apices (according to the state of
fructification), either erose or rounded ; tubercles mostly ter-
minal ; spots of tetraspores in the expanded tips. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 88, i. 12 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 290 ; JVj/att, Alg.
Banm. No. 109; Harv. Phyc. Brit. /. cxxxiv. F. Pal-
metta, E. Bot.t. 1120.
On rocks, or the stems of Laminaria digitata. Annual. Summer and
autumn. — Stem cylindrical, filiform, becoming compressed upwards, half
an inch to 2 inches long, simple, or with one or two branches, expanding
into a fan-shaped frond, 1 or 2 inches across, deeply divided in a di-
chotomous manner. In specimens communicated by Miss Cutler^ there is
scarcely any stem, and the frond is simply forked, its segments linear and
not a line in breadth ; and in others from the same lady, once-forked,
1'2G RHODYMENIA.
wedge-shaped fronds rise irregularly from a mass of entangled creeping
stems. Tubercles sessile, ou tbe disk or margin, generallj- near the tips of the
frond. Tetraspores ternate, forming oval cloudy spots in the expanded tips
of the segments. Colour a fine pinky-red. Substance of the stem cartila-
ginous, of the frond membranaceous, somewhat rigid, imperfectly adher-
ing to paper.
4. R. cristata, L. ; frond semicircular, membranaceous,
sub-dichotomous, the segments somewhat dilated upwards,
repeatedly subdivided, the divisions alternate, decurrent, la-
ciniate at the ends ; tubercles spherical, imbedded in the
margin of the frond." Grev. — Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 89 ; Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 290. Sphterococcus cristatus, Grev. Crypt, t.
85.
Parasitical on the stems of Laminaria digitata; very rare. Annual.
July. Seashore at Wick, Caithness, Messrs. fiorrer and Hooker; Frith
of Forth, Dr. Greville ; Berwick, Dr. Johnston ; Shetland, Prof. Forbes ;
Orkney, Dr. M^Bain. — " Fronds about an inch long, divided near the base
into several main branches, flat and even, entire at the margin, linear or
dilated upwards, about a line in width, the branches again dividing once
or twice subdichotomously, and then bearing numerous other smaller seg-
ments in an alternately pinnatifid manner, decurrent and cleft or laciniated
at the apices; every division has a tendency to dilate upwards, so that the
circumference of the frond is extended and crowded. Fructijication : ses-
sile, spherical, dark red tubercles, half the size of poppy-seed, usually
occurring towards the extremity of the branches. Substance membrana-
ceous, or very slightly cartilaginous, adhering closely to paper in drying.
Colour a rose red, nearly similar lo that of Delessena alata." — Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 90. Quite a northern species, and very rare on our coasts.
5. R. ciliata, L. ; frond thick, sub-cartilaginous, full pur-
plish-red, rising from a short stalk, lanceolate, irregularly
pinnated with lanceolate or cleft segments, attenuated at
base; margin (and often the disk) furnished with simple,
subulate cilia, which bear the tubercles at their extremity ;
tetraspores zoned, forming cloud-like patches over the disk ;
root fibrous, creeping. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 90 ; Hook. Br.
Fl. ii. /?. 291; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 67; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. cxxvii. F. ciliatus, E. Bot. t. 1069.
On rocks and stones near low-water mark, and at a greater depth. An-
nual. Producing fruit in winter. — Root creeping, fibrous. Frond at first
a simple, oblong or lanceolate leaf, 2 — 4 inches long, serrate or jagged at
the margins, afterwards, from the elongation of the cilia into branches,
deeply pinnatifid or lobed, the lobes simple or forked, ciliate or foliiferous
at the margins and over the surface, narrowed at base, acute at the apex,
very variable in breadth. Substance thick and cartilaginous, somewhat
rigid. Colour a full red, generally becoming darker in drying. Tubercles
spherical, on the cilia ; tetraspores transversely zoned, forming cloudy
spots on various parts of the surface.
RHODYMENIA. 127
6. R. jubata, Good, and Woodw. ; frond thickish, flaccid,
sub-cartilaginous, dull red, linear-lanceolate, much attenu-
ated or cirrhous at the apex, vaguely pinnated with segments
of the same form ; the margin (and often the disk) beset with
subulate or filiform cilia, in which both tubercles and tetra-
spores are produced on distinct plants ; root fibrous, creep-
ing. Grev. Alg. Brit. 2?. 91 ; Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 291 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Daunt. No. 18; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxxv. Sph.ju-
hatus, Grev. Crypt, t. 359.
On rock}' or gravelly shores in tide-pools. Annual. Producing fruit in
summer. Frequent. — Root a mass of creejiing fibres, from which spring-
several fronds. Fronds rising with a short cylindrical stem, linear-lance-
olate, attenuate, vaguely pinnated, all the branches attenuated at base,
and drawn out at the apex into long, filiform points, the margin and disk
more or less densely clothed with linear, filiform cilia, which, in some va-
rieties, are very much elongated and again branched, when the frond is
resolved into a dense entangled mass of cylindrical fibres. Substance car-
tilaginous, soft and flaccid. Colour a dull pinky red. Tubercles hemi-
spherical, placed on the cilia ; telraspores transversely zoned, confined to
the cilia, minute. A very variable plant closely allied to the preceding,
from which it differs in the softer and more flaccid substance, different co-
lour, and especially in the granular fructification, and in producing its
fruit at a different season.
7. R. palmata, L. ; frond coriaceous or sub-membrana-
ceous, purple, broadly wedge-shaped, much and irregularly
cleft, segments sub-dichotomously divided ; margin entire,
(often winged with proliferous leaflets); tetraspores distri-
buted over the whole frond in cloud-like spots. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 93 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 291 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn.
No. 110; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxvii. — ccxviii. F. palma-
tus, E. Bot. t. 1306. — /3. Sarniensis ; frond thinner, laciniated,
the segments very narrow. Grev. — F. Sarniensis, Mert.
Turn. Hist. t. 44. — y. Soholifera ; frond stipitate, membra-
naceous, the branches very narrow below, much divided,
expanding upwards into wedge-shaped, jagged and laciniate
lobes. Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. ccxviii. Jig. 2. R. soholifera,
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 95 ; Harv. Man. ed. 1, p. 63 ; E. Bot. t.
2133.
In the sea, on rocks and the stems of Laminarice, very common. — Fronds
2 — 20 inches long, tufted, of a broad wedge-shape, but very irregular in
division, sometimes palmate, sometimes more or less dichotomous, and
sometimes cleft into numerous jagged branches. Substance, when young,
membranaceous, afterwards leathery. Colour a dull purplish or brownish
red. This is the Dulse of the Scotch, Dillisk of the Irish, and is much
eaten in both countries, as well as in most of the northern slates of Europe,
by the poor along the shores, and is transmitted as an article of humble
luxury over most parts of the country. It is generally eaten raw, either
128 SPH.EROCOCCUS. — GRACILARIA.
fresh from the sea or after having been dried, but is sometimes cooked.
That is preferred which <;rows on rocks near low-water mark, being shorter,
sweeter, and less leathery than the larger varieties ; this is frequently co-
vered with young mussel-shells, whence it is called by the hawkers " Shell-
dillisk." Cattle, especially sheep, are fond of it ; whence it has been called
Fucus ovinus by Bishop Gunner.
III. SPH.EROCOCCUS. Stack, [Plate 16, B.]
Frond cartilaginous, compressed, two-edged, linear, disti-
chously branched, with an internal rib, cellular; central cells
fibrous ; medial polygonal ; those of the periphery minute,
disposed in horizontal filaments. Fructification, spherical
tubercles fcoccidia) having a thick fibro-cellular pericarp,
and containing a mass of minute spores on a central placenta.
— Name, a-ipaipa, a sphere, or glohe, and jcokho;, fruit.
1. S, coronopifolius, Good, and Woodw. ; frond cartilagi-
nous, much branched in a distichous and alternate manner,
compressed and two-edged below, nearly flat above; the
branches acute; capsules spherical, mucronate, on little stalks,
fringing the smaller branches. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 138, t.
15 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 304; Wijatt, Alg. Danm. No. 122 ;
Harv. Phyc. Brit. i. Ixi. Fucus coronopifolius, E. Bat. t.
1478.
On rocky shores, near low- water mark, and beyond the tidal limit. Bi-
ennial. Summer and autumn. Not uncommon on the southern shores of
England, and the western and southern shores of Ireland. Belfast, Mr.
Templeton. Very rare in Scotland. Bute, Dr. Greville. — Fronds 6 — 12
inches long or more, very much branched, distichous; the main stems
compressed, two-edged, thickened in the centre, two lines broad, becoming
narrower and flatter upwards, irregularly divided in a manner between
dichotomous and alternate, the upper branches once or twice forked, the
segments set with close, alternate branches, which often bear a second
series, or branched in a regularly alternate manner ; the branches all
spreading, giving the plant a fan-like outline ; the margin of the upper
branches generally fringed with minute, ciliary processes, about half aline
in length, in some of which capsules are imbedded. Tubercles spherical,
imbedded in the cilia below the tip, which is slightly produced beyond
them and bent, forming " an oblique mucro" to the capsules, the whole
not unlike the head of a bird. Colour a fine scarlet-red, darker in the
main stem. Substance cartilaginous, becoming horny in a dry state, and
imperfectly adhering to paper under pressure.
IV. Gracilaria. Grev. [Plate 16, C]
Frond filiform, or rarely flat, carnoso-cartilaginous, conti-
nuous, cellular ; the central cells large, empty, or full of
GRACILARIA. 129
granular matter ; those of the surface minute, forming dense-
ly-packed horizontal filaments. Fructification : 1, convex
tubercles {coccidia), having a thick pericarp composed of
radiating filaments, containing a mass of minute spores on a
central placenta ; 2, tetraspores imbedded in the cells of the
surface. — Name, from gracilis, slender.
1- multipartita, Clem. ; frond cartilagineo-membranace-
ous, tender, semi-transparent, brittle, dull purplish-red,
deeply cleft in an irregularly dichotomous or palmate man-
ner ; the branches linear-wedge-shaped ; the apices acute ;
tubercles conical, prominent, scattered over the surface.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xv. Rhodymenia polycarpa, Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 87 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 289 ; tVyatt, Aly. Damn.
No. 108 ; Sphierococcus polycarpus, Grev. Crypt, t. 352.
On rocks and stones in the sea; very rare. Perennial? August and
September. Shore under Tait's Hill, Plymoutii, 3Iiss Hill, abundantly,
Rev. W. S. Hore, Dr. Cocks, kc. Whitsand Bay, Dr. Jacob. Salcombe
Bay, Mrs. Wyatt. — Root a thin spreading disk. Frond 4 — 12 inches high,
cleft nearly to the base in an irregularly dichotomous manner ; sometimes
vaguely or palmately divided ; sometimes having the principal divisions
cleft into numerous secund, jagged segments ; the branches lineari-wedge-
shaped ; apices acute. Capsules large, spherical, prominent, abundantly
scattered over the frond. Granules very minute, imbedded in the frond
over its entire surface. Substance, according to Mrs. Griffiths, " when
fresh, thick, cartilaginous and tender, semi-transparent and very brittle,
and most nearly resembling that of Lau. pinnatijida ;'' when dry, it be-
comes tough and shrinks considerably. Colour a dull purple, becoming
redder in fresh water, pinky towards the tips.
2. G. compressa, Ag. ; frond succulent, brittle, somewhat
compressed, alternately or stib-dichotomously branched ;
branches long and mostly simple, tapering to a fine point ;
tubercles ovato-globose, sessile, scattered over the branches.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 125; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 299; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 25 ; Harv. Fhyc. Brit. t. ccv. Splicer,
lichenoides, Grev. Crypt, t. 341, (not of Ag.)
Thrown up from deep water ; very rare. Annual. August. Sidmouth,
Mrs. Griffiths and Miss Cutler. — Fronds several from the same disk-like
base, 6 — 12 inches long, from half a line to a line and a half in diameter,
cylindrical, or somewhat compressed, either rising with a simple stem,
and set with long alternate branches, all of which are much attenuated at
base and apex; or divided near the base in a more or less dichotomous
manner, the chief divisions alternately branched, and either naked, or fur-
nished with a series of long, subulate, alternate or secund ramuli ; thus
the frond is partly dichotomous, partly pinnate. Tubercles sessile, large
and prominent, scattered plentifully over the branches. Tetraspores mi-
nute, imbedded in the branches of distinct plants, tripartite or cruciate.
K
130 HYPNEA.
Substance very tender and fragile, succulent, cartilagineo-gelatinous.
Colour a transparent, dull red, becoming brighter in fresh water.
3. G. co7\fervoides, L. ; frond cartilaginous, cylindrical,
filiform, irregularly (often very slightly) branched ; branches
long, sub-simple; ramuli scattered, attenuated at each end;
tubercles external, roundish, scattered. Grev. Alg. Brit. p.
123; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 299; Wyatt, AUj. Danm. No.
75 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixv. Fucus confer voides, E. Bot.
t. 1668. — &. procerrima ; branches very long, generally sim-
ple and almost naked, Turn.—y. alhida; frond compressed,
mostly dichotomous, ranutli subulate. Turn. — ^. geniculata ;
frond distorted and bent as if broken at the tubercles.
Sea-shores, not unfrequent. Perennial. Fruiting in summer and au-
tumn.—i^>-o?if/s 3—20 inches long, cylindrical, as thick as small twine,
irregularly branched, generally forked or branched at base, the branches
eitlier long and simple or dichotomously divided, either naked, or more or
less furnished with short ramuli ; all tapering upwards. Colour a pale or
deep red, becoming paler in decay. Substance rigid-cartilaginous, not ad-
hering to paper. Tubercles large, sessile, abundantly scattered over the
branches ; tctraspores minute, imbedded in the branches of distinct plants.
4. G. erecta, Grev. ; frond cylindrical, erect, sparingly di-
chotomous ; branches sub- simple ; tubercles globose, clus-
tered round the apices; tetraspores in terminal, pod-like
ramuli. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 124, /. 14 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p.
300; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 115. Spluerococcus erect us
Grev. Crypt, t. 357.
In the sea, on sand-covered rocks ; very rare. Perennial. Fruiting in
winter. Torquay and Sidmouth, Mrs. Griffiths. Belfast Bay. Mr. W.
Thompson. Port Ballantrae, North of Ireland, Mr. D. Moore. Round-
stone, Mr. M'Calla. Orkney, Rev. J. H. Pollcvfen, 8cc. — Fronds nume-
rous, rising from an expanded disk, erect, 1 or 2 inches high, simple or
once or twice forked, the branches erect, destitute of ramuli. Colour pale
or full red. Substance cartilaginous and rigid, not adhering to paper.
Tubercles spherical, clustered about the tips of the branches ; tetraspores
oblong, zoned, imbedded in lanceolate, pod-like, terminal receptacles.
V. Hypnea, Lamour. [Plate 16, D.]
Frond fihform, cartilaginous, continuous, much branched,
cellular, with a dense, fibrocellular axis surrounded by seve-
ral rows of polygonal cells, the innermost of which are
largest, the outer gradually smaller to the circumference.
Frtictiji cation : 1, spherical tubercles {coccidia) sessile or im-
mersed in the ramidi, containing a mass of small spores ; 2,
transversely parted tetraspores imbedded in the surface-cells.
CRYPTONEMIACE.E. 131
— Name, an alteration of Hypniim, the narae of a well-
known genus of mosses, in allusion to the mossy habit
of some of the original species. The type of the genus is
Fiicus musciformis of Wulfen.
1. H. imrpurascens^ Huds. ; frond cylindrical, filiform,
bushy, excessively and irregularly branched ; ramuli seta-
ceous, acute, scattered, containing immersed spherical tuber-
cles. Harv. Pfiyc. Brit. t. cxvi. Gracilaria purpuraacens,
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 122 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 299; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 74, Fucus purpurascens, E. Bat. t. 1243.
Cystocloniurn purpurascens, Ki'itz.
On rocks, stones and Algae between tide-marks ; very common. Annual.
Summer. — Root fibrous ; frond 6 inches to 2 feet high, about a line in dia-
meter ; stem generally undivided, naked below, but after the height of I
or 2 inches, thickly clothed with alternate, patent branches, which are
either simple or forked, and in turn bear a third or fourth set, the branches
and ramuli exceedingly variable in length ; the whole plant with a bushy
character. Tubercles immersed in the ramuli ; tetraspores imbedded in
the lesser branches of distinct plants. Colour a pale purplish pink, be-
coming blackish in drying. Substance cartilaginous, imperfectly adhering
to paper.
Order XIT. CRYPTONEMIACE.E.
Cryptonemieae, J. Ag. Alg. Medit. p.9,\. Endl. M Snppl.
p. 36. Bne. Class, p. 63. Also Fnrcellariete, and part of
Chondriese, Sphaerococcoidege and Gasterocarpeaj, Id. pp.
64—65.
Diagnosis. — Purplish or rose-red sea-weeds, with a filiform
or (rarely) expanded, gelatinous or cartilaginous frond, com-
posed, wholly or in part, of cylindrical cells connected toge-
ther into filaments. A.vis formed of vertical, periphery of
horizontally radiating filaments. Fructiji cation, 1, Concep-
tacles [favellidia,) globose masses of spores immersed in the
frond or in swellings of the branches. 2, tetraspores vari-
ously dispersed.
Natural Character. — Root seldom much developed,
most frequently discoid ; in some cases (as in Furcellaria)
composed of many clasping and creeping fibres. Frond
differing much in external appearance, and in colour and
K 2
132 CRYPTONEMIACE^.
substance, but always composed in great measure, or often
altogether, of filiform strings of cells, or articulated jila-
ments. The cells or articulations of these filaments are
either long and cylindrical, or more and more ellipsoidal or
spherical, in which latter case the filaments become monili-
form. In the genera of simplest structure {Crouania, Du-
dresnaia) the substance of the frond is loosely gelatinous
and the threads are separated from each other by interposed
colourless gelatine or mucus. The frond in such cases is
highly elastic. It a])pears to the naked eye to be inarticulate,
but when placed under the microscope is resolved into bun-
dles of coloured filaments, radiating from a transparent bed.
In the next advance of structure (as in Catenella and Haly-
menia) the filaments composing the outer coat of the frond
are closely compacted and formed into a sort of membrane,
while those belonging to the axis form a lax net-work, sur-
rounded by mucus. In still more perfect genera {Gigartina,
Gelidium, &c.) the substance becomes more and more firm ;
the cells of the axis are closely entwined, and anastomosing,
and those of the periphery very minute, and cohere strongly
by their sides. Thus at last we have structures formed as
close and hard as those built up of polygonal cells. But the
loose and fibi'ous structure characteristic of Cryptonemiacese
becomes apparent in such plants as the Gigartitue when the
frond is allowed to soak for some time in fresh water, or when
plunged for an instant into boiling water. A piece of Gigar-
tina acicularis thus treated will be changed into a body
having the appearance, under the microscope, of a Dudres-
naia or Nemaleon. The liahit of the loosely gelatinous gene-
ra is generally filiform, and branching. That of more perfect
genera often shows a disposition to form leafy membranes,
and in the most perfect the leafy branches have imperfect
midribs, as is the case in Suhria and some species of Gelidi-
um, and Plnjllophora. Ginannia is remarkable for having
a cylindrical frond, with a dense rib-like axis, surrounded by
a space of much laxer structure intervening between the
axis and true periphery: — the axis is much more strongly
developed in some specimens than in others, and often looks
especially in dried specimens of broad fronds, like a true
midrib. The leaf-like fronds in this order are rarely deli-
cately membranaceous. They are more frequently thick and
fleshy, as in our Iridaa, and in many exotic species of Gi-
gartina with the external habit of Iridmi. — There is nearly
as nuich variety in the appearance and disposition of the
CRYPTONEMIACE.E. 133
fruit in this order as there is in the substance of the frond.
In the simplest and most characteristic forms the favellidia
or masses of spores are immersed in the substance of the
frond itself, either wholly concealed beneath the surface cells,
or their place is indicated by a minute pore through which
the spores are finally liberated. Such a fructification differs
from the coccidhim (the proper fruit of the two preceding
orders) in the absence of any definite pericarp. But it is
difficult to deny pericarps, in the same sense of that word,
to Gigartina and Gelidium, or even to Catenella. Insensi-
ble gradations connect the properly immersed favellidia of
Halymenia with the conceptacular fructification of Gigartina',
and, in doubtful cases, plants of this order are to be known
from Rhodymeniacea? more by the fibroso-cellular structure
of the frond than by difference in conceptacular fructifica-
tion. The tetraspores are in the less organized genera
attached to the threads of the periphery, and scattered over
them ; — in many others they are immersed among the peri-
pheric threads, and appear to be formed from one of the
cells of the thread. In others, several consecutive cells are
so transmuted ; and sometimes ihe periphery bulges out into
warts of irregular size and shape, called nemathecia. When
these warts first appear they consist wholly of vertical fila-
ments in no respect different from those of other portions of
the peripheric stratum, but after a time each thread is changed
into a string of bead-like tetraspores, a structure beautifully
shown in Gijinnogowgrus Griffithsicn. The common form of
the tetrasporc is tripartite, but many species have cruciate
tetraspores, and others have zoned ones.
This is the largest, as well as most multiform, order of
Rhodosperms, and is, under one form or other, widely dis-
persed. Several of our genera are cosmopolitan, and even
some of the species are dispersed through most parts of the
temperate and tropical ocean. Gelidium corneum is found
on all the shores of Europe, and at both sides of the Ameri-
can Continent, as well as in South Africa and New Holland ;
and Grateloupia Jilicina, which perhaps attains its northern
limit in the South of England, is very widely scattered along
the shores of the warmer parts of the Atlantic, and abounds
in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. Gigartina acicii-
larls and G. plstillata are both natives of the Southern Ocean ;
G. mamlllosa has been brought from California. Gymno-
yongrus pllcatus is equally widely dispersed. Gigartina
Teedll, so rare with us, is a common plant in the south of
134 CRYPTONEMIACEyE.
Europe, where it produces fruit abundantly, and where the
branches are very much broader than they are in English
specimens. This plant is very closely allied to G. Chativini
and G. Chamissoi of South America, species of larger size,
some of whose forms are with difficulty distinguished from
some broad states of G. Teedii from the Adriatic. Several of
the southern GigartincB have flat fronds two or three feet long
and or two feet broad, resembling gigantic Iridw(B, but hav-
ing a structure identical with that of the filiform kinds.
Many of the Cryptonemiacete may be used as food ; and
among others, the Carrageen {Chondrus crispus) has been
largely employed both as an esculent, in the shape of jellies
and blancmanges, and for the manufacture of size for calico
printers. It has also been recommended for fattening calves,
being boiled to a jelly and then mixed with milk. If boiled
in water, and thickened with refuse potatoes or meal, it forms
no bad provender for swine. It is nearly tasteless, and boils
down to a strong jelly. Gigartina mamillosa has similar pro-
perties, and is often substituted for Chondrus. Irid(Ba edulis,
notwithstanding its specific name, is much less frequently
made use of, but in some parts of England and Scotland it
is said to be eaten by the fishermen, either raw, or after hav-
ing been pinched between hot irons or fried ; and is said to
taste like roasted oysters.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH GENERA.
Sub-order 1. Coccocarpe/e. Frond solid, dense, cartilagi-
nous or horny. Favellidia contained in semi-external or
external tubercles, or swellings of the frond.
I. Grateloupia. Frond pinnated, flat, narrow, membra-
naceo-cartilaginous, of very dense structure. Favel-
lidia immersed in the branches, communicating with
the surface by a pore. Tetraspores scattered. [Plate
17, A.]
U. Gelidium. Frond pinnated, compressed, narrow,
horny, of very dense structure. Favellidia immersed
in swollen ramuli. Tetraspores forming subdefined
sori in the ramuli. [Plate 17, B.]
Ill, Gigartina. Frond cartilaginous, cylindrical or com-
l)ressed, its flesh composed of anastomosing filaments,
CRYPTONEMIACE.^. 135
lying apart in firm gelatine. Favellidia contained
within external tnbercles. Telrnspores massed toge-
ther in dense sori, sunk in the frond. [Plate 17, C]
Sub-order 2. Spongiocarpe^. Frond solid, dense, cartilagi-
nous or horny. Favellidia of several imperfectly known.
Wart-like swellings composed of filaments sometimes con-
taining tetraspores, sometimes spores.
IV. Chondrus. Frond flabelliform, dichotoraously cleft,
cartilaginous, of very dense structure. Tetraspores
collected into sori, immersed in the substance of the
frond. [Plate 17, D.]
V. Phyllophora. Frond stipitate, rigid membranaceous,
proliferous from the disk, of very dense structure.
Tetraspores in distinct superficial sori, or in proper
leaflets. [Plate 18, A.J
VI. Peyssonelia. Frond depressed, expanded, rooting
by the under surface, concentrically zoned, membra-
naceous or coriaceous. Tetraspores contained in su-
perficial warts. [Plate 14, D.]
VII. Gymnogongrus. i^rowc^ filiform, dichotomous, horny,
of very dense structure. Tetraspores strung together,
contained in superficial wart-like sori. [Plate 18, B.]
VIII. PoLYiDES. Root scutate. Frond cylindrical, dicho-
tomous, cartilaginous. Favellce contained in spongy,
external warts. Tetraspores scattered through the
peripheric stratum of the frond, cruciate. [Plate
18, D.]
IX. FuRCELLARiA. Root branching. Frond cylindrical,
dichotomous, cartilaginous. Favellie unknown. Te-
traspores deeply imbedded among the filaments of
the periphery, in the swollen, pod-like, upper branches
of the frond, transversely zoned. [Plate 18, C]
Sub-order 3. Gastrocarpe.e. Frond gelatinoso-membrana-
ceous, or fleshy, often of lax structure internally. Favel-
lidia immersed in the central substance of the frond, very
numerous.
X. DuMONTiA. Frond cylindrical, tubular, membrana-
ceous. Tufts of spores attached to the wall of the
tube, on the inside. [Plate 20, A.]
136 CRY'PTONEMIACE^.
XI. Halymenia. Frond compressed or flat, gelatinoso-
membranaceous, the membranous surfaces separated
by a few slender, anastomosing filaments. Masses of
spores attached to the inner face of the membranous
wall. [Plate 19, D.]
XII. GiNANNiA. Frond cylindrical, dichotomons, tra-
versed by a fibrous axis ; the walls membranaceous.
Masses of spores attached to the inner face of the
membranous wall. [Plate 19, C]
XIII. Kallymenia. Frond expanded, leaf-like, fleshy-
membranous, solid, of dense structure. Favellidia
like pimples, half immersed in the frond, and scat-
tered over its surface. [Plate 19, B.]
XIV. Irid^a. Frond expanded, leaf-like, thick, carnoso-
coriaceous, solid, of dense structure. Favellidia
wholly immersed, densely crowded. [Plate 19, A.]
XV. Catenella. Frond filiform, branched, constricted
at intervals into oblong articulations ; the tube filled
with lax filaments. [Plate 20, B.]
Sub-order 4. GLOiocLADiEiE. Frond loosely -gelatinous ;
the filaments of which it is composed lying apart from one
another, surrounded by a copious gelatine. Favellidia
immersed among the filaments of the periphery.
XVI. Cruoria. i^/-o/?c?crustaceous, skin-like. [Plate 20, C]
XVII. Naccaria. i^ro??f/ filiform, solid, cellular ; the ra-
muli only composed of radiating, free filaments.
[Plate 20, D.]
XVIII. Gloiosiphonia. i^/-o«tZ tubular, hollow; the walls
of the tube composed of radiating filaments. [Plate
21, A.]
XIX. Nemaleon. Frond filiform, solid, elastic, filament-
ous ; the axis composed of closely packed filaments ;
the periphery of moniliform, free filaments. [Plate
21, B.]
XX. Dudresnaia. Frond filiform, solid, gelatinous, fila-
mentous; the axis composed of a network of anasto-
mosing filaments; the periphery of moniliform, free
filaments. [Plate 21, C]
XXI. Crouania. Frond filiform, consisting of a joiuted
filament, whorled at the joints with minute, mullifid,
gelatinous ramelli. [Plate 21, D.]
GELIDIUM. 137
1. Grateloupia, Ag. [Plate 17, A.]
Frond flat, pinnate, membranaceous, flexible, solid, com-
posed of densely interwoven, anastomosing, branching fila-
ments ; those of the periphery moniliform, short, and very
strongly compacted together. Fructijiction: 1, globular
masses of spores {flavellidia) immersed beneath the periphe-
ric stratum, and communicating with the surface by a pore ;
'2, cruciate tetraspores, vertically placed among the filaments
of the periphery, in subdefined sori. — Named in honour of
Dr. Graieloup, a French algologist.
1. G. Jilicina, Wulf. ; frond linear, attenuated at each
extremity, irregularly once or twice pinnated with branches
contracted at the base, and tapering to the apex. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 151, /. 16; Hook. Br. Fl.n.p. 306; IVijatt, Alg.
Damn. No. 123; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. c. Fucus Jilicinus,
Turn. Hist. t. 150.
On rocks and stones at half-tide level, freqnentlj where a small stream-
let runs into the sea ; very rare. Perennial. October to December.
Sidmouth and Ilfracombe, Miss Cutler. Land's End, Mr. Ralfs. Ilfra-
combe and Torbay, Mrs. Griffiths. Mount's Bay and Aberystwith, Mr.
Ralfs. — Fronds tufted, rising from a minute disk, seldom more than two
inches high in British specimens, (exotic ones are often 8 — 10 inches),
from half a line to a line in breadth, with an undivided or once forked,
flexuous stem, which tapers to the base and apex, naked at base, its upper
half, and often its greater length, more or less set with opposite or alter-
nate, distichous, flexuous branches or pinnee, which are either simple, or
clothed in the upper part with a second series of pinnulse ; all the branches
and ramuli linear, attenuated at the apex, and more or less contracted at
base. Substance membranaceous, more or less perfectly adhering to paper.
Colour a dull, dark purple or greenish, very like that of Dumontia Jilifor-
mis. Favellidia minute, immersed in the branches, with a pore ; cruciate
tetraspores in the smaller pinnules. This last sort of fruit I find in speci-
mens communicated by Mrs. Griffiths, from Ilfracombe and Hagington,
October, 1836.
II. Gelidium, Lamour. [Plate 17, B.]
Frond linear, compressed, pinnated, corneous, solid ; its
axis composed of densely interwoven, longitudinal, tenacious
fibres ; the periphery of small, polygonal cells. Fructijica-
tion : 1, tubercles [flavellidia) immersed in swollen ramuli,
containing a spherical mass of oblong spores ; 2, tetraspores
immersed in the ramuli, bipartite or tripartite, — Name, from
gela, frost ; whence also gelatine : but none of the species
of the restricted genus are gelatinous.
138 GELIDIUM.
1. G. corneum, Hnds. ; frond between cartilaginous and
horny, nearly flat, distichously branched ; branches linear,
attenuated at each end, ])innate and bipinnate ; pinnules
mostly opposite, patent, obtuse, bearing within their apices
elliptical tubercles, Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 141, t. 15; Hook. Br.
Fl. ii. p. 305 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 30 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. liii. Fucus corneus, E. Bot. t. 1970.
On rocky shores, very conimon. Perennial. Summer. — Of this most
variable plant the following varieties are enumerated by Dr. Greville, in
his excellent ' Algce BrilanniccE.'
/3. sesquipedale ; frond 4 — 8 inches high, between com-
pressed and flat, linear, tripinnate, pinnae attenuated at their
base, ramuli linear-oblong, short, obtuse.
Sidmouth, Dr. Greville.
y. pinnahim ; frond 2 — 6 inches high, narrow, tripinnate,
the pinnae patent, nearly linear, bluntish. Turn.
Coasts of Cornwall, Devonshire, &c., Hudson. Bute, Dr. Greville.
^. uniforme ; all the pinnae patent, attenuated at the base,
obtuse at the points and scattered. Turn.
Ilfracombe, Goodenough.
e. capillaceum ; frond 5 or 6 inches high, narrow, pinnae
clustered towards its summits, nearly setaceous and some-
what erect. Turn.
King's Cove, Cornwall, Turner. Sidmouth, Dr. Greville.
K. latifolium ; frond 2 or 3 inches long, 1 or 2 lines broad,
nearly flat, pinnae linear-lanceolate, mostly simple, set with
numerous, short, setaceous pinnulae.
Tievone Bay, Cornwall ; and Torbay, Mrs. Griffiths. Sidmouth, Dr.
Greville. Malbay.
r). confertum ; frond 2 or 3 inches high, compressed re-
peatedly pinnated, pinnae and pinnulse long, very thin, acute,
and irregularly divided.
Devonshire, 3frs. Griffiths. Bute, Dr. Greville. v
6. aculeatum ; frond 1 or 2 inches high, compressed,
very thin, pinnated very irregularly, pinnae divaricated, irre-
gularly divided, and set with minute, divaricate, subulate ra-
muli, crowded toward the summit of the frond.
Mount's Bay, Mrs. Griffiths.
I. ahnorme ; frond 2 inches high, compressed, irregularly
GIGARTINA. 139
branched, branches and pinnae producing at their extremities
little tufts of partly detiexed ramuli.
North of Coniwall, Mrs. Griffiths.
X. pulchelliim ; frond capillary, compressed, tripinnate,
pinnae between linear and clavate, obtuse. Turn.
Bantiy Bay, Miss Hutchins.
K claviferum ; frond sub-cylindrical, capillary, irregularly
divided, the ultimate ramuli or pinnule obovate, edged with
minute, scattered teeth.
Bantry Bay, Miss Hutchins,
iw. clavatum ; frond capillary, between cartilaginous and
membranaceous, decumbent, creeping, ramuli in the form of
inversely-lanceolate or ovate leaves, much attenuated at their
insertion.
South of England, frequent. Frith of Forth, Dr. Richardson.
V. crinale ; frond setaceous, sub-cylindrical, somewhat di-
chotomously branched, sometimes three-forked at the top,
and bearing a few elliptical-oblong ramuli attenuated at their
insertion.
East and south of England. Belfast Lough, Mr. Templeton.
2. G. cariilaginemn, L. ; frond several times pinnated,
the pinna) horizontal, alternate ; tubercles elliptical, mucro-
nate, terminating the smaller pinnulse. Grev. Hook. Br. Fl.
ii. p. 304. Fucus cartilagineus, E. Bot. t. 1477.
On rocks in the sea. Perennial. A very doul)tful native of our shores.
It was once found by Dr. Withering at Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight,
where its presence was probably accidental. — Frond 12 — 18 inches long,
rising from a mass of fibres ; the stems naked at base, in the upper part bi-
tripinnate, the pinniE and pinnulas alternate, gradually diminishing in size.
Colour a fine, dark purple, becoming scarlet, orange, yellow, and finally
greenish on exposure. Substance cartilaginous, horny when dry. This
plant is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
III. GiGARTiNA. Laraour. [Plate 17, C]
Frond cartilaginous (fihform, compressed, or flat), irregu-
larly divided, purple or dark red ; the central substance com-
posed of rather lax, branching and anastomosing filaments ;
the periphery of dichotomous filaments distantly set in pellu-
cid jelly their apices moniliform and strongly united together.
Fructi-fication : 1, external tubercles containing, on a cen-
tral placenta, dense clusters of spores (favellldia) held
together by a network of threads ; 2, tetraspores scattered
140 GIGARTINA.
among the filaments of the periphery. — Name, from yiyaprov,
a grapestone, which the tubercles resemble. G. pistillata is
not unlike the stalk of a bunch of raisins, from which the
fruit has been removed, leaving the pedicels only.
1. G. pistillata, Gmel. ; frond compressed, stijjitate, fla-
bellately branched ; branches repeatedly forked, with wide,
rounded axils, naked or pinnated with short, horizontal,
subulate ramuli, which bear the tubercles at or near their
tips. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 146 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. ,300.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxxxii. Fucus gigarti)nis, E. Bot.
t. 908.
On rocks, near low-water mark ; very rare. Perennial. Spring. Coast
of Cornwall, in several places. Jersey. — Root an expanded disk. Fronds
several from the same base, 3 — 6 inches long, compressed or subcylindii-
cal, from half a line to a line in diameter, tapering at base, rising with a
simple stem for an inch or two, then once or twice forked, the segments
elongatad and again repeatedly forked towards the extremities ; the apices
acute, and branches erect, the upper branches, in fruit-bearing specimens,
pinnated with short, horizontal, simple or forked, or sometimes with pin-
nated ramuli, from 2 lines to \ an inch long. Tubercles seated on the
sides or terminating the ramuli, spherical, depressed in the centre, of the
colour of the frond, with a thick opaque coating, containing a mass com-
posed of several distinct clusters of very minute spores. Substance cartila-
ginous when recent, horny when dry. Colour a dull purjjle, becoming
darker in drying. The Irish station noticed in ' Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. ix.
p. 148, is incorrect.
2. G. acicularis, Wulf. ; frond cylindrical, filiform, irregu-
larly branched, between pinnated and dichotomous; branches
divaricating, curved ; ramuli few, scattered, very patent,
subulate, often secund ; tubercles spherical, scattered on the
branches. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 147, t. 16; Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 300 ; Wijatt, Alg. Daunt. No. 26 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
civ. Fucus acicularis, E. Bot. t. 2190.
On rocks, near low-water mark ; rare. Annual ? Winter. Several
places on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. At Torquay, in December,
with tubercles very fine, Mrs. Griffiths. Belfast Bay, Mr. Templeton,
{Turner). — Fronds tufted, 2 — 4 inches high, with a simple or forked,
arched or wavy stem, set with patent or horizontal, alternate or secund
branches of about equal length, and which are either naked or furnished
with a second or third series; branches cylindrical, about half a line in
diameter, acuminate ; ramuli subulate, pinnate or secund, of unequal
length. Tubercles spherical, sessile on the smaller branches, or occasion-
ally terminating the ramuli, scattered or clustered. Substance cartilagi-
nous. Colour a dull purple-red, darker when dry.
3. G. Teedii, Turn. ; frond membranaceous, flaccid (horny
when dry), flat, linear, acuminate, repeatedly pinnated with
slender, horizontal, distichous, subulate ramuli ; capsules
CHONDRUS. 141
globose, on the ramuli. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 96 ; Hook. Br.
Fl. ii. ;?. 301; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. iVo. 28 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. cclxvi. Sph. Teedii, Grev. Crypt, t. 356.
On rocks at extreme low water, very rare. Perennial. Elberry Cove
and Tor Abbey Rocks, Mrs. Griffiths. — Fronds 2 — 5 inches high, from
half a line to a line in width; stem cylindrical, soon becoming compressed,
and linally flattened, either forked at the base or simple, set at intervals
of about a line with lonfj^, horizontal, distichous branches, attenuated at
each end, and pinnated with a second or third series of patent subulate
ramuli ; the whole forming a broadly ovate or fan-shaped frond. The ra-
muli are frequently very much lengthened out and filiform. Tubercles
have not yet been found in this country ; they occur on the ramuli. Co-
lour purplish, becoming brighter in fresh water, and finally yellowish.
Substance flaccid, but becoming horny when dry, and not adhering to
paper.
4. G. mamillosHs, Good, and Woodw. ; frond thick, flabel-
lifonn, channelled, irregularly dichotomous; segments ob-
long-wedge-shaped ; tubercles roundish or ovate, supported
on little stalks, scattered over the disk of the frond. Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 127; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 302; Wyatt, Alg.
Damn. No. ill ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxcix. ; E. Bot. t.
1054.
On rocks and stones near low-water mark, common. Perennial. Au-
tumn and winter. — Fronds 3 — 6 inches high, cylindrical at base, but gra-
dually widening into a compressed, and finally flat, wedge-shaped frond,
which is either once or twice forked or repeatedly dichotomous ; the seg-
ments all wedge-shaped, from a line to half an inch in breadth ; the apices
acute. Tubercles roundish, borne on short, filiform processes, produced in
great plenty by the surface of the upper segments, and which, in cases of
imperfect fructification become leaflets. Colour a dark purple. Substance
tough.
IV. Chondrus. [Plate 17, D.]
Frond cartilaginous, nerveless, compressed or flat, flabel-
liform, dichotomously cleft, formed internally of three strata ;
the inner of densely packed longitudinal fibres ; the medial
of small, roundish cells ; the outer of vertical, coloured mo-
niliform filaments. Fructijication : 1, prominent tubercles
(nematheciaj composed of radiating filaments, whose lower
articulations are at length formed into spores (?) ; 2, tetras-
pores collected into sori, immersed in the substance of the
frond ; 3, J'avellidia, immersed in the frond, and scattered
over its segments, containing minute spores. — Name, from
xov^poi, cartilage.
1. C. crispus,lj.; frond, thickish, cartilaginous, dichoto-
142 PHYLLOPHORA.
mous, flat or curled ; segments wedge-shaped, very variable
in breadth ; apices truncate, sub-emarginate, or cloven, axils
obtuse ; sori concave on one side. Grev. Ahj. Brit. p. 129, i.
15; Hook. Br. Fl. n. p. 302; Wyatt, Alg.'Danm. Nos. 118
and 119; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixiii. Fticus crispus, E.
Bat. t. 2285.
On rocky sea shores, very common. Perennial. Spring. — i^jo?ic?s densely
tufted, 2 — 10 inches high, narrow and sub-cylindrical at base, but soon
becoming flat, repeatedly forked, very variable in breadth ; segments from
I — 4 lines wide, flat or curled ; the axils generally rounded. Sori oval,
imbedded in the frond, prominent on one side and concave on the other,
containing minute cruciate tetraspores. Colour, various shades of purple
or greenish ; in shallow pools near high-water mark, generally yellow or
pale green. Substance horny when dry. This is the Carrigeen, or Irish
Moss of the shops.
2. C. norvegicus, Gunn. ; frond linear, dicholomous, flat,
the axils patent, the apices rounded ; favellidia minute, im-
bedded in the substance ; nemathecia prominent, sessile,
scattered over both surfaces of the frond. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. 130; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 120; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
clxxxvii. ; F. Bot. t. 1080.
Rocky shores near low-water mark, rare. Annual ? September to
March. Chiefly in the south of England and Ireland. Saltcoats, Rev.
D. Landshorough. — Fronds 2 — 3 inches high, with a cylindrical stem from
a quarter to half an inch long, thence flat, 1 or 2 lines wide, and re))eatedly
dichotomous. Favellidia (very rare, and hitherto only found by Mrs.
Griffiths), about the size of poppy-seed, imbedded in the frond, containing
a mass of minute spores. Warts or nemathecia common, roundish, nearly
a line in diameter, scattered over the frond, composed of beaded filaments.
Substance thinner than in C. crispus. Colour a deep, rather dull, blood-
red.
V. Phyllophora. Grev. [Plate 18, A.]
Frond stipitate, rigid-raembranaceous, proliferous, nerve-
less or with a vanishing nerve, cellular ; cells minute, angu-
lar, gradually smaller towards the surface. Fructiji cation :
1, tubercles [favellidia, ?) scattered over the frond, contain-
ing masses of minute spores ; 2, warts [nemathecia) seated
on the frond, composed of radiating, moniliform filaments,
whose lower articulations are at length converted into spores;
3, tetraspores, collected into sori, either towards the apex of
the frond, or in proper leaflets. — Name, from (pvKKov, a leaf,
and (popsa, to hear.
1. Ph. rubens, L. : stem very short, expanding into a sub-
linear, simple or forked, membranaceous, obscurely mid-
PHYLLOPHORA. 143
ribbed frond, which is repeatedly proliferous from the surface ;
tubercles sessile, wrinkled, or crested with sinuous folds;
warts concealed under leafy processes. Grev. Alg. Brit. p.
135, t. 15; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 303; Wyatt, Alg. Danm.
No. 29 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxxi. Fiicus rubens, E. Bot.
t. 1053.
On rocks, &c. near low-water mark. Perennial. Winter. Not un-
common on the shores of England and Ireland ; more rare in Scotland,
and chiefly on the western shores. — Fronds tufted, 3 — 8 inches long , stem
minute, cylindrical, gradually expanding into a linear-wedged-shaped,
simple or forked frond, furnished at base with a faint midrib, and one or
two inches long, from the surface of which, near the tips of the segments,
springs a second frond similar to the primary, but generally more repeatedly
dichotomous, and this bears from its apices new fronds in like manner ;
apices blunt. Substance membranaceous, rather rigid, not adhering to
paper. Colour a fine, deep, blood-red. Tubercles minute, scattered over
the frond, with a thick, opaque, wrinkled skin, containing a mass of minute
spores. Nemathecia immersed in the bases of little leafy processes, plen-
tifully borne by the surface of distinct plants.
2. Ph. memhranifolius. Good, and Woodw. ; stem cylin-
drical, filiform, branched ; the branches expanding into
broadly wedge-shaped, membranaceous, two-lobed or dicho-
tomous segments ; tubercles roundish, on short stalks arising
from the stem. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxiii. ; Grev. Alg. Brit.
p. 131 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 302 ; IVyait, Alg. Danm. No.
76. Fiiciis memhratnfolius, E. Bot. t. 1965.
On rocky sea shores between tide-marks, frequent. Perennial. October
to March. — Fronds 3 — 12 inches high ; stem cylindrical, filiform, irregu-
larly branched, the branches expanding into wedge-shaped or fan-shaped,
dichotomously cleft, flat, membranaceous //-ottf/Zt'/s, about an inch in length,
and more or less divided. Tubercles borne on short stalks by the branches.
Nemathecia also frequently occur on the frondlets, where they form long
deep red spots, composed of beaded filaments. The substance of the stem
is cartilaginous, of the frondlets membranaceous.
3. Ph. Brodicei, Turn. ; root a small disk ; stem cylindri-
cal, filiform, branched, the branches expanding into oblong,
cuneiform, simple or forked, flat, membranaceous frondlets,
which are proliferous from their extremity ; nemathecia ses-
sile on the tips of the segments. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xx.
(excl. fig. 2, 3, 4); Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 133; Hook. Br. Fl. ii.
p. 303. Fncits Brodioii, E. Bot. t. 1966.
On rocks in the sea, rare. Perennial. Spring. Eastern coast of Scot-
land, frequent, Mr. Brodie, Mr. Steivnrt, Dr. Greville, c^c. Mouth of the
Bann, Co. Derry, Mr. D. Moore. Belfast Bay, Mr. W. Thompson. —
Frond 1 — 8 inches high ; stem cylindrical, variable in length, simple or
branched, its branches expanding into oblong, flat, forked or simple,
144 PEYS.SONELIA.
wedge-shaped leaves, varying in breadth from two to four lines, and in
leufTth from one to three inches ; the segments somewhat truncate, often
proliferous from tlie apex, the young shoot rising with a cylindrical stem,
which soon expands into a frondlet resembling the primary one, and this,
in its turn, gives birth to a second or third. Nemathecia large, globose,
dark red, sessile on the tips of the frond, at length converted into monili-
form strings of tetraspores, {J. Ag.)
4. Ph. Palmeltoides, J. Ag. ; root a widely-expanded
disk ; stem cylindrical, filiforra, simple or branched, expand-
ing into an oblong, narrow-obovate or cuneate, simple or but
once forked, rose-coloured frond, which is sometimes proli-
ferous ; sorus solitary, transverse, elliptical, near the apex of
the frond, immersed in its substance. Chondrus BrocUa:i
ft. simplex, Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 133; IVyatt, Alg. Danm.
No.\^\; Harv. PJnjc. Brit. t. xx.Jig. 2, 3, 4.
On rocks, near low-water mark. Perennial. Winter and spring. Eare.
Coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall. — Root a broad discoid expansion, an
inch or more across, from which a large number of stems issue. Stem fili-
form, half an inch to an inch high, simple or branched, terminating in a
rose-coloured, membranaceous, linear-obovate or cuneate, mostly simple
leaf, one or two inches long. This leaf is sometimes forked, and sometimes
bears small leaflets from its disk or apex. Towards the apex of the leaf,
in fertile specimens, is a large transverse, elliptical sorus, immersed in the
substance of the frond, composed of a multitude of minute tetraspores.
No other fructification has been observed. Nearly allied to the preceding,
but distinguished by the position of the sori, the brighter colour of the
frond, and form of the root.
VI. Peyssonelia. Dne. [Plate 14, D.]
Frond brownish red, depressed, rooting by the imder-sur-
face, concentrically zoned, composed of several rows of cells,
disposed obliquely in filamentous, vertical series, Fructiji-
catioii, warts scattered over the upper surface of the frond,
formed of radiating filaments, and containing oblong, cru-
ciately- divided tetraspores. — Name in honour of J. A. Peys-
sonel, an early and meritorious observer of marine plants.
P. Duhyi, Crouan ; frond membranaceous, orbicular or
lobed, attached by the whole of the under siu'face. Harv.
PJiyc. Brit. t. Ixxi. [colour much too pate.)
Hah. On old shells, stones. Sec. on scallop-banks, in 10 — 15 feet water.
Shores of the British Islands, not uncommon. — Frond 1 — 2 inches across,
at first orbicular, afterwards irregularly lobed, membranaceous, thin, ad-
hering closely by its lower surface, which is clothed with short radicles, to
the surface on which it grows. Warts of fructification scattered, containing
a few large cruciate tetraspores, with very wide lirabi. Colour dull brown-
red. The figure in Phyc. Brit, is badly coloured.
GYMNOGONGRUS. 145
VII. GYMNOGONGRUS. Mart. [Plate 18, B.]
Frond cylindrical or compressed, horny, much branched,
its substance composed of densely packed filaments, of which
the innermost are longitudinal, the middle curving outwards,
and the external stratum (or periphery) horizontal and rao-
niliform. Fructijication naked warts entirely composed of
bead-like strings of cruciate tetraspores. — Name, from yf/wvoj,
naked, and yoyypog, a word applied by Theophrastus to the
wartlike excrescences often seen on trees.
1. G. Grijfithsia, Turn.; frond filiform, flexuous, carti-
laginous, stipitate, many times dichotomous, the apices
fastigiate, forked, warts of fructification oblong, at length
surrounding the stem. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 149 ; Hook. Br.
Fl. ii. p. 301 ; IVyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 28 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. cviii. Fucus Griffithsi(B, E. Bot. t. 1926.
On rocks in the sea. Perennial. Autumn and winter. Coast of De-
vonshire, Mrs. Griffiths. Bantry Bay, Miss Hutchins. Balbrig-gan, Dr.
Scott. Orkney. — Fronds tufted, entangled, 2 — 4 inches high, slender and
filiform, many times dichotomous, the axils patent, the apices nearly of
equal length, giving the plant a rounded outline ; branches flexuous, of
egual diameter throughout, obtuse. Fructification, so far as known, con-
sisting of oblong warts, surrounding the stem, composed of articulated
filaments, whose cells are afterwards changed into cruciate tetraspores,
strung together like beads. Each tetraspore is brilliant as a ruby, and
marked with a slender St. George's cross. Substance cartilaginous, some-
what horny when dry. Colour a dull purplish-red.
2. G. ? piicata, Huds. ; frond horny, cylindrical, filiform,
very irregularly branched, entangled, wiry ; branches sub-
dichotomous ; axils obtuse ; ramuli often secund ; fructifica-
tion, oblong warts composed of obscurely jointed filaments.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 160 \ Hook. Br. FL ii'. />. 301 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 116; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclxxxviii. Fu-
cus pi icatus, E. Bot. t. 1089.
On rocky sea shores. Perennial. — Fronds 4 — 10 inches long, entangled,
rigid and "wiry, cylindrical, as thick as hogs' bristles, of equal diameter
throughout, irregularly branched, dichotomous, with very it)unded axils,
more or less furnished with horizontal ramuli, which sometimes spread in
all directions. Fruit, as far as known, oblong warts embracing tbe stem,
and composed of very slender jointed threads; but I have never succeeded
in finding spores or tetraspores. The structure in this plant is very much
more dense than in G. Griffithsice, and the filaments of which it is com-
posed much more slender. Colour a blackish purple, whitish in decay.
146 POLYIDES. — FURCELLARIA.
VIII. PoLYiDEs. Ag. [Plate 18, D.]
Root an expanded disk. Frond cylindrical, dichotomous,
cartilaginous, solid ; the axis consisting of densely-packed,
longitudinal, interlacing and anastomosing filaments ; the
periphery of coloured, horizontal, dichotomous filaments,
whose lower half is composed of large, elliptical cells, their
upper half of much smaller, submoniliform cellules. Fructi-
Jication: 1, oblong, irregular, spongy warts, composed of
dichotomous filaments, through which are scattered ellipsoidal
favell(B, having a broad, pellucid limbus ; 2, cruciate telra-
spores immersed among the filaments of the periphery of the
frond. — :Name from ttoXv, many, and iha,form or appearance.
1. P. rotundus, Gmel. ; Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 70, t. \\ ;
Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 284 ; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 161 ; Harv-
Phyc. Brit. t. xcv. Fiicus rotundus, E. Bot. t. 1738.
On rocks and stones in the sea. Perennial. Autumn and winter.
Southern and Eastern shores of England and Ireland. Rather rare in
Scotland. — Root an expanded disk. Fronds 4 — 6 inches high, as thick as
whip-cord, of a dark purplish brown colour, terete, repeatedly dichoto-
mous, the tips fastigiate, giving the plant a rounded outline when displayed ;
the axils rounded. Fruclification : " spongy pale or pink warts on the
sides of the upper branches, at first roundish or oblong and scattered, but
at length 2 — 4 lines long and 1 or 2 lines thick, sometimes creeping all
round the frond, and occasionally several, becoming confluent, extend for
nearly an inch along the branches. The warts are naked or destitute of
any epidermis, composed of white articulate filaments, radiating horizon-
tally from the frond, and containing numerous imbedded clusters of spores
(favellcBj, each cluster surrounded by a pellucid limbus." Grev. Besides
liiis fructification, 3Irs. Griffiths communicates specimens from Sidmouth
having the upper ramuli slightly swollen and containing imbedded teit, and from which it chiefly
differs in the more opake frond. The structure is very similar.
in. Ceramium. Roth. [Plate 22, C]
Frond filiform, one-tubed, articulated ; the dissepiments
coated with a stratum of coloured cellules, which sometimes
extend over the surface of the articulation. Fructrficaiion :
1, sessile, roundish fa vella, having a ])elliicid limbus, con-
taining minute, angular spores, and subtended by one or
more short, involucral ramuli : 2, tetraspores either immersed
in the ramuli, or more or less external. — Name, from nspa/xoi,
a pitcher ; but the fruit is not pitcher-shaped.
Section 1. Rubra. Smooth ; the whole surface of the arti-
culation covered with coloured cells.
1. C. rtibrtim, Huds. ; filaments robust, gradually attenu-
ated, irregularly dichotomous, having lateral, forked or mul-
tifid ramuli, the apices hooked inwards ; articulations coated
with coloured cellules, unarmed, the lowermost twice as long
as broad, the upper shorter than their breadth ; dissepiments
constricted ; tetraspores immersed in the articulations, whorl-
ed ; favella3 globose, mostly borne on the lateral branchlets,
subtended by three or four involucral ramuli. Harv. Phyc.
Brit. I. clxxxi. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii p. 336 ; Wyait, Alg. Daiim.
No. 42. Conferva rubra, E. Bot. t. 1166.
On rocks, stones, and Algte in tide-pools; also dredged in 4 — 5 fathoms.
Annual. Summer and Autumn. Very abundant on the Brit'sh coasts. —
Frond 2 — 12 inches long, robust, very variable in ramification ; when grow-
ing in favourable situations of a clear red colour, but oflen much faded,
brownish or yellow. Sometimes the lateral ramuli are all secund ; some-
times there are scarcely any, and sometimes they are very numerous.
2. C. hotryocarpum. Griff. ; filaments crooked at the base,
robust, gradually attenuated, irregularly dichotomous, having
numerous lateral, mostly simple ramuli, the ajiices straight ;
articulations coated with coloured cellules, unarmed, the
lowermost twice as long as broad, the upper shorter than
their breadth ; dissepiments constricted ; tetraspores im-
mersed in the articulations, whorled ; favellaj globose, of
small size, heaped together in irregular clusters, borne on the
162 CERAMIUM.
lateral branchlets, destitute of involucral ramuli. Harv.
Phyc. Brii. t. ccxv.
On rocks and AI^eb, between tide-marlis. Annual. Summer. Preston
rocks, Torquay, Miss Amelia E. Griffiths ; Avdrossan, Rev. D. Landsho-
rowjh. — Stem's sharply hooked or curved at the base. A smaller plant than
the preceding, with the apices of the branches straight; the ramuli very
numerous, and above all, the favellee heaped together like clusters of small
shot. Colour a lurid purplish red, often fading to green and yellow.
Section 2. Diaphana. Smooth; the surface of the articu-
lation either altogether denuded, or but partially covered
with coloured cellules, leaving a colourless space in the
centre.
3. C. decurrens, Kutz.; frond robust, gradually attenuated
upwards, dichotomous, with few lateral branchlets, the apices
hooked inwards ; articulations partially coated with coloured
cellules which extend from the dissepiment at each end, but
leave a colourless, pellucid space in the centre of the articu-
lation ; lowermost articulations twice as long as broad, upper
very short. Harv. Plit/c. Brit. t. cclxxvi.
On rocks, in tide pools. Annual. August. Torquay, on the Harbrick,
Mrs. Griffiths. — Filaments thicker than hogs' bristles, 6 — 8 inches long,
gradually attenuated, distantly forked, naked or furnished with a few
scattered ramuli. Articulations somewhat raoniliforni, pellucid in the
middle, but coated with coloured cells for a considerable space at each
end. This plant seems almost exactly intermediate between C. rubrum
and C. diaphanum. It has the size, and general habit of the former, but
the partially hyaline articulations connect it with the latter. I have not
seen any fnictificalion. 'A specimen which I communicated to Professor
Kutzing was returned to me by that author, named C. decurrens, ^. majus,
Kiitz.
4. C. Deslonfjchampii, Chauv. ; filaments subsetaceous,
attenuated upwards, rigid, irregularly dichotomous, with or
without lateral ramuli ; the apices straight, spreading; arti-
culations colourless, those of the main stems about thrice as
long as broad, of the branches and ramuli much shorter ;
dissepiments opake, scarcely swollen ; tetraspores whorled
round the joints, prominent ; favella3 heaped together, burst-
ing irregularly from the sides of the branches destitute of in-
volucral ramuli. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxix. ; IVyatt, Alg.
Banm. No. 218. Cer. Agardhia)ium, Griff, in Harv. Man.
ed.\.p. 99.
On rocks in the sea, between tide-marks. — Stems 3 or 4 inches high,
much branched in an irregularly dichotomous manner, the branches more or
less furnished with simple or forked, slender ramuli, about one-third the
CERAMIUM. 163
diameter ui i^.^ ^.^.l from which they spring; the ..j._ „j..v.«,^.ng, not
hooked in. The whole frond variegated with dark purple ; the joints trans-
parent. To the naked eye the tuft has a blackish look : the substance is
rigid, cartilaginous, and it adheres pretty fully to paper. Favellce very irre-
gular in form and size, having a distorted appearance, usually lobed,
bursting from the stems over which they are thickly scattered, destitute of
involucral rarauli ; tetraspores large and very prominent, seated in the
joints, oflen of the same plant ivhich bears '■'■ favellce.''''
5. C, diafhanum , Ag. ; frond setaceous, attenuated up-
wards, rather flaccid, irregularly dichotomous, the lower
forkings distant, the upper close together ; branches set with
short, lateral, dichotomous rarauli ; articulations colourless,
those of the main stems 3 or 4 times as long as broad, of the
ramuli short ; dissepiments swollen, opake ; apices hooked
inwards ; favella^ near the tips of the branches, subtended
by ramuli; tetraspores whorled in the joints, depressed.
Hook. Br, Fl. ii. p. 336 ; Wijatt, Ahj. Damn. No. 87 ; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. cxciii. Conf. diapliana, E. Bot. t. 1742.
On the smaller Algae in tide-pools. Winter and summer. — Stems tufted,
2 — 6 inches high, the thickness of hogs' bristles, irregularly or sub-dicho-
toniously branched, the branches set at greater or less intervals with short
or long dichotomous ramuli, two lines to half an inch long, which are
constantly greatly more slender than the branches from which they spring,
generally not more than a quarter their diameter ; the tips generally hooked
invvards. The whole frond is distinctly jointed, the dissepiments darkly
coloured, the intervals pellucid, giving the filament a beautifully varie-
gated appearance. Favellce near the tips of the branches, roundish or
somewhat lobed, generally subtended with one or two short ramuli ; tetra-
spores prominent, large, with a pellucid case, seated in the coloured portion
of the joints.
6. C. gracil/innim, Ktitz. ; frond excessively slender, of
nearly equal diameter throughout, very flaccid and gelatin-
ous, dichotomous ; the branches set with minute, flabelliform,
dichotomous ramuli ; articulations colourless, those of the
branches five or six times as long as broad, those of the ra-
muli very short ; dissepiments opake, purple ; favella? borne
on the lateral ramuli, with a spreading, many-rayed involucre.
Harv. PJtyc. Brit. t. ccvi.
On mussel-shells, and on CoraUina officinalis and other small Algae, be-
tween tide-marks. Annual. Summer and autumn. West of Ireland,
and South of England, in several places. — Filaments 2 — 3 inches long,
much more slender than a human hair, flaccid and tendei", irregularly di-
vided, set with minute, many-forked ramuli of fan-like outline. Colour
a (lark, reddish purple.
7. C. slricttim, Klitz. ; frond capillary, nearly equal,
membranaceous, irregularly dichotomous, the lower forkings
M 2
164 CERAMIUM.
distant, the upper closer, all the divisions erect and straight,
with narrow, acute angles ; the apices straight, or slightly
hooked inwards ; articulations colourless, those of the stem
and branches three to four times as long as broad, of the ra-
muli short ; dissepiments opake, purple ; favellae near the
tips of the branches, involucrate ; tetraspores erumpent,
bursting from the dissepiments of the larger branches. Gon-
groceras striciuitf, KiUz. Pliyc. Gen.
On mussel-shells &c. in tide-pools. Annual. Summer. Torquay,
Mrs. Griffiths ; Dingle, W.H.H.; ^oumWone, Mr. M'Calla.— Fila-
ments as line as human hair, densely tufted, not vegulavly dichotomous
nor forming fastigiate tufts, distantly branched below, more frequently di-
vided above. Articulations long in the middle of the filament. Colour
of the tufts, when strong, dark livid purple, paler and yellower in sunny
situations. Substance membranous, not very firmly adhering to paper. I
sent one of my Dingle specimens to Prof. Kutzing, who returned it with the
above name, It appears to be identical both with the Roundstone and
Torquay plants. The frond is more slender than in C. diaphanum, and
much more robust than in C. gracillimum.
8. C. nodosum, Kiitz.; frond capillary, of equal diameter
throughout, rigid, dichotomou.s, excessively divided, fastigi-
ate ; the axils very patent ; articulations pellucid, those of
the middle of the stem from four to six times as long as
broad, the upper gradually shorter ; dissepiments swollen ;
tetraspores erumpent, two or three together on the outer edge
of short, accessory ramuli ; favellaj at the apex of accessory
ramuli. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xc.
On sandy shores, often at the roots of Zostera. Annual. Summer.
Generally distributed. — Fronds 3 — 6 inches long, as fine as human hair
or more slender, forming globular, fastigiate tufts, repeatedly dichoto-
mous with very patent axils, of nearly equal diameter throughout. Disse-
piments swollen, dark coloured ; articulations colourless. Substance rigid
and harsh to the touch when recent. In drying this plant imperfectly ad-
heres to paper.
9. C. fastigiatum, Harv. ; filaments capillary, equal
throughout, dichotomous, level-topped; dis.?epiments opake;
lower articulations colourless, 3 or 4 times longer than broad,
upper coloured, short. Harv. in Hook. Journ. Bot. vol. i. p.
303 ; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 87 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cclv.
On roclts, &c., in tide-pools, rare. Torquay, &:c. Mrs. Griffiths ; Ply-
mouth, Rev. W. S. Hove. Frith of Forth, Dr. Greville. — Filaments 4 or 5
inches high, very slender, nearly of equal diameter throughout, regularly
dichotomous from the base ; the lower axils distant, the upper very close,
many limes forked ; the apices fastigiate and hooked inwards. Lower arti-
culations gcneniWy 3 or 4 times as long as broad, colourless; upper very
CERAMIUM, 165
short, rosy ; dissepiments opake, swollen, purple. Substance tender and
flaccid. Colour of the tuft, pinky-purple.
Section 3. Ciliata ; frond armed, at the dissepiments, with
one or more prickles, or bristle-like hairs.
10. C. JiahelUgerum, J. Ag. ; frond subsetaceons, attenu-
ated upwards, rigid, flabellately branched, irregularly dicho-
tomous, with lateral, forked ramiili, the apices acute, patent
or somewhat incurved ; articulations coated with coloured
cellules, those of the lower branches about twice as long as
broad, of the upper equal in length and breadth, each armed
on the outer edge with a single, minute, subulate, coloured,
three-jointed prickle ; tetraspores erumpent, whorled roimd
the joint; favella; 2 — 3 lobed, berry-like, subtended by seve-
ral, patent, subulate ramuli. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxliv.
On the smaller Algae, between tide-marks. Annual. Summer and au-
tumn. Rare. Torbay, il/w. Griffiths; Jersey, il/iss White; Blue Anchor
Bay, Miss Gifford ; Downshire Coast, Rev. W. Edicards. — Frond 2 — 3
inches high, as thick as hogs' bristle, gradually attenuated, somewhat fla-
bellately branched. Articulations entirely covered with small cells. This
plant resembles a small variety of C. rubrum for which it may readily be
mistaken, if attention be not directed to the solitary thorn with which the
joints are armed.
11. C. echionofuni, J. Ag. ; frond slender, of nearly equal
diameter throughout, rigid, repeatedly dichotomous, fre-
quently with lateral forked branchlets, fastigiate, the apices
more or less involute ; articulations pellucid, those of the
middle of the stem three or four times longer than broad, the
upper gradually shorter, the uppermost extremely short ;
dissepiments coloured, armed wdth numerous, slender, irre-
gularly-inserted, subulate, colourless, one-jointed bristles;
tetraspores mostly solitary in each joint, erumpent, along the
outer margin of the filament ; favellae mostly bi-lobed, late-
ral, subtended by numerous, strongly incurved ramuli. Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. cxli.
On rocks, stones, and the smaller Algae, between-tide-marks. Annual.
Summer and Autumn. Not uncommon. Forming very dense, fastigiate,
dark red or purple, somewhat rigid tufts. This species is at once recog-
nised by the numerous scattered and veri/ slender bristles which clothe the
joints, so diff"erent from the whorled, robust prickles which distinguish Cer.
ciliatum.
12. C. acantltonotum^ Carm. ; frond slender, of nearly
equal diameter throughout, rigid, repeatedly dichotomous,
fastigiate, the apices strongly involute ; articulations pellu-
166 SPYRIDIA.
cid, those of the middle of the stem several times longer
than broad, the upper gradually shorter ; dissepiments co-
loured, armed on the outer edge with a single robust, broadly
subulate, coloured, three-jointed prickle ; tetraspores erum-
pent, whorled round the joint; favelloe roundish, subtended
by a solitary, incurved ramulus. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxl.
C. ciliatum /3. acatithonolum, Harv. Man. ed. 1, p. 100.
On exposed rocks, near low-water mark, and on the smaller Algae. An-
nual. Summer and autumn. Not uncommon. — Verj' densely tufted, 2 —
6 inches high, matted when old, fastigiate when young, of a very dark
purple colour, rigid and harsh to the touch. Known from C . flabelliyerum
by its different habit, and hyaline articulations ; and from both the other
species of this section by its solitary spine.
13. C. ciliatum, Ellis; frond slender, of nearly equal dia-
meter throughout, rigid, repeatedly dichotomous, with or
without lateral branchlets, fastigiate, the apices strongly in-
volute ; articulations pellucid, those of the middle of the
stem from three to four times as long as broad, the upper
gradually shorter ; dissepiments coloured, furnished with a
whorl of robust, subulate, three-jointed prickles; tetraspores
alternating with the prickles ; favellse subtended by two or
three ramuli. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxxix ; Harv. in Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 336 ; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. 180. Conf. ci-
liata, Ellis. E. Bot. t. 2428.
On rocks and stones, and on the smaller AlgaB in tide-pools. Annual.
Summer. Not uncommon. Forming dense, fastigiate tufts of a paler
shade of purple than in C. acantkonotum, from which this species is at
once known by having numerous, whorled prickles on each joint. A beau-
tiful object under a low power of the microscope.
IV. Spyridia. Harv. [Plate 22, D.]
Frond filiform, cylindrical, much branched, traversed by
a wide, articulated tube, whose walls are composed of small
angular cells ; ramuli setiform, simple, jointed. Fruclijica-
tion : 1, stalked, gelatinous, lobed faveUcB, involucred by
short ramuli, and containing two or three distinct masses of
roundish spores ; 2, external tetraspores, with colourless bor-
ders, attached to the ramuli. — Name, Y.Ttv^ig, a basket ; in
allusion to the appearance of the receptacles.
1. S. Jilamentosa, WnU ; frond irregularly branched, sub-
opake ; branches tapering at the base, more or less densely
clothed with setaceous ramuli ; articulations of the stem very
GRIFFITHSIA. 167
short, of the ramuli once and half as long as broad. Harv.
PJiyc. Brit. t. xlvi. ; Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 337 ;
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 88. Conf. Griffithsiana, E. Bot. t.
2312.
On rocks between tide-marks. Southern shores of England. Holy-
head, Mr. Ralfi. — Stems tufted, many rising from a broadly expanded disk,
thick, 2 — 8 inches high, irregularly branched, cartilaginous, densely cellu-
lar, with an obscure appearance of articulation ; branches beset with short,
hair-like, simple or subdivided, scattered ramuli. Colour a dull red, fad-
ing to brownish. A curious plant, and extensively distributed over the
world. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in the Mediter-
ranean.
V. GRIFFITHSIA. Ag. [Plate 23, B.]
Frond rose-red, filavnentous; JilamenU articulated through-
out, mostly dichotomous; ramuli single-tubed, often whorled;
dissepiments hyaline. Fructijication double : 1, roundish,
gelatinous, involucrated receptacles {favellce), including mi-
nute granules ; 2, telraspores affixed to whorled ramelli. —
Named in honour of Mrs. Griffiths, of Torquay, Devonshire,
the "Jacile Regina " of British algologists.
* Branches set ivith short ramelli.
1. G. equisetifolia, Lightf ; stems robust, cartilaginous,
whorled throughout with closely imbricated, incurved, many
times dichotomous ramelli. Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 337 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Damn. No. 181 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixvii. Con/,
equisetifolia, E. Bot. t. 1479.
On the shores of England and the west of Ireland. Frequent. Hare
in Scotland. Frith of Forth, very rare, Mr. Yalden. Perennial. Sum-
mer.— Stems 3 — 8 inches high, a quarter of a line to nearly a line in dia-
meter, inarticulate, much and irregularly branched ; the chief divisions
more or less beset with shorter branches, of half an inch to an inch in
length, simple, and (including their ramelli) fusiform, tapering to the apex
and base ; the whole frond beset at distances of about half a line with
incurved, dichotomous, jointed ramelli, about a line long and overlapping
each other. The joints of these ramelli about 4 times as long as broad,
swollen upwards. Colour a fine rose-red, sometimes brownish. The fruc-
tification remains imperfectly known.
2. G. simplicijilum, Ag. ; stems slender, irregularly
branched, whorled with imbricated, straight, once-forked ra-
melli. Harv. in Mack. Fl. Hih. pt. iii. jo. 212 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. cclxxxvii.
168 GRIFFITHSIA.
On rocks in the sea, very rave. On rocks near Black Castle, Wicklow,
and among rejectamenta at Ardinairy Point, Co. Wicklow. Coast of Nor-
folk, Rev. W. S. Hore. — Stems 4 — S inches long, cartilaginous, more slen-
der than those of G. equisetifolia, irregularly branched ; branches long
and mostly simple, much attenuated at the point, densely clothed with
short, straight, overlapping, jointed ramelli, 1 or 2 lines long, and once-
forked near the base. Occasionally the branches bear, together with these
ramelli, jointed, slender branchlets, of the thickness of G. setacea, and
either naked or beset near the summit with forked ramelli ; and in other
specimens the principal branches are covered with short rudimentary
branches, resembling the larger ones. Colour a fine pinky red, very much
brighter than in G. equisetifolia. Fructification unknown. 1 fear this is
only an attenuated variety of the preceding.
3. G. barbata, Sra.; filaments dicliotomous, slender; ar-
ticulations slightly pyriforni, 5 to 8 times as long as broad,
the uppermost emitting long, opposite or whorled, multifid,
byssoid ramelli on which the tetraspores are borne. Harv.
Phyc. Brit. i. cclxxxi. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 338. Conf. bar-
bata, E. Bol. t. 1814.
Thrown up by the sea, extremely rare. Beach at Brighton, Mr. Borrer,
who, I believe, only found it once, and who has had the kindness to send
me a portion of his specimen on talc. Jersey, growing on Algee in rock
pools, Mm Turner. — Frond 2 — 3 inches high, slender, gelatinous, many
times forked, fastigiate, the lower branches naked, the last few articulations
of the upper furnished with opposite or whorled very slender ramelli, re-
sembling the byssoid fibres of a Poli/siphonia. Tetraspores globose, borne
on the ramelli. Favellee stalked, iuvolucrate. A much slenderer plant
than G. corallina.
** Stems dichotomous, naked.
4. G. Devoniensis, Harv. ; filaments very slender, gelati-
nous, flaccid, dichotomous, the lower axils patent, the upper
acute ; articulations cylindrical, 7 — 8 times as long as broad ;
dissepiments constricted ; involucres of tetraspores whorled
round the dissepiments of the branches. Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. xvi.
On rocks, ^cc. near low-water mark. Annual (?) Plymouth, not uncom-
mon. Rev. W. S. Hore, &c. ; Salcombe, Mrs. Wyatt. — Filaments 2 — 3
inches high, densely tufted, slender, dichotomous, fostigiate, the lower
branches often throwing out root-like fibres which connect the filaments
together toward the base. Colour a fine rosy red. Articulations many
times longer than broad, cylindrical. A much more slender and densely
lufted plant than G. corallina. Some of its more robust forms bear a
greater resemblance to slender plants of G. setacea, but when in fruit the
differently arranged tetraspores at once distinguish it.
5. G. corallina, Linn. ; filaments dichotomous, incrassated,
gelatinous; axils patent; articulations 2 — 4 times longer than
broad, swollen u})wards ; involucres of tetraspores whorled
WRANGELIA. 169
round the dissepiments of the branches. Ham. Phyc. Brit,
t. ccxiv. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 338 ; IVyatt, Alg. Danm. No.
89. Con/, corallina, E. Bot. t. 1815.
On rocks, &c., between tide-marls, rather rare. On all our coasts. —
Stems 2 — 4 inches high, tender and gelatinous, repeatedly and nearly regu-
larly dichotomoiis, thicker than bristles, sometimes nearly half a line in
diameter, jointed, the articulations 2 or 3 times longer than broad, swollen
upwards, contracted below, giving the frond the beaded appearance of a
coralline. Fruit : minute, densely aggregated tetniapores with wide bor-
ders, forming a band or whorl round the joints, near the tips of the
branches; and roundish /ai;e//«, disposed laterally on the ramuli.
6. G. secundijlora, J. Ag. ; filaments ultra- setaceous, some-
what gelatinous but firm, irregularly dichotoraous, the lesser
divisions flabellate ; axils acute ; branchlets fastigiate, ob-
tuse, not tapering to a point ; articulations cylindrical, two
to four times as long as broad, with a very wide border ; " in-
volucres on very short, lateral peduncles." Harv. Phyc. Brit,
t. clxxxv.
On rocks, near low-water mark, very rare. Perennial ? Discovered at
Bovisand, near Plymouth, by Rev. W.S. Hore. — Filaments densely tufted,
4 — 8 inches high, thicker than hogs' bristles, not much attenuated, of a
fine, rich crimson-red, repeatedly forked ; all the axils acute, and the
branchlets very erect. Apices not tapering. Fruit has not yet been seen
in Britain.
7. G. setacea, Ellis ; filaments dichotomous, setaceous,
rigid, straight; the lesser branches sometimes opposite, atte-
nuated to a point; axils acute; joints cylindrical, 5 or 6
times longer than broad ; involucres, of both kinds peduncu-
late, lateral. Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 338 ; IVyatt, Alg. Damn.
No. 137; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxxxiv. Conf. setacea, E.
Bot. t. 1689.
On rocks, &c. between tide-marks ; not uncommon near low-water mark.
Perennial. — Stems 3 — 6 inches long, setaceous, rather rigid, irregularly di-
chotomous, jointed; joints cylindrical, 3 — 6 times longer than broad, either
bare of ramuli, or, rarely, throwing out from the joints simple, horizontal,
root-like fibres. Colour a fine transparent crimson, which is instantly given
out with a crackling noise, occasioned by the bursting of the membrane, on
coming in contact with fresh water. It stains paper of a fine carmine, which
keeps unaltered for many years in the herbarium. Involucres raised on la-
teral, club-shaped stalks, 2 or 3 lines long ; their ramelli simple or forked,
bearing on the inner faces, minute, spherical, crowded, tetraspores. Favellce
mostly binate, likewise attached to involucral ramelli, with very wide
borders.
VI. Wrangelia. Ag. [Plate 23, D.]
Frond purplish or rose-red, filamentous, jointed ; filaments
single tubed. Fructijication : 1, gelatinous receptacles {fa-
170 SEIROSPORA.
vell(B) terminating the branches, surrounded by an involucre
and containing several clusters of pear-shaped spores com-
pacted together ; 2, tetraspores affixed to the ramuli, scat-
tered.— Name, in honour of Baron von Wrangel, a Swedish
naturalist. Neai'ly related to GriJfitJisia, from which this
genus chiefly differs in having scattered tetraspores.
1. W. multijida, Huds. ; stems setaceous, pinnate or bi-
pinnate, articulated, each joint bearing a pair of opposite,
slender, pinnato-multifid, incurved ramelli, or whorled with
numerous forked ramelli; joints of the stem many times
longer than broad. Harv. Pkyc. Brit. 1. xxvii. Griffithsia
multijida, Hook. Br. Fl. ii. i^. 338; IVt/att, Alg. Damn. No,
43. Conf. multijida, E.Bot.t. IS16.—0. piltjera : ramelli
very long, sub-simple and hair-like.
On perpendicular vocks, near low-water mark. Frequent on the south
coasts of England. West of Ireland. Belfast Bay, 3fr. W. Thompson.
Rare in Scotland, Saltcoats, Miss Margaret Landsborough . /3. Torquay,
Mrs. Griffiths — Stems 4 — 6 inches long, as thick as bristles, undivided,
pinnated or bipinnated with one or two series of long, simple, distichous,
patent branches, articulated; the joints very variable in length in dift'erent
specimens, 5 — 10 times longer than broad, single-tubed, each bearing an
opposite pair of slender, pinnato-multifid or sub-dichotomous ramelli, 1 or
2 lines long, which in /3. are much drawn out, half an inch long, and
either simple or pinnate. Colour a fine transparent rose-red, perishing
quickly in the air or in fresh water. Tetraspores minute, elliptical, with
a wide border, sessile on the lower part of the ramelli, opposite or secund,
occasionally tufted. Favellee roundish, stalked and iuvolucrated, contain-
ing clusters of pear-shaped spores. The ramelli are generally described as
dichotomous, but they are only so by abortion ; the true mode of branch-
ing is pinnate. They are sometimes whorled, but more usually opposite.
VTI. Seirospora. Harv. [Plate 23, C]
Frond rosy, filamentous ; stem articulated, one-tubed, the
articulations traversed by jointed filaments; branches jointed.
Fructification: 1, Favellce (imknovvn); 2, ova\ tetraspores
disposed in terminal, moniliform strings. — Name, atipa, a
chain, and (TTropo^, a seed.
1. S. Griffith sia7ia, Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xxi. Callith.
seirospermum , Grijf. in Harv. Man. ed. 1, ^?. 113. Cal.
versicolor &. seirospermum. Harv. in Hook. Journ. Bat. vol.
\.p. 302; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. 19.
On rocks and Alga;, in 4 — 5 fathom water. Very rare. Torquay, Mrs.
Griffiths ; Salcombe, 3Irs. Wyatt; Torpoint, Plymouth, Rev. W. S. Hore ;
Poitaferry, Mr. Thompson ; Roundstone, W. H. H. ; Arran, Rev. D.
CALLITHAMNION. 171
Landsborough ; Kirkwall Bay, Rev. J. H. Pollexfen. — Stem 2 or 6 inches
high, setaceous, generally undivided, more or less opake and veiny, set
with numerous, sub-distichous, long', simple, alternate, patent branches,
the lowest of which are longest, giving the plant, when displayed, a
broadly-ovate outline ; the largest frequently bearing a secoad set of simi-
lar branches. All are more or less furnished with sub-dichotomo-multifid,
level-topped ramuli, of a narrow obovate outline. Tetraspores globose, in
beaded strings at the tips of the branchlets, several strings generally tufted
at each tip. This beautiful plant has the aspect, and many of the micro-
scopic characters of strong specimens of Cal. conjmbosum, but is at once dis-
tinguished by the fructification ; the tetraspores in Seirospora being formed
out of the terminal ramuli themselves, the whole ramulus becoming con-
verted into a string of bead-like tetraspores.
VIII. Callithamnion. Lyugb. [Plate 23, A.]
Frond rosy or brownish red, filamentous; stem either
opake and cellular, or translucent and jointed ; branches
jointed, one-tubed, mostly pinnate (rarely dichotomous or ir-
regular); dissepiments hyaline. Fructijicalion : 1, round-
ish or lobed, berry-like receptacles ffavellccj seated on the
main branches, and containing numerous, angular spores :
2, external tetraspores, scattered along the ultimate branch-
lets or borne on little stalks. — Name, from Ka.'KKo(;, beautiful ^
and ^oi.(Mi.ov^ a little shrub.
Section 1. Cruciata : ramuli opposite. (Sp. 1 — 7).
1. C plumula,JL\\\&; stems distichously branched, sub-
dichotomous, articulated; each joint bearing a pair of short,
recurved plumules pectinated on their upper margin. Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 339 ; fVi/att, Ale/. Damn. No. 138 ; Harv. Phyc.
Brit. t. ccxlii. Co7if. plumula, Dillw. t. 50. C. Turneri, E.
Bot. t. 1637, [not t. 2336).— /3. smaller in every part.
In the sea from Orkney to Devon, not uncommon. /3. Devonshire,
Mrs. Griffiths. Dublin Bay. — Fronds 2 — 5 inches long, distichously
branched ; the branches alternate or irregular, the upper ones longest and
most divided, slender, articulated throughout ; every articulation having a
pair of opposite, horizontal or recurved ramuli, from a quarter to half a
line in length, and about a quarter the diameter of the stem, whose upper
margin is pectinated with a second series of subulate branchlets, which, in
luxuriant specimens, are often again and again pectinated along their inner
faces. Tetraspores minute, spherical, borne on the tips of the abbreviated
pectinate ramuli. Favellce large, lobed, dark red, on the main branches.
Joints of the stem 3 or 4 times longer than broad, of the ramuli shorter.
Colour a fine rose-red. Substance flaccid and tender.
C. cruciatiim, Ag. ; irregularly divided,; branches linear,
172 CALLITHAMNION.
sub-simple, articulated, each joint having two or four oppo-
site or quaternate, slender, erect, pinnated ramuli. Hook.
Br. Fl. ii. p. 339; Wijatt, Alg. Danm. No. 182; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. ^. clxiv. — B. pumilum ; much smaller, the ra-
rauli more dense, and joints shorter. Cal. jjumilum, Harv.
in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 339.
On mud-coveved rocl\\\\\.; rigid; branches densely ramulose,
shaggy below, plimiulate above ; plumules crowded, quadri-
farious, simply pinnate ; pinna) acute, tapering to the base,
erecto-patent ; articulations 2 or 3 times longer than broad ;
tetraspores elliptical, minute, on short, lateral processes of the
):)innules. Harr. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 342 ; IT'ipfH, Alg.
Danni. No. 141 ; Harv. Vhyc. Brit. t. clxxxviii. Cotif.
tetrica, E. Bot. t. 1915.
In the sea, generally growing on the perpendicular faces of rocks, at half-
tide level. Perennial. Common on the rocky coasts of England, and of
the west and south of Ireland. — Fre. Cells elliptical or globose, connected
in gelatinous, moniliform strings. Filaments sepa-
rate, or several united together in a gelatinous frond.
19. (Palmellace.e) : Sub-order HormosporecB. Cells el-
liptical or globose, separate, contained within mem-
branaceous, tubular filaments.
SIPUONACE^. 191
Order XIV. SIPHONACE^.
Siphonese, Grev. Alg. Brit. j). 183. J. Ag. Alg. Medit.
p. 17. Endl. 3rd Supjyl. p. 16. Dne. Class, p. 32 (also
Haiymedeas and Acetabularieaj). Siphoiieae, Lindl. Veg.
Kingd. p. 18, and Vaucheriege (in part), p. 22. Vaucheviese,
Codiea3, Anadyomeuese, Polyphysese and Dasycladeae, KVitz.
Phijc. Gen. pp. 302, 308, 311, 312. Caulerpeae, Grev. et
Auct. (?)
Diagnosis. — Green, marine or fresh-water Algas, composed
of continuous, tubular, simple or branched filaments, free or
variously combined in cylindrical or expanded fronds.
Natural Character. — Root, where obvious, consisting of
a mass of fibrous threads interwoven together or entangled ;
rarely of different character from the threads constituting
other parts of the frond. Frond in the simplest genera ( J'au-
clieria, Bryopsis) consisting of a single, very long, branching
cell or membranous tube, filled with granular colouring mat-
ter, without any partition or dissepiment from the base to the
apex of the branches. Thus, if a whole frond of Bryopsis
piumosa be placed on a piece of glass, under water, and the
tip of one of its branches be wounded, the contents of the
frond may be pressed out through the lacerated part, leaving
nothing but an empty sldn, and showing that there is no in-
ternal diaphragm in any part of the tube. This filiform cha-
racter of the cells distinguishes the genuine members of the
order, the more compound among which are made up of
thread-like cells, resembling those of Bryopsis, variously
united together. In Vaucherici the threads remain separate,
but are densely tufted together, and variously interwoven, so
as, in many instances, to form spongy, cushion-like tufts.
In Codium there is a closer connexion, the tips of the threads
lying close together, or slightly cohering, and the filaments
disposed in a definite order, so as to form fronds with a de-
termined outline. In Halimeda the union is still more inti-
mate, the spaces between the tips of the filaments being
closed up by carbonate of lime, and thus the frond cased in
a sort of epidermis, and all its parts built up into a common
structure. If a piece of Halimeda be placed in acid, so as
to dissolve the lime, its parts may readily be dissected, and
it will then be seen to consist of branching cells, resembling
those of a Codium or Bryopsis.
192 SIPHONACE.K.
Besides the colouring matter or endochrome dispersed
through the plant, and which forms in part the fructification,
many plants of tliis order are furnished with little bodies
called conlocyst(e, through which the species is reproduced.
These bodies are formed at the sides of the cells, and at first
manifest themselves as small mamilla?, or tubercular or club-
shaped ramuli, containing a denser colouring matter than
other parts of the frond. A diaphragm is formed at their
base, and thus a cell is enclosed, in which the colouring
matter becomes further organized and gradually compacted
into a sporangium. In some Vniicherice (as in V. clarata)
a portion of endochrome at the apex of a branch swells, be-
comes dense, and at length consolidated and separated from
that beneath it by a diaphragm. Thus a propagulum or
gemmule is formed, which, at maturity, separates from the
frond, and becomes a reproductive body. It is clothed with
vibratile cilia, by which it moves about until it has fixed it-
self, and then, lengthening at each end, it changes into a
filament, which gradually assumes the character proper to
the species, and becomes a new individual. Coniocystce
may commonly be found on Vaiicherice in spring, and on
the filaments of Codium tomentosum in summer, but have,
hitherto, been only noticed in one species of Bnjopsis.
The plants of this order are widely dispersed. All our ge-
nera are cosmopolitan, and Codium tomentosum is as com-
mon on the shores of the Pacific, from high northern to high
southern latitudes, as it is in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
A large number of genera are peculiar to warmer parts of the
sea, some of them among the most elegant of all marine
plants. Among these are Acetahularia, a Mediterranean and
West Indian genus, with thread-like stems crowned with a
papery cup (composed of filaments united together) fringed
with ijyssoid ramuli like those of a Bri/opsis ; and Anadt/o-
me)ie, a native of the same seas, having expanded fronds like
those of an Ulva, composed of tubular cells arranged in
starry patterns. If Caulcrpa belong, as I have always
thought — an opinion not shared by all my fellow-students,
and therefore to be reconsidered — to this order, a very re-
markable tropical and subtropical genus should be mention-
ed, which carries the type of structure peculiar to these
plants to its highest pitch. That genus contains numerous
species, distinguished among Algaj as rising from prostrate,
rooting stems, that form a compact mat, and serve to bind
together the loose sands on which they grow. They are
CODIUM. 193
therefore deserving of being spoken of among tlie ]:>ioneers
of civilization, which prepare a resting place for colonies of
other plants and animals. In Brongniart's ' History of Fossil
Vegetables ' a fossil is figured {PL 9 his, Jig. 1) under the
name Fucoides Jiypnoides, which bears a very close resem-
blance to Caulerpa Jiypnoides, a recent species from New Hol-
land ; and several other fossils, which appear to be the
remains of species of Caulerpa, are known to palaeontologists.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH (MARINE) GENERA.
I. CoDiUM. Filaments closely combined into a sponge-
like frond. [Plate 24, A.]
II. Bryopsis. i^/Zawe-;?/* free, pinnately branched. [Plate
24, B.]
III. Vaucheria. Filaments free, irregularly branched.
[Plate 24, C]
I. CoDiUM. Stackh. [Plate 24, A.]
Frond spongy, dark green (crustaceous, globular, cylindri-
cal or flat), composed of an interwoven mass of tubular, con-
tinuous filaments. Fructijication: opaque vesicles attached
to the filaments, near the surface of the frond. Grev. — Name,
Ko^iov, the skin of an animal ; from the soft substance.
1. C. Bursa, L. ; frond spherical, hollow. Grev. Alg.
Brit. p. 186; Hook. Br. Ft. ii. p. 318. Fucus Bursa, E.
Bot. t. 2183.
On rocks in the sea, very rare. Perennial ? Sumuaer. " Coast of Sus-
sex, plentifully, P(dlas ;'' Ttirner. Shores of Cornwall, Mr. Rashleigh.
Near Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. Belfast, Mr. Templeton. — Frond a globu-
lar, spongy, hollow ball, 1 — 8 inches in diameter. Structure similar to the
preceding.
2. C. adherens, Ag. ; frond forming a velvety crust on
the surface of rocks. Harv. in Hook. Journ. Bot. p. 305 ;
Wyatt, Alg. Da^ini. No. 127; Harv. PJiyc. Brit. t. xxxv. A.
On rocks in the sea, near low-water mark; very rare. Annual? At
Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. Land's End, Mr. Kalfs. Gorran Haven, &c.,
Mr. Peach. Falmouth Harbour, Miss Warren. Rathlin Island, Antrim,
Mr. Moore. Tory Island, Mr. Hpidman. — Spreading over the rock in
irregular patches of two feet or more in extent, resembling " fragments of
beautiful green velvet." Substance gelatinous, dense, closely adhering to
paper. Mrs. Griffiths, who has watched this plant from its first appear-
O
194 BRYOPSIS.
aiice till it had considerably extended itself, remarks, " that it does not
show the least tendency to throw up a frond. It has an uneven surface,
from taking the form of the rock, or even roots of coarse weeds, over which
it crosses.'' She considers it a true species.
3. C. amphihium, Moore ; fronds minute, erect, cylindri-
cal, simple, obtuse, aggregated in widely-spreading strata.
Moore and Harv. An. Nat. Hist. xiii. p. 321 ; Harv. PJiyc.
Brit. t. XXXV. B,
Turf hanks, near high-water mark, but washed by every tide, at Round-
stone, and at the head of Birtirbui Bay, Galway, Mr. Win. M'Calla. —
Tvfts widely spreading, the bases composed of entangled fibres, among
which rise numerous mamillteform fronds, from a quarter of an inch to an
inch in height, usually simple, rarely emarginate or forked ; having exactly
the structure of the frond of C. tomentosum. It differs from the young of
that species not merely in habitat, but also in having the fronds densely
tufted together, not solitary or dispersed. The colour is a herbaceous
green, and the substance soft.
4. C. tomentosum, Huds. ; frond cylindrical, dichotomous.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 185, t. 19; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 318;
Wt/att, Alg. Damn. No. 35 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xciii.
Fucus tomentosus, E. Bot. t. 712.
On rocks in the sea ; frequent. Perennial. Summer. — Frond rising
from a spreading spongy base, cylindrical, from a quarter to nearly half an
inch in diameter, 6 — 12 inches long, more or less regularly divided in a
dichotomous manner ; sometimes regularly dichotomous ; sometimes pal-
mato-partite, the segments forked; sometimes beset with short lateral
branches. Structure filamentous, the centre composed of longitudinal, in-
terlaced, colourless fibres, the circumference of radiating, horizontal, club-
shaped, deep green filaments, invested by a viscid gelatine. Fructification :
dark green ovate vesicles, borne by the club-shaped filaments.
II. Bryopsis. Lamour, [Plate 24, B.]
Frond membranaceous, filiform, tubular, cylindrical, glis-
tening, branched ; the branches imbricated, or distichous
and pinnated, filled with a fine green, minutely granuliferous
fluid. Grev. — Name, ^pvov, a moss, and w\J//f, an appearance.
1. Ji. plnmosa, Huds.; frond filiform, branched, naked
below, the branches scattered, spreading, twice or thrice
pinnated, the pinna pectinated. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 187,
t. 19 ; Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 318 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 128 ;
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. iii. Ulva plumosa, E. Bot. t. 2375.
On rocks, &c., in tide-pools. Annual. Summer and autumn. — Frond
1 — 4 inches high, more or less branched, sometimes with a nearly simple
stem, set with numerous close branches ; at other times much divided in
a subdicholomous or irregular manner. Branches naked at base, in the
upper part closely pinnated with subopposite, slender, distichous or rarely
VAUCHERIA. 195
irregular ramuli, wliicli gradually diminish in length to the apex. Colour
a fine deep green. Substance lubricous and adhering to paper. A beau-
tiful plant, whose branches resemble beautiful, glossy, bright green feathers.
2. B, hypnoides, Lamour. ; frond slender, very much
branched ; the branches long ; the ramuli capillary, irregu-
larly inserted, somewhat erect, the lower ones elongated.
Grev. — Hook. Br. Ft. ii. f. 318; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No.
81 ; Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. cxix.
On rocks and stones in tide-pools, and on the larger Algas, rather rare.
Southerness, Kirkcudbright, Sir W. Jardine, Bart. Frith of Forth, Air.
Hassell. Appin, Caj>t. Carmichael. Torquay, Mrs. Griffiths. Portrush,
north of Ireland, Mr. D. Moore. Roundstone, 3Ir. M'Calla. — Frond
2 — 4 inches high, much branched, the branches repeatedly divided in an
alternate or irregular maimer ; lesser branches set with irregularly scat-
tered, somewhat pinnate, more or less dense ramuli. Colour a fine yellow
green. This is a more slender, very much more branched plant than the
preceding, and the ramuli are irregularly scattered, sometimes issuing from
all sides of the filaments.
III. Vaucheria. De Cand. [Plate 24, C]
Fronds aggregated, tubular, continuous, capillary, coloured
by an internal, green, pulverulent mass. Frnctification :
dark green, homogeneoits sporangia fco?iiocyst(eJ, attached to
the frond. Grev. — Named in honour of M. Vaucher, a dis-
tinguished writer on fresh- water Confervco. (The species are
natives of fresh water, with the following (British) exceptions).
1. V. suhmarina, Berk,; frond capillary, forked, fastigiate;
sporangia scattered, ovate or lanceolate, sessile. Berk. Gl.
Alg. t. 8. V. dichotoma, &. sub?narina, Ag. — Hook. Br. Fl.
n.p. 319.
On the muddy sea-shore, rare. Weymouth, Rev. M. J. Berkelei/. — Tufts
2 or 3 inches high, not diffused, fastigiate ; filaments much more slender
than in V. dichotoma, less branched, the branches more irregular. Vesicles
numerous, scattered over the upper branches.
2. V. marina, Lyngb. ; filaments loosely tufted or distinct,
branches (e\\, very long, obtuse ; sporangia solitary, obovate,
pedicellate, lateral. Carm. — Hook. /. c. p. 319 ; Lyngh. t. 22;
Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 168.
In the sea. Annual. Summer. Parasitical on Furcellaria lumbricalis,
Appin, Capt. Carmichael. On mud at Torbay and Salcombe, 3Irs. Grif-
fiths and 3Irs. Wyatt. — Fronds tufted or somewhat spreading, erect, very
slender and flaccid, irregularly branched, somewhat forked ; the branches
erect. Vesicles few, scattered, broadly obovate and very obtuse, by which
character it is easily distinguished from V. sub)narina, subpedicellate. Co-
lour bright green, becoming rather brownish, but retaining a gloss in drying.
Mrs. Griffiths has kindly presented me with specimens in fructification.
o 2
196 CONFERVACE^.
3. V. velutina, Ag. ; filaments creeping ; branches fastigi-
ate, woven into a velvety stratum ; sporangia solitary, globose,
lateral. Carm. — Hook. I. c. p. 319.
On the muddy sea-shore, flooded by the tide. Annual. Spring and sum-
mer. Appin, Capt. Carmichael. Miltown Malbay. — " Filaments exceed-
ingly tough, interwoven into a dense, velvety, green stratum, pellucid
below and creeping over the mud ; branches near the extremity erect, fas-
tigiate, and more or less crooked. Vesicles solitary, globular, on short
lateral peduncles." Carm.
Order XV. CONFERVACEyE.
Confervese, J. Ag. Alg. Medit. p. 12. Harv. Man. Ed. I,
p. 124. Lindl. Veg. Kingd. p. 18. Confervoideae, Endl.
Srd Suppl. p. 14.
Diagnosis. — Green, marine or fresh-water Algse, composed
of articulated threads or filaments, simple or branched, free
or surrounded by gelatine. Cells cylindrical, trinicated.
Natural Character. — Root rarely more than a point of
attachment, and often perishing on the maturity of the frond.
Frond in all cases composed of cylindrical, truncated cells
of moderate length, strung together in filaments, of which
thev are the articulations. These filaments sometimes anas-
tomose, so as to form a net (as in Hydrodictyon) ; some-
times at maturity two separate filaments approach each other,
when a species of anastomosis takes place between them, a
cell in one filament becoming connected to a cell in another
filament by means of a membranous tube, through which the
contents of one are discharged either into the other, or else
lodged in the connecting tube ; in both cases forming the
nucleus of the fructification. This mode of connexion,
which is called conjugation, is characteristic of the sub-order
ZygnemetB. In most cases, however, and in all the genuine
ConfervecB, the filaments are free one from another, either
simple or variously branched ; the ramification is frequently
alternate, or secund, rarely dichotomous, and rarely opposite.
In the sub-order ChatophorecB each frond consists of several
filaments combined together in a more or less perfect manner
by surrounding gelatine, and frequently terminating in hair-
like cellules of extraordinary length and tenuity ; whilst in
other species of this sub-order each cell is furnished with a
very long rigid seta, and this is remarkably obvious in Ochlo-
cheete, the only one of this sub-order which our limits admit.
CONFERVACE^. I9t
The mode by which the frond lengthens is twofold. Either
new cells are continually emitted, as buds, from the apices
of the last formed cells ; or else the old cells continually di-
vide in the centre. In the first case the frond continues to
lengthen by constant additions to its points, and this is truly
acroge/ious ; in the other it grows equally throughout its
whole length. This latter mode of increase is most frequent
among the species with simple filaments. The fructification
either consists oi zoospores formed out of the colouring matter
of the cells, and emitted through an aperture formed in the
cell-wall ; or else the whole mass of endochrome contained
in a cell, and often the whole contents of two cells are con-
centrated into a.sporan()ium or conceptacle, which is deposited
in the water on the perishing of the frond. In the Confervecs
this sporangium is usually formed out of the contents of a sin-
gle cell, but is not always lodged in the cell in which it ori-
ginates ; for in one genus {Tiresias) supplementary cells, are
formed at one extremity of the cell furnishing the sporaceous
matter, and in these the sporangium is lodged. In the Zt/ff-
nemecc the matter of two cells constantly goes to form the
sporangium. This matter either collects in one of the cells,
leaving the other quite empty ; or else is deposited in a sup-
plementary cell formed in the connecting tube ; or (as in
Sfaurocarpus), where the two cells inosculate without any
tube between them, the sporangium, taking the form of a cross,
lies partly in one cell and partly in the other. In the Choi-
iophorecB the sporangia are lateral and external, developed as
buds from the cells of the filament, or they are the enlarged
cells of the ramuli.
By far the larger number of the Confervaceae inhabit fresh
water, and are found in all i)arts of the world wherever water
lies stagnant, and wherever it flows. The bright green,
glossy threads that float on the surface of ponds and ditches
are commonly species of the sub-order Zygnemea;, a highly
curious and beautiful family, of which there is no marine ex-
ample. When young the filaments lie at the bottom of the
pool, but as they approach maturity they float to the surface,
where they often lie so thickly as to retain within their
meshes large bubbles of air, which they have disengaged
during the progress of vegetation, and which is in great part
oxygen. When shallow water lies for some weeks in sum-
mer on the surface of flat land, it often becomes completely
filled with the threads of these plants, which by their vege-
198 CLADOPHORA.
tation counteract the evil effects which the decay of other
vegetables under the water would otherwise dispense, and on
the clearing off of the water their relics quickly dry up,
without undergoing decomposition. In this case the matted
threads are soon bleached white in the sun, and form a sort
of natural paper. By the older practitioners several of the
Confer vce were used in binding up broken limbs, a purpose
for which they were well adapted from their softness and
power of retaining moisture ; but this was before the days of
oil-skin and gutta percha.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH (MARINE) GENERA.
Sub-order 1. Conferve.e. Filaments free, not surrounded
by gelatine. Sporangia contained in the articulations.
T. Cladophora. Filaments tufted, much branched.
[Plate 24, D.]
II. Rhizoclonium. Filaments decumbent, with root-like
branches. [Plate 24, F.]
III. Conferva. Filaments unbranched. [Plate 24, E.]
Sub-order 2. Ch.etophore.e. Filaments united in sub-
membranaceous or gelatinous fronds ; cells often tipped
with bristles. Sporangia external.
IV. OcHLocHJETE. Frond disciform. Filaments radiat-
ing from a central point, prostrate, irregularly branch-
ed ; each cell produced above into a rigid, inarticu-
late bristle. [Plate 25, E.]
Sub-order I. Conferve.e.
I. Clauophora. Kiltz. [Plate 24, D.]
Filaments green, attached, uniform, branched, composed
of a single series of cells or articulations. Fruit, aggregated
granules or zoospores, contained in the articulations, having,
at some period, a proper ciliary motion. — Name, from pcAaSbj,
a branch, and (popica, to bear. Much branched, tufted plants,
CLADOPHORA. 1 99
chiefly marine. A few, here omitted, inhabit clear, fresh-
water streams.
1. C. Brotcnii, Dillw. ; filaments forming dense, cushion-
like tufts, erect, rigid, flexuous, elastic, slightly branched ;
branches few, long, sub-simple, secund ; axils acute, articu-
lations 4 or 5 times longer than broad, the lower ones thick-
ened upwards, the upper cylindrical. Harv. I. c. p. 356 ;
Dilliv. Suppl. t. D. ; E. Bot. t. 2879; Harv. Pkijc. Brit. t.
XXX.; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. '225. C. puhinatay Brown,
MS.
On wet rocks in a cave near Diinree, North of Ireland, R. Brown, Esq.
On shady rocks at the entrance of a small cave beyond Black Castle, Wick-
low, where it is exposed to the dripping of fresh water, and the occasional
overflow of the sea. Cornwall Coast, near Land's End, Mr. Ralfs. — This
forms exceedingly dense, very rigid, tufts, of a hlack-green colour when
growing, but, on having the water expressed, and being held to the light,
exhibits a beautiful yellow-green tint. Filamenls so matted together that
it is difficult to separate a single thread. They appear to originate in a
mass of creeping, branched, densely matted fibres, which form the base of
the tufts. They are erect, from half an inch to an inch high, flexuous. very
rigid and elastic; the branches few and nearly simple, almost always
secund, very erect. A very curious and distinct plant, having, to the naked
eye, a good deal the appearance of Vaucheria terrestris, but totally diff'er-
ent in structure. It is perhaps allied to C. icgagropila. I have examined
a specimen from Mr. Brown in the late Mr. Templeton's herbarium, and
find it agree in every respect with my Wicklow plant.
2. C. repens, J. Ag. ; forming dense, cushion-shaped or
globular tufts ; filaments short, capillary, rigid, densely mat-
ted together, rising from root-like fibres, slightly branched ;
branches erect, sub-simple, or forked, naked, or with a few
distant, secund ramuli ; articulations cylindrical, very long,
(ten to twenty times as long as their diameter). Harv. Pliyc.
Brit. t. ccxxxvi.
Thrown on shore after a gale. Annual? Summer. Jersey, very rare,
Miss Turner. — Tufts an inch or two in diameter, and about half an inch
thick, composed of innumerable, slender filaments densely matted together.
The habit is very similar to that of C. Broivnii, but the articulations are of
much greater length, and of a different form. This species is also a native
of the north coast of France, and of the Mediterranean sea.
3. C. pellucida, Huds. ; filaments cartilaginous, rigid,
erect, bright green ; di-trichotomous, the axils very acute,
branches erect ; articulations many times longer than broad.
Harv. I. c. p. 357 ; Wyalt, Alg. Damn. No. 193 ; E. Bot. t.
1716 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clxxiv.
On rocks near low-water mark. Yarmouth, Sir W. J. Hooker. SoTith
of England. Several places in Ireland ; very fine in Belfast Lough, Mr.
•200 CLADOPHOHA,
Thompson. — Root a mass of fibres. Filaments 4 — 6 inches high, setaceous,
extremely riyid, tough and wiry, tufted or subsolilary, risinsi- with an undi-
vided stem for half an inch to an inch, then forked or trifurcate, and after-
wards repeatedly branched in a di-trichotomous or somewhat umbellate
manner, the uppermost branches more or less furnished with di-lrichoto-
mous or tufted ramuli. Joints of the stem and branches verylonj;^, the dis-
sepiments rarely occurring except at the divisions of the branches ; in the
ramuli short, 3 or 4 times longer than broad. Colour a fine, glossy, trans-
parent green, fading much in drying. It scarcely adheres to paper.
4. C. rectangularis, Giiff. ; filaments setaceous, rigid, ir-
regularly branched ; branches distant, patent, set with short,
opposite, horizontal ramuli ; articulations twice or thrice as
long as broad. Harr. in Hook. Br. Fl. ii. Addenda, p. 10 ;
IVyatt, Al(j. Damn. No. 145 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xii.
In the sea, thrown up ; very rare. Summer. Torquay, Mr. Borrer and
Mrs. Griffiths. Roundsione, ilfir. J/' C'a//a. Arran, Galway, il/r. /l/ir/re?ra.
— Filaments as thick as horse-hair, 8 — 12 inches long, divided in an irregu-
lar manner into a few principal branches ; branches patent, more or less
furnished with subdislant, horizontal, opposite ramuli, from a line to
an inch in length, and either simple or bearing a second series ; very
rarely, by abortion, they are alternate. Colour a full green, fading in the
herbarium. Substance rigid, very imperfectly adhering to paper. Joints
uniform throughout the plant, generally 2 or 3 times longer than broad.
One of the most beautiful and distinct, as it is the rarest, of the genus.
5. C. Macallana, Harv. ; filaments setaceous, rigid, fidl
green, very flexuous, loosely bundled together, excessively
branched ; branches alternate, or rarely opposite, zigzag,
very patent; ramuli short, recurved, simple or pectinated,
obtuse ; articulations twice or thrice as long as broad ; en-
dochrome rather dense. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixxxiv.
On the sandy bottom of the sea, in 4 — 10 fathom water. Annual.
Summer. Dredged in Roundstone Bay, abundantly, 71/>-. Wm. M''Culla.
— Filaments forming crisped, sub-cylimlrical, loose bundles 6 — 20 inches
long, bristling when removed from the water, of a rich grass-green, much
branched and inextriraldy entangled, rigitl. Branches very flexuous, irre-
gular in length and insertion, more or less clothed with very patent ramuli.
This has much of the outer habit of C. rectangularis, mixed with which it
often occurs at Roundstone, but may at once l)e known by the secund or
alternate ramuli. It is named in honour of its discoverer, the late Mr.
Wm. M'Calla, a most successful and acute explorer of Roundstone and
the neighbouring bays — who added many new species to the Fauna and
Flora of Ireland, and whose early death is much to be regretted. Mr.
M'CiiUa fell a victim to the cholera in the spring of the present year,
(May, 1849).
(). C. Hulchinsiee. Dilhv. ; filaments setaceous, cartilagi-
nous, rigid, glaucous green, flexuous, tufled, bristly ; ramuli
curved, simple or furnished on the interior face with processes
CLADOl'HOKA. 201
of one articulation ; articulations twice as long as broad,
joints contracted. Dilltv. t. 109 ; Harv. I. c. p. 357 ; JVyatt,
Alg. Danut. No. 226 ; Harv. Pltyc. Brit. f. cxxiv.
On locks, &c., near low-water mark ; rather rare. Banlry Bay, Miss
Hutchins, and various stations on the English and Irish coasts. — Fila-
ments thicker than horse-hair, 6 — 8 inches long, flexuous, repeatedly di-
vided in an alternate manner ; branches rather distant, spreading or divari-
cated, more or less furnished with short branchlets, having a few short,
seciind ramuli along their upper faces. Colour deep glaucous green, "with
changeable tints when fresh, and under water appearing almost white,''
{Miss Hutchins). Substance rigid and tough, more or less perfectly adher-
ing to paper. Joints uniform throughout the plant, ^e&xesi C. pellucida
in texture, and C. diffusa in habit and character: from the latter it is not
always easy clearly to distinguish it.
7. C. diffusa, Roth ; filanients sub-setaceous, rigid, dark
or full green, flexuous, much branched ; branches distant,
elongated, furnished towards the top with a few short, patent,
secund ramuli ; articulations 3 or 4 times longer than broad.
Dillw. 1. 21 ; E. Bot. t. 2289 ; Harv. I. c. p. 358 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 144; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cxxx.
On rocks, &c. in the sea, not uncommon. Southern shores of England
and Ireland : West of Ireland. Port Rush,il/r. Moore. — Filaments 6 — 10
inches long, as thick as horse-hair, loosely tufted, generally so rigid as to
bristle out when removed from the water, but occasionally flaccid, very flex-
uous, distantly branched ; branches alternate, much divided, either bare of
rainuli, or furnished toward the end, or sometimes generally, with short,
secund branchlets. Joints 3 or 4 times longer than broad, nearly uniform
in all parts of the frond. Colour either grass-green or dark green.
8. C. Hilda, Harv. ; filaments sub-rigid, slender, very
straight, dull green or olivaceous (when dry), sparingly di-
chotomous ; ramuli few and scattered, appressed, the upper-
most often opposite ; articulations many times longer than
broad. Harv. in Mack. FL Hih. iii. p. 229.
On basalt riral ; those of the ra-
muli 6 — 10 times as long as broad. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
Ixxxvi. C. Kaiieaim, M'Calla, Alg. Hib. No. 29.
Parasitical on Zostera, and various LatninaricB, and other Alga), in 2 — 6
fathom water. Annual. Summer. Very abundant in Roundstone Bay,
Connemara, 3Ir. W. M'Calla. Falmouth, Miss Warren. — Filaments
6 — 20 inches long, exceedingly slender and soft, forming beautifully silky,
bright green, sub-gelatinous tufts. A much more slender plant than C. . 353.
On the flat sandy shore about half-tide level. Appin, Capt. Carmichael.
Bautry Bay, 3Ir. R. Ball. — " This species occurs in fleeces a yard or more
in extent, and of a peculiar structure. They consist of several exceedingly
thin layers, placed over each other; but so slightly connected that they may
be separated like folds of gauze, to the extent of many inches, without the
208 CONFERVA.
least laceration. Filaments 5 or 6 inches long, about the thickness of C.
bombi/cina, ri^id, possessed of peculiar roughness ; feeling, when pulled
asunder, as if hair were drawn over a piece of rosin. Articulatiims 3 — 4
times as long as broad ; sporular mass assuming a great variety of forms.
When old the filaments become exceedingly rough and often tubercular.''
Carrri:
3. C. Utorea, Haw. ; filaments thick, rigid, crisped, form-
ing loose, extensive bundles of a dull green colour ; articula-
tions once and a half as long as broad. C. limim, Harv. in
Hook. Br. FL ii. p. 352, (not of Roth). Wyatt, Alij. Danm.
No. 220.
In salt-water ditches, along the muddy sea shore. — " Forming distinct,
loosely interwoven, sub-cylindrical tufts of a yellowish green colour, which,
in a more advanced state, changes to a dark olive ; attached at one end,
and resting at the bottom of the pool. Filaments as thick as those of C.
cerea, rigid, brittle, and variously curved. Articulations filled with green
matter, intermixed with large granules, irregularly contracted and com-
pressed in drying.'' Carm. MS. This plant was called C. Linum in ' Brit.
Flora' on the authority of Capt. Carmichael, but that name having now
been ascertained to belong to the following species, it becomes necessary
to assign a new name to the present one.
4. C. Linum, Roth ; filaments very tliick, of great length,
deep glossy green, much curled, rigid, forming loosely en-
tangled, harsh masses ; articulations as long as broad. C.
crassa, Ag., Harv. I. c. j)- ^^~- Conf. capiUaris, Dillw. t.
9 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cl. A.
In salt-water ditches, near the coast. Very abundant in the ditches by
the North Wall, Dublin. — Filaments many feet long, twice as thick as
hogs' bristles, remarkably rigid and fragile when recent, but soon becoming
flaccid on exposure to the air. Tliis is the true C. Linum of Roth, see
Phyc. Brit.
5. C. sutoria, Berk. ; threads setaceous, extremely long,
flexuous, equal, dark green ; articulations once and a half as
long as broad; interstices pellucid. Berk. Gl. Alg. t. 14,/.
3 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cl. B.
Floating in ditches and pools subject to the influence of the tide, at
Wisbeach, Rev. M. J. Berkelci/. April. Near C. Linum and C. crassa,
" from both which, however, it differs in being a much more slender plant,
and of a closer habit, and by no means variegated." Berk.
6. C. tortuosa, Dillw. ; filaments rigid, slender, much
curled and twisted, forming broad, closely interwoven strata ;
articulations 2 or 3 limes longer than broad. Harv. I. c. p.
352 ; Dillw. t. 46.
In the sea, on rocks and Alga; ; common. — This forms extensive strata,
CONFERVA. 209
often several feet in diameter, of a pale or full p;reeu colour. ^. is found
near high-water mark, and is usually of a duller colour, sins^ularly bent
and distorted, and from the angles thvowinjj- out tubular, indistinctly joint-
ed, partially colourless radicles, " which adhere to particles of sand and
other matters within their reach, often to a neighbouring filament." Carm.
7. C. implexa, Dillw. ; filaments very slender, capillary,
rather flaccid, forming extensive, mnch entangled, bright
green strata; articulations rather longer than broad. Harv.
I. c. p. 352 ; Dilliv. Siippl. t. B. ; Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No.
142. C. iniricata, Grev. Eclin. p. 315. Bangia Jolinsloiii,
Grev. in Johust. Berw. Fl. p. 260. Also C. iilothrix, Lynyh.
(of 1st ed. p. 129).
On marine rocks and attached to Algse. Bantry, Miss Hutckins. Ber-
wick, Dr. Johnston. Frith of Forth, Dr. Greville. Miltown Malbay. Tor-
quay, Mrs Griffiths. — Filaments half as thick as those of C. torluosa, with
shorter joints, forming densely interwoven strat;i, or little tufts among the
branches of other Algas. Bangia Johnstoni, as Dr. W. Aruott first pointed
out to me, differs in no respect from this species.
** Filaments tufted, straight, attached, erect or decumbent {not stratified).
8. C. melagonivrn, Web. and Mohr; filaments elongate,
scattered, straight, thick, erect, stiff and wiry, dark green ;
articulations twice as long as broad. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
xcix. A.; Harv. I. c. p. 354; Dillw. Conf. Sup. t. B.;
Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 221.
In the sea, growing on rocks at the extreme verge of low-water mark;
found on many parts of the coast, but not common anywhere. — Filaments
5 — 8 inches high, thicker than bristles, scarcely tufted, generally but three
or four together or solitary, remarkably rigid and wiry, tenacious and
difficult to break; dissepiments somewhat contracted, very narrow, but
pellucid.
9. C. cerea, Dillw. ; filaments elongated, tufted, straight,
harsh, brittle, yellow-green ; articulations as long as broad.
Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xcix. B. ; Harv. I. c. p. 354 ; Wyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 191 ; E. Bot. t. 1929.
In the sea, on sand-covered rocks, frequent. — Filaments 3 — 12 inches
long, tufted, as thick as hogs' bristles, harsh to the touch, of a beautiful
yellow-green colour, fading in the herbarium to a dirty white. Colouring
matter of the joint finally parted in the centre. The articulations are
visible to the naked eye.
10. C. collabens, Ag. ; filaments elongated, straight, tufted,
very thick, gelatinous and flaccid, of a splendid aeruginose
green ; articulations once and a half as long as broad. Harv.
I. c. p. 354. C. '0(;, a
miiltitnde, and %aiT)i, a bristle.
1. O. hystrix, Thw. in Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxxvi.
On stems, &c. in a lake of brackisli water called " The little sea,'' near
Wavebani, Dorset, Rev. W. Smith ; also in fresh water ditches near Bris-
tol, G. H. K. Thivaites. Forming a Tninute dot-like disk, on the leaves
of grasses, <.Si:c. — Filaments closely appressed to the substance on which
they grow, radiating from a central point, irregularly divided, and fre-
quently cohering laterally. Cells oblong, each usually furnished with a
tubular, very long, diaphanous bristle.
Order XVI. ULVACE.E.
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 168 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 309 ; Harv.
in Mack. Ft. Hib. part iii. p. 240 (in part) ; J. Ag. Alg.
Medit. p. 14; Endl. Sd Siippl. p. 18.
Diagnosis. — Green or purple, marine or fresh water Algae,
composed of small polygonal cells, forming expanded mem-
branes, or membranous tubes ; very rarely arranged in fila-
ments.
Natural Character. — Root a small disk. Frond in all
the genuine plants of the order membranaceous, composed of
minute, polygonal, and commonly flattened cellules coher-
ing in filmy strata, and connected into laminae by means
of firm gelatine. The surface of the membrane is usually
areolated, and in some cases beautifully tessellated, the cells
being arranged in parcels of four and multiples of that num-
ber, forming regular patterns, like mosaic pavement. These
membranous fronds are frequently expanded, in which case
they seldom assume a definite figiue, generally being of very
uncertain form in different individuals of the same species,
and being frequently much lacerated during growth. Some-
p2
212 ULVACE.E.
times the membrane (as in Enteromorpha) takes the form of
a tube, and is then very generally branched. In Bangia,
a genus which ought probably to be removed from the order,
the frond is exceedingly slender, forming filaments which
sometimes consist of a simple string of cells, ranged conse-
cutively like those of a Conferva.
Most of the Ulvaceae are of an intense, herbaceous green
colour, having glassy fronds ; but a few (as the Porplii/rce,
Bangia) are distinguished among chlorospermatous Algae for
a lurid purple colour. Except this difference in colour there
is little in structure to separate these plants from those
with which the}' are here associated. They inhabit the same
places, and their mode of fructification is similar. Nothing
can be more simple than the fructification of the Ulvacese,
so far as it is known. Every cell of the frond contains its
endochrome, or colouring matter, and this, at maturity, forms
the spore. Each cell seems capable of furnishing a sporule,
and in many cases four sporules ; and thus from the breaking
up of a single ulvaceous leaf millions of new individuals may
arise. No wonder, therefore, that these plants multiply so
fast and ai'e so widely dispersed. They are the least local of
all the Algae ; some of our common kinds being found wher-
ever any marine vegetation exists. The shores of most coun-
tries supply Ulva lalissima and Enieromorpha intestlnalis
and compressa ; while Ulva {Prasiola) crispa is found at Spitz-
bergen and in the far southern antarctic lands, being one of
the most northern and most southern of the Algae. The spe-
cies require a careful study ; particularly those of the genus
Enteromorpha. Comparatively ie\y of the Ulvaceae are found
in fresh water. The majority grow just below high-water
mark, forming the marginal belt of marine vegetation, but
the marine kinds are by no means confined to this zone, but
sometimes vegetate at a considerable depth, quite beyond the
influence of the tide.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH (MARINE) GENERA.
I. Enteromorpha. Frond tubular, mostly branched.
[Plate 25, D.]
II. Ulva. Frond leaf-like, green. [Plate 25, B.]
III. PoRPHYRA. Frond leaf-like, purple. [Plate 25, A.]
IV. Bangia. Frond filamentous, (mostly) purple or pink.
[Plate 25, C]
ENTEKOMORPHA. 213
I. Enteromorpha. Link. [Plate 25, D.]
Frond tubular, hollow, membranaceous, of a green colour
and reticulated structure. Frnciijication : three or four
roundish granules, aggregated in the reticulations. Grev. —
Name, evrspov, the entrail, and iJi'Op(pYi, a form or appearance.
1. ^. Cornncopt(B, dixxa. ', gregarious, small; fronds tu-
bular at the base, dilated upwards, plaited, laciniated and
torn at the margin. Carm. MSS. ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 313.
Scytonema iniestinalis, &. Cornucopia;, Lijiigb. p. 67.
On corallines, &c., in rocky pools left by the tide. Annual. Spring and
snmnier. — " Fronds gregarious, about an inch long, funnel-shaped, from a
short, tabular base, expanding into a plaited, laciniated membrane, torn
and jngjied at the extremity. Granules in fours, all over the frond. Co-
lour dark green below, pale above." Carm.
2. E. intestinalis, L. ; fronds elongated, simple, iuflated
(often floating). Grev. Aly. Brit. p. 179 ; Hook. I. c. p. 313;
Wyatt, Alg. Danm. No. 80 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. cliv. — &.
crispa ; frond compressed, the margin crisped and curled.
Grev.
In the sea, and in brackish and fresh-water ditches, very common. An-
nual. Summer. — Fronds often 2 feet long or more, and from a line to 2
or 3 inches in diameter, tapering at base, at first fixed by a minute root,
afterwards detached and freely floating, inflated, variously waved or curled,
of a full green colour, fading to yellowish and finally white.
3. E. compressa, L. ; fronds elongated, branched, cylin-
drical or sub-compressed ; the branches simple or nearly so,
long, and much attenuated at their base. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. 180, /. 18; Hook. I. c. p. 314; JVyatt, Alg. Damn. No.
165. — B. prolifern ; frond somewhat inflated, throwing out
capillary branches on all sides. Grev.
On rocks, &c., in the sea, very common. Annual. Spring and summer.
— Fronds 6 — 12 inches long, either capillary or several lines in diameter,
more or less branched, sometimes nearly simple, sometimes very much di-
vided and bushy ; branches generally springing near the base, much atten-
uated below, gradually widening upwards and obtuse at the tips, by which
character this variable plant is easily recognized from the four following.
4. E. Linkiana, Grev.; "frond cylindrical, tubular, fili-
form, reticulated, pellucid, of a very ])ale green colour, mem-
branaceous (rigid when dry), much branched ; branches
attenuated." Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 182 ; Hook. I. c. p. 314.
In the sea. Ap\>m, Cnpt. Carmichael. Annual. Summer. — ^'Fronds
214 ENTEROMORPHA.
6—12 inches in length, filiform, cylindrical, tubular, inflated, rising with a
main stem about 1 line in diameter, on all sides of which, and alonj? the
whole length, the branches are inserted : branches 2—6 inches long, smaller
in diameter than the stem, between erect and spreading, set with a second
series, 1 or 2 inches long, which, in their turn, bear a third, which aie quite
capillary. The structure distinctly reticulated, the relicuUitions roundish,
but angular. Fructification .- 3 or 4 subglobose granules within many of
the reticulations. Substance membranaceous, but firm and somewliat car-
tilaginous when dry, adhering very imperfectly to paper. Colour a very
pale, yellowish green." Grev. I. c.
5. E- erecta, Lyngb. ; frond cylindrical, filiform, slender,
highly reticulated ; branches erect, opposite or alternate, set
with capillary ramuli, all attenuated to a fine point. Hook.
Br. Ft. ii. p. 314; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 166; Harv.
Phtjc. Brit. i. xliii. E. clathrata, B. Grev. Alg. Brit. p.
181. Conferva paradoxa, Dillw. (authentic specimen J ;
Griff. MS.
On rocks in the sea, about half-tide level. Annual. Spring and sum-
mer, not uncommon.— Frond 4—8 inches high, cylindrical, from the thick-
ness of a hog's bristle to half a line in dianieter ; stem generally undivided,
closely set with opposite or alternate, simple branches, which diminish in
length upwards ; these are gradually attenuated to a point, and set throujih-
out with sul)-distichous, slender, setaceous, erecto-pateni ramuli, 1 or 2
lines long, and all tapering at the lips, which give the plant a feathery ap-
pearance. Such is the normal slate of this species, but there are number-
less varieties, which seem to connect it with the following, as that in like
manner is connected with E. ramulosa ; and I quite agree with Sir W. J.
Hooker, who, in adopting Capl. Carniichaers descvij.tions, says, that how-
ever distinct typical individuals of the three supposed species may appear,
still, " that there are intermediate slates of these plants which would rather
lead me to coincide with Dr. Greviile, and to unite them." Few plants are
so sportive in size and ramification, and if all the varieties weie described
the species might easily be multiplied till we should have one for almost
every marine pool !
6. E. clathrata, Roth ; frond cylindrical, filiform, slender,
highly reticulated; branches spreading, much divided, set
with divaricated or recurved ramuli. Grev. Aly. Brit. p. 181 ;
Hook. Br. Ft. ii. ;?. 315 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 34 } E.
clathrata, a. Grev. I. c. Conf. paradoxa, E. Bot. t. 2328.
Between tide-marks. Annual. Spring and summer. Not uncommon.
— Frond 4—12 inches hiuh, cylindrical, from the thickness of a l)rislle to
1 or 2 lines in diameter, generally with an undivided stem set with close
branches, which spread in all directions and bear a second, third, or fourth
series, till the plant assumes a very bushy appearance; the ramuli slender,
abundanlly scattered, either spreading or curved back, occasionally tangled
and interwoven, iheir apices always acute and tapering. Carmichael de-
scribes this plant as prostrate, " forming a thin, inextricable fleece," a state
evidently approaching the following.
ENTEROMORPHA. 215
7. E. ramiilosa,^v(\. ; frond compressed, highly reticulated,
very much branched and interwoven, twisted, everywhere co-
vered with spine-like branchlets. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. ccxlv.;
Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 181 ; Hook. I. c. p. 315 ; E. Bot. t. 2137.
E. clailirdta, y. Grev. I. c. E. rmnulosa, var. minor, Wyatt,
Alg. Danm. No. 208,
On rocks between tide-marks. Annual. Sprinjr. Not uncommon. —
"Fronds 5 or 6 inches to 1 or 2 feet Ion »•, half a line in diameter, com-
pressed, curled and twisted, much and repeatedly branched, and interwoven
into a (more or less) thick and inextricable mat, and beset on all sides with
short, spine-like branchlets, or rather apiculi, which render it harsh to the
touch. Substance membranaceous, green. This species can be at once
distinguished fiom E. clat/irata, with which alone there is any risk of its
being confounded, by mere handling, the one feeling harsh to the touch,
the other soft and silky." Carm. 3fSS.
8. E. Hopkirkii, M'Calla ; frond excessively slender and
byssoid, flaccid, very much branched ; branches feathery, de-
compound, erect, attenuated, set with minute, subulate ra-
muli ; cellules large, hyaline, each cell containing one or two
minute grains of colouring matter; the ramuli composed
of a single series of such cells. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t.
cclxiii.
Dredged in 4 — 10 fathom water. Annual. Summer and autumn. Good-
rington, Torbay, Mrs. Griffiths (1838). Carrickfergus, Mr. M'Calla (1845).
— Fronds 6 — 12 inches long or more, exceedingly slender, the main stems
scarcely the diameter of human hair, the branches and ramuli more deli-
cate. The cells of which the frond is composed are of large size, about
three or four making the breadth of a branch, hyaline, with a minute grain
of endochrome in the centre ; the ramuli are composed of a single string of
such cells. The species has been named by Mr. M'Calla in honor of the
author of the ' Flora Glolliana : ' the discovery is, however, due to Mrs.
Griffiths, from whom I have specimens of the date above given.
9. E. percursa, Ag. ; frond capillary, simple, or having a
few short, spine-like ramuli, nearly solid, laxly reticulated ;
the cells large, hyaline, (2 to 4 in the breadth of the frond) ;
each cell containing a brilliant green grain of colouring mat-
ter. Hook. Br. Fl. vol. ii. ;>. 315; Harv. Man. Ed. i. p.
176 ; Harv. PJiyc. Brit. t. cclxxxii.
On the oozy sea-shore, above half tide level, spreading widely. Annual.
Summer. Appin, Capt. Carmichael. Bangor, N. Wales, Mr. Ralfs.
liarne, Mr. D. Moore. — Fronds several inches long, as fine as human hair,
decumbent, forming widely spreading, entangled strata.
216 ULVA. — FORPHYUA,
II. Ulva. Linn. [Plate 25, B.]
Frond membranaceous, of a green colour, plane, (in some
cases saccate, and inflated in the young state). Fnictijica-
tioii : imuuie (/ranules, mostly arranged in fours. — Name,
supposed to be from CY, water in Celtic.
1. U. latissima, Linn. ; frond broadly-ovate or oblong,
flat, delicately membranaceous, of a full green colour. Grev.
Alij. Brit. p. 171 ; Hook. I. c. /j. 311 ; IVijatt, Alg. Danm.
No. 33. U. Lactucn, E. Bot. t. 1551.
In the sea, on rocks, stones, &c., very common. Annual. All ihe year
round. — Fronds tiifled, 6 — 18 inches loni? or more, and several inches wide,
variously waved and lohed. Fructijication coverinir the whole I'roud.
2. U- Lactnca, Linn. ; frond at first obovate, saccate,
inflated, at length cleft down to the base, the segments plane,
unequal, laciniated, semi-transparent. Grev. — Hook. I. c. p.
311 ; Grev. Crypt. Fl. t. 313.
On rocks, stones, corallines, tkc. in the sea. Annual. May and June.
— " Fronds 3 — 6 inches in length, in the young slate obovale and saccate,
hut very soon burstin' or more, very irregularly cleft,
often fixerl by the centre, when dry transparent, very glossy and of a fine
purple. This and the follow in;j species constitute the Laver of many parts
of England, the Stoke or Slokaun of Scotland and Ireland. When stewed
for several hours they are reduced to a sort of pulp, which is brought to
table, served with lemon-juice, and is a favourite article of food with many
persons.
2. P. vulgaris, Ag. ; frond simple, broadly lanceolate, the
margin much waved. Grev. Alg. Brit. p. 169 ; Hook. I. c.
p. 310 ; Harv. Pliyc. Brit. t. ccxi ; also P. linearis, Grev.
Alg. Brit. p. 180, t. 18 ; Wgatt,Alg. Danm. No. 163.
In the sea, on rocks, t^c. with the preceding. — Fronds 1 or 2 feet long,
and 2 or 3 inches wide, of a lanceolate figure, often much waved. Except
that the frond is undivided, this does not differ from the preceding.
3. P. niiniata, Ag. ; frond solitary, plane, oblong, gelati-
nous, rose-red. Hook. I. c. p. 310.
In the sea ; coast of Appin, Capt. Carmichael. — " My only authority for
claiming this jdant as a native of these shores, was a fragment found float-
ing in the sea. It was 3 inches in diameter, plane, curled on the margin,
of a bright sanguineous cidour, extremely gelatinous and filled witli close-
set roundish spiiridia. When laid on paper to dry it, it dissolved into a
reddish sanies, being probably in a state of puuescence, and nothing
remained but a mere stain. From its texture and fructification, it evidently
does not belong to this genus." Carm. I know nothing of this plant.
IV. Bangia. Lyngb. [Plate 25, C]
Frond filiform, tubular, composed (in typical species) of
numerous radiating cellules, disposed in transverse rows, and
enclosed within a hyaline, continuous sheath. Spores purple
or green, one formed within each of the cells of the frond.
— Named in honour of Hoffman Bang, a Danish botanist and
friend of Lyngbye,
1. B. fasco-purpurea, Dillw. ; filaments elongated, capil-
lary, decumbent, nearly straight or somewhat curled, equal,
forming a brownish-green or purple stratum, glossy ; granules
few (about five) in each transverse line. Grev. Alg. Brit,
p. 177 ; Hook. Br. Fl. ii. p. 316 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No.
167 ; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. xcvi. Conf. fasco-purpurea,
Dillw. t. 92 ; E. Bot. t. 2055. Conf. atro-purpurea, Dillw.
t. 103; E. Bot. t. 2085.
218 BANGIA.
Ou rocks and wood in the sea, near high-water mark ; not uncommon.
— Forming,' a lubricous, blackish-pnrple, occasionally frveenisli stratum.
Filaments several inches long, straight or curled, variable in breadth ; the
narrow ones containing often but a single row of granules; the broader con-
taining 4 or 5 rows. Granules large, dark purple, square, closely set.
2. B. ciliaris, Carm. ; " filaments gregarious, very minute,
simple, straight, compressed, purple ; granules binate, glo-
bose." Carm. MSS. ; Hook. Br. Fl.jJ- n. p. 316.
On the old leaves of Zostera marina, Appiu, Capt. Carmichael. Annual.
Spring. — " This, the minutest of all the Bangice, grows on the edges of the
leaves" in the form of a delicate pink-coloured fringe. Filaments half a line
in length, gelatinous, straight, compressed, rather torulose. Granules large,
globular, arranged in pairs." Carm. — The granules are occasionally in a
single series.
3. B. ? ceramicola, Lyngb. ; filaments very slender, flaccid,
rosy ; articulations equal in length and breadth ; endochrome
at length globular, and escaping through the tube. Harv. I.
c. p. 355; Lyiujh. Dan. t. 48 ?
In rocky pools on various small Algae, at Appin, Capt. Carmichael. —
" Filaments very slightly tufted, or rather gregarious, about an inch long,
verv slender and flaccid, of a purplish rose-colour. Articulations about as
long as broad, becoming at length gibbous, when the interual mass, which
was at first square, assumes a globular form, and bursts through the tube."
Carm ,
4. B.? caniea,D'i\\w. ; " filaments simple, slender, short,
pale red ; articulations torulose, 2 or 3 times longer than
Ijroad, endochrome contracted into a solitary globule." Dlllw.
Conf. ^ 84 ; Harv. I. c. p. 355.
On Confervce in the river near Loughor, Glamorganshire, near its conflu-
ence with the sea, Mr. W. W. Young.
5. B. ? elegnns,Chsii\w.; filaments minute, dichotomously
branched, with very patent axils ; branches containing a
single row of simple or binate, purple, grain-like cells.
Harv. PJiyc. Brit. t. ccxlvi.
Parasitical on the smaller Algfe, very rare. Annual. Dredged in
Strausrford Lough, at Portaferry, adheriug to Gracillaria confervoides, Mr.
W. Thompson (1838). Forming minute tufts, 1 — 2 lines long, resembling
Callithamnia Daviesii in colour and size. The younger parts of the fila-
ments contain a string of closely set lenticular grains or cells, arranged
like those of a Li/nybija. In the older parts the cells are less regularly
placed, and are more distant, of a broadly spindle-like form with a division
in the centre, as if composed of two conical or sugar-loaf bodies. These
are probably the ripe spores, which escape on the bursting of the tubular
filament. This plant can hardly remain in Bangia, and will probably form
OSCILLATORIACE^. 219
the type of a new genus, to which the name Diconia (oij Huvog) may he
given, in allusion to the form of its ripe spores.
Order XVII. OSCILLATORIACE.E.
OsciLLATORiE.E, Hurv. m Mack. Fl. Hih. part 3, p. 16-1.
Endl. 3rd Siippl. p. 12. Oscillatoiiece and Rivularieae,
Harv. Br. Fl. J. Ag. Alg. Medit. p. 8, 10. Oscillatorete,
Lindl. Veg. Kingd. p. 18.
Diagnosis. — Green or blue, rarely purplish, marine, or
(more frequently) fresh-water Algae, composed of continu-
ous, tubidar, simple, or rarely branching filaments, which are
either free or invested in gelatine. Endochroine anuulated,
at length separating into lenticular sporidia.
Natural Character. — Root^ either simply a point of at-
tachment ; or, in most cases, not obvious. Filaments of
small size, often exceedingly minute, inarticulated, membra-
nous; each filament formed of a single, slender, filiform tube,
which is most frequently simple. These filaments are rarely
solitary. In the majority, a great number of filaments lie
together, either in bundles or in strata, in the latter case
usually surrounded by a slimy matrix. In a h\v, form-
ing the sub-order Rivitlariece, the filaments cohere into
fronds of definite shape, in v/hich they commonly radiate
from a central ])oint, their apices being turned to the circum-
ference of the i'rond. In this sub-order also, each filament
springs from a globular cell of small size, the use of which is
unexplained, but which is obviously of a similar nature to the
cells called " connecting cells" in the Nostochacea3. The
filaments are very rarely branched. In some cases where
they have the appearance of being branched, the ramose cha-
racter is owing to the lateral cohesion of two filaments ; the
lower part of one being applied to the side of the other.
Such an arrangement is termed appositional branching, and
is found in several fresh-water species allied to Calothrix.
The structure of the plants of this order is very uniform, the
chief variety lying in the more or less perfect division of the
endochrome into lenticular frustules or cells. In the Oscil-
latoricB, and in most others, the endochrome is merely trans-
220 OSCILLATORIACE^.
versely striate, until just before the breaking up of the plant.
But in some LijnghijcB, the endochrome exists, from an early
period of growth, in the form of separate lenticels. Such plants
have a structure very similar to that of the simpler Batujice,
through which genus a connection is established with Ulvaceoe,
or of Hormospora, the conterminous genus on the side of the
Palmellaceae. With the Nostochaceae there is a close affinity
established through Sphajrozyga and Spermosira ; the latter
of which, when very young, has a strong resemblance to an
Oscillatoria.
Many plants of this order are celebrated for their semi-
aniraality (according to the views of some naturalists) ; at
least, for having independant motions, the cause of which is
unexplained. The OscilUilorioi, Spirulina, and others have
this locomotive power in a greater or less degree. It has a
threefold character. First there is a movement of the fila-
ment from side to side ; one end being kept pretty steady, so
as to form a central pivot, while the other end oscillates, like
a pendulum, describing segments of circles in its passage.
This sort of motion, which gives name to the genus Oscilla-
toria, though often languid, or not to be observed when spe-
cimens are examined, is sometimes exceedingly vivid, the
threads rapidly changing place from one side of the field of
view to the other. Coincident with this oscillation, we often
observe the end of the filament which describes the circle to
hend first to one side and then to the other, something as the
head of a caterpillar or a worm does when the animal is
gliding over unknown ground, or as if the creature were
seeking something at either side of its line of march. This
sort of movement is less frequently noticed than the oscilla-
tion, but I have repeatedly witnessed it, and it far more
nearly resembles the movement of an animal than any other
vegetable motion with which I am acquainted, except, per-
haps, that oi' Bacillifria parado.va. The third sort of motion
is more the result of the other two than an independent
movement: it is a simple progression. The whole phe-
nomenon may perhaps be resolved into a spiral onward
movement of the filament. If a piece of the stratum of
an Oscillatoria be placed in a vessel of water, and allowed
to remain there for some hours, its edge will first be-
come fringed with filaments, radiating as from a central
point, with their tijis outwards. These filaments, by their
constant oscillatory movements, are continually loosened
from their hold on the stratum, cast into the water, and at
OSCILLATORIACE^. 221
the same time propelled forward ; and as the oscillation con-
tinues after the filament has left its nest, the little swimmer
gradually moves along, till it not only reaches the edge of the
vessel, but often — as if in the attempt to escape confinement
— continues its voyage up the sides, till it is stopped by dry-
ness. Thus in a very short time a small piece of Oscillatoria
will spread itself over a large vessel of water. I am not aware
that the filaments ever return to the stratum after they have
once left it: their course is ever "ahead," — which looks
more as if they were obeying some condition imposed on them
than if their movements were spontaneous, like those of ani-
malcules. There is indeed a wide difference between the
calm, undeviating onward course of these singular vegetables
and the wild and wayward wanderings and contests of ani-
malcules, as seen in the field of an oxy-hydrogen microscope.
But such difference, though it may afford probability of a
difference in the nature of the life enjoyed by the two entities
under review, by no means proves this difference ; for we
must remember that there are animals as inert, and apparently
as passionless, as our Oscillatoria. And let not the undevi-
atingly onward course be assigned to vegetables solely, for if
animals {some at least) were always sane, their course would
be, like that of the Oscillatoria, still onward, — seeking an
" Excelsior" which is ever in advance of their position. Se-
riously, I am unable to explain satisfactorily the movement
of these vegetables, — for vegetables, and not animals, I be-
lieve them to be, — and 1 have no wish to theorize on the
subject. Our knowledge is yet far from suflicient to allow of
our dogmatizing on this point: our maxim must still be,
observe.
SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH (MARINE) GENERA.
I. RivuLARiA. Filaments radiating from a point, immersed
in firmly gelatinous, globose or lobed fronds, of defi-
nite shape. [Plate 26, A.]
II. ScHizoTHRix. Filaments rigid, in branching bundles,
at length splitting. [Plate 26, B.]
III. Calothrix. Filaments short, tufted, fixed by their
base only. [Plate 26, C]
IV. Lyngbya. Filaments elongate, decumbent, flaccid.
[Plate 26, E.]
222 RIVULARIA.
V. MiCROCOLEUS. Filamenls minute, needle-shaped, en-
closed, many together, m membranous or gelatinous
sheaths. [Plate 26, D.]
VI. OsciLLATORiA. Filameiitfi needle-shaped, straight, or
slightly curved, short, heaped together in gelatinous
strata, oscillating. [Plate 26, F.]
VII. Spirulina. Filaments spirally twisted, lying in a
mucus stratum. [Plate 27, C]
I. RivuLARiA. Roth. [Plate 26, A.]
Frond globose or lobed, rarely incrusting, green or oliva-
ceous, fleshy or gelatinous, firm, composed of continuous,
inarticulate filaments, annulated within, and surrounded by,
or set in, gelatine, — Name, in allusion to the fresh-water ha-
bitat of some of the original species. The following are found
in the sea.
1. R. iilicata, Carm. ; fronds rather large, densely gre-
garious, gelatinous, compresso-plicate, often hollow and
ruptured, dark green ; filaments many times dichotomous, at-
tenuated. Harv. I. c. p. 392. Lichen corrngatiis, Dicks.,
according to a specimen given by Dickson himself to Mr.
Borrer.
On tlie vocliy sea-shore, about high-water mark, or in situations where it
is only occasionally inundated with salt water. Appin, Capt. Carmichael.
Tovl)iiy, Mrs. Griffiths. Eyrmonlh, Dr. Johnston. Ballanlrae, Ayrshire,
Mr. W. Thompson. Innischerig Island, Co. Clare; and elsewiiere. —
" Fronds growing from a smooth gelatinous stratum, from a line to half an
inch in diameter, mostly confluent and distorted by mutual pressure, gela-
tinous, and in their more advanced state often hollow and ruptured. Fi-
laments dichotomous, tapering to a fine point, obscurely striated. Globules
few in numher, pellucid, lodged within tiie filaments, which at length break
ofl", leaving the globule attached to the base of the dismembered branch."
Carm.
2. R. atra, Roth ; fronds minute, scattered, globose,
smooth, firm, glossy black ; filaments deep green, slender,
densely packed. Harv. I. c. p. 392 ; E. Bot. i. 1798 ; Harv.
Phyc. Brit. t. ccxxxix.
In the sea, on rocks, corallines. Algae, &c. — Fronds 1 or 2 lines in dia-
meter, very hard ; Jtlamrnts densely packed.
SCHIZOTHRIX — CALOTHRIX. 223
3. R. applanata., Carra. ; fronds minute, gregarious, orbi-
cular, depressed, black ; filaments simple, attenuated, the
apices free. Harv. I. c. p. 392.
On rocks and stones, between tide-marks, Capt. Carmichael. — " Fi'07ids
a line in diameter, gregarious, often confluent, circular, depressed, spongy,
of an opaque black colour, shrinking, splitting, and becoming grayish in
drying. Filaments one-fourth of a line in length, simple, attenuated to a
point, loose at the apex, of a bluish green colour." Carm. This seems to
differ fi;om R. atra in its depressed form and simple filaments. I am not
acquainted with it.
4. R. ivifida^Ag.; frond large, gelatinoso-coriaceous, lobed
and plaited, often bullated, lubricous, shining, deep green ;
filaments simple or pseudo-branched. Harv. I. c. p. 393;
Wijalt, Alg. Damn. No. 50; Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. Ixviii,
Riv. hidlaia, Berk. Gl. Alg. t. 2,/. 1.
On rocks between tide-marks. Annual. Summer and autumn. South
of England and South and West of Ireland. — Fronds tremelloid, tufted or
gregarious, much lobed, the lobes sinuous; in a young state compressed
and filled with gelatine, in age hollow and distended; from half an inch to
an inch in diameter. Colour a deep but very vivid olive-green, lubricous
and subgelatinous to the touch. Substance firm, elastic, not easily lace-
rated. Filaments either simple or pseudo-branched, waved, laxly set in the
interior of the lobe, but closely packed together on the exterior. Stria
closely set and conspicuous.
TI. ScHizoTHRix. Kiitz. [Plate 26, B.]
"Filaments involved in a thick, lamellar sheath, rigid,
curled, thickened at the base, at length longitudinally di-
vided. Sperinatia lateral." Kg. Name, from cr^i^w, to divide,
and %i|, a hair.
1. S. Cresswellii, Harv.; forming dense, soft, pulvinate,
convex tufts ; filaments very slender, curved, fastigiate, col-
lected into branching bundles. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. clx.
On sandstone maritime rocks, near high-watermark, exposed to the drip
of fresh water. Annual. Winter. Near the Picket rock, Sidmouth, Rev.
R. Cresswell. — Spreading over the surface of the rock in continuous, con-
vex, roundish or oval patches, which run one into another, and cover the
rock fur spaces several inches in diameter. Colour, in the tuft, greenish
olive ; in the filaments yellowish.
III. Calothrix. Ag. [Plate 26, C]
Filaments destitute of a mucous layer, erect, tufted or
fasciculate, fixed at the base, somewhat rigid, without oscil-
224 CALOTHRIX.
lation. Tube continuous ; endochrome green, densely annu-
lated, at length dissolved into lenticular sporidia. — Name,
xaxoj, heoutiful, and 6pi^, a hi7/(<;. - - 176
thuyoideum, Sm. - - 181
tvipinnatum, ffftrtJ. - 180
triphmatum, Harv, - 181
Turneri, Dilhc. - - 172
ver.'sicolor, Harv. - - 170
virgatulum, Harv. - 184
Calotheix, Ag. - 221, 223
oaespitula, Harv. - - 225
coiifervicola, Ag. - - 224
fasciciilata, Ag. - - 224
hydnoides, Carm. - - 225
luteoia, Grev. ■■ - 224
Mucor, Ag. - - 224
pannosa, Ag. • - 225
scopuloruni, Web. j- Mohr 224
Cakpomitha, Kutz
CabrersB, Clem.
Catenella, Grev.
Opimtia, Good. ^
CERAMIACE^, -
CERAMI.\LES, -
Cekamium, Roth
acantlionotum, Carm.
Agardhiamim, Griff.
braehygonium, Lgngb.
bolryocarpum, Griff.
cilialum, Ellis
ciliaium, j3., Harv.
decurrens, Kiitz. -
Deskmgcbanipsii, Chain
diaphanum, Ag. -
ecbionoUun, J. Ag.
fastigiatum, Kutz.
flabelligeruni, J. Ag.
gracilliimim, Kulz.
nodosum, Kutz. -
oeellaium, Gratel. -
patens, Grev.
rubrum, Hvds.
strictum, Kutz.
Turneri, Grev.
CHiETOPHORE^,
23,25
- 25
136, 151
Woodiv. 151
75, 156
5, 64
1-58, 161
- 165
- 162
- 86
- 161
- 166
- 166
- 162
'. - 162
- 163
- 165
- 164
- 165
- 163
- 164
- 94
93
- 161
- 163
- 173
- 1 9S
PAGE
ChcBtophora
Berkley i, Grev. - - 48
pellita, Lyngb. - - 151
ChcEtospora
Wigghi, Grev. - - 152
CHLOROSPERME.E, 5,185
Cho7idria
parvula, Grev. - - 102
Chondrhs, Gj-er. - 135,141
Brodicei, Grev. - - 144
crispus,L. - - 141
norvegicus, Gunn - 142
Chorda, Stack. - 29, 31
filura, L. - - - 31
mum,i3. - - - 31
lomentaria, Lyngh. - 32
Chordaeia, Ag. - 45, 46
divaricata, Ag. - - 46
flagelliformis, Mull. - 46
parado.va, Lyngb. - 40
CHORDARlACE^, 11,44
Chrysvmenia, J. Ag. 97, 99
clavellosa, Turn. - - 100
clavellosa, /3. - - 100
Orcadensis, i/ttri;. - 100
Chylocl.\dia, Grev. 97, 100
articulata, Huds. - - 102
Icaliformis, Good. Sf Woodw. 101
ovalis, Huds. . - 101
parvula, Ag. - - 102
reflexa, Chauv. - - 101
Cladophora, Kiitz. - 198
albida, Hiids. - - 203
arcta, Dilhr. - - 204
Brownii, Dillw. - - 199
diffusa. Roth - - 201
falcata. Duly - 205
flavescens, Roth - - 206
flexuosa, Dilhv. - - 202
IVacta, Fl. Dan. - - 206
giaucescens, Griff. ■■ 205
gracilis, Griff'. ' - - 202
Hutcbinsiffi', Dilhc. - 200
Ifetevirens, Dilhc. - 202
lanosa, Roth - - 204
Maccallana, Harv. - 200
nuda, Harv, - - 201
pellucida, //wr/.v. - - 199
rcctangularis. Griff'. - 200
refracta, Ag. ' - - 203
rcpcns, J. Ag. - - 199
Rudolpbiaua, Ag. - 203
INDEX.
239
PAGE
vupeslris, L, - - 201
uncialis, Fl. Dan. - 204
Cladostephus, y^^f. - 54
vevticillatus, Lightf. - 54
spoil fjiosus, Huds. - 54
COCCOCARPE^, - 134
CoDiuM, Stacl'h. ■■ - 193
atlliBcreiis,^^. - - 193
amphibiuin, Moore - 194
Bursa, X. - - 193
tomentosum, i^M(/s. - 194
Conferva, P/m. - 198,207
S£r ea, Dilliv. - - 209
area, (3. - - - 209
Arbuscula, Dillw. - 94
Arbuscula, R. Br. - 174
arenicola, Berk. - - 207
areiiosa, Carvi. - - 207
atro-purpurca^ Dillw. '- 217
utro-rubescens, Dillw. - 91
hangioides, Haw. - - 210
barbata,E. Bot. - - 168
Borreri, E. Bot. - - 179
brack iata, E. Bot. - 64
Brodicei, E. Bot. - - 88
bi/ssoides, E. Bot. - 93
centralis, Lyngb. - 205
ciliata, Ell. - - 166
claiulestina, Ber/c. - 210
coccinea, E. Bot. - -93
collabens, Ag. - - 209
confervicola, Dillw. - 224
corallina, E. Bot. - 169
cori/mbosa, E. Bot. - 182
diaphana, E. Bot. - 163
elongata, E. Bot. - - 86
equisetifolia, E. Bot. - 167
falcata, Duby - - 205
fibrata, Dillw. - - 83
flaccida, Dillw. - - 50
Jloccosa, Fl. Dan. - - 172
Jloridula, Dillw. - - 183
fracta,l3.,Ag. - - 202
fucicola, Hook. - - 49
fucoides, E. Bot. - - 90
fus CO -purpurea, Dillw. - 217
glomerata, j3., Ag. - 202
Griffithsiana, E. Bot. - 167
iJooAm, Dillw. - - 176
implexa, Dillw. - - 209
intricata, Grev. - - 209
isogona, E. Bot. - - 210
Kaneana, M'Calla - 203
laiuKjinosa, Dillw.
Linum, Roth
linum, Harv.
litorea, Harv.
majuscula. Dillw. -
melagoniuni, Web. Sf Mohr
multifida, E. Bot.
nigra, E. Bot.
nigrescens, E. Bot.
paradoxa, Dillw. -
paradoxa, E. Bot.
parasitica, E. Bot.
patens, Dillw.
pedicellata, E. Bot.
pennata, E. Bot. -
Plumn, Dillw.
plumula, Dillw.
poh/morpha, E. Bot.
pulvinata. Brown -
radicans, Dillw.
repens, Dillw.
rosea, E. Bot.
Rothii, E. Bot. -
rubra, E. Bot.
scopulorum, Dillw.
scutulata, Sm.
setacea, E. Bot.
stellulata, GrifF.
stricta, Dillw.
sutoria. Berk.
teiragonn, E. Bot.
tetrica, E. Bot.
thuyoides, E. Bot.
tortuosa, Dillw. -
tortuosa, Wyatt
Turneri, E. Bot. -
ulothrix, Lyugb. -
urceolata, E. Bot. -
Yonngana, Dillw.
CONFERVACE^,
CONFERVALES,
CONFERVEJC, -
Corallina, Linn. -
elongata, Ell. S)- Sol.
officinalis, L.
squamata, Park. -
CORALLINACE^,
CORALLINES, -
Cori/nephora marina, Ag.
CKOuxfi\A.,J. Ag. -
attenuata, Ag.
Cruoria, Fries - 136,
pellita, Lyngb.
171,
190,
5,
74
136,
rAGE
184
208
208
208
226
209
170
91
90
214
214
92
82
183
56
173
171
92
199
57
173
177
183
161
224
50
169
50
83
208
175
176
181
208
206
172
209
82
210
196
185
198
105
106
106
106
103
105
48
155
155
151
151
240
INDEX.
PAGE
CRYPTONEMIACE^, 75, 131
CuTLERiA, Grev.
35, 36
multifida, Sm.
- 36
Cysloclonium
purpurascens, Kiilz.
- 131
CVSTOSEIRA, Aff.
14, 16
baibata, Turn.
- 17
ericoides, Good. ^ Woodw. 10
foeniculacea, L.
- 17
fibrosa, Huch.
- 17
granulata, L.
- 16
D.
Dasya, Ag.
Aibuscula, Dillw.
coccinea, Huds.
coccinea, /3.
Hutchinsice, Haiv.
ocellata, Graiel.
simpliciuscula, Ag.
spongiosa, Ag.
venusta, Harv.
Delesseria, Lamour.
alata, Huds.
alata, y- -
angustissima, Gi-ijf.
Bonnemaisoni, Grev.
Hillice, Grev.
Hypoglossura, Woodw.
interrupta, Ag.
ocellata, Grev.
ruscifolia. Turn.
sanguinea, L.
sinuosa, Good. ^- Woodw
DELESSERIACE^,
Desmarestia, Lamour.
aculeata, L.
ligiilata, Light/. -
viridis, Mull.
Dichloria
viridis, Grev.
DiCTYOsiPiioN, Grev.
fcEiiiculaceus, Huds.
DicTYOTA, Lamour.
dichotoraa, Huds.
DICTYOTACE^, -
DuDRESNAiA, Bomiem.
coccinea, Ag.
Hudsoni, Ag.
DuMONTiA, Lamour.
fililbrmis, Fl. Dan.
filiformis, j8.
77,
93
94
- 93
- 93
- 94
- 94
- 94
- 174
- 94
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 115
- 117
- 117
- 115
- 124
- 116
- 115
- 114
- 114
74, 111
- 23
- 23
- 23
- 24
- 24
35,40
- 40
35,39
- 39
10,32
136, 164
- 154
- 154
135, 147
- 147
- 147
E.
ECTOCAEPACE;E,
ECTOCARPE^, -
EcTOCARPUs, Lyngh.
amphibius, Harv. -
brachiatus, Harv. -
hrachiatus, Ag.
cviiiitus, Carm.
distortus, Carm, -
fasciculatus, Harv.
fenestratus, Berk. -
granulosus, Sm. -
Hincksise, Harv. -
Landsburgii, Harv.
littoralis, L.
longifructus, Harv.
Mertensii, Turn. -
pusillus. Griff.
siliculosus, Lyngh.
sphaerophorus, Carm.
tomentosus, Huds.
Elachistea, Fries
attenuata, Harv. -
curia, Dillw.
flaccida, Dillw.
fucicola, Velley.
fulvinata, Kiitz. -
scutulata, Sm.
stellulata, Griff. -
velutina, Grev.
Enteromorpha, Link.
clatbrata, Roth
clathrata, (3., Grev.
clalhrata, y., Grev.
compressa, L.
compressa, (3.
CornucopiaE!, Carm.
erecta, Lyngh.
Hopkirkii, M'Calla
intestinalis, L.
intestinalis, (3.
Linkiana, Grev.
percursa, Ag.
ramulosa, Sm.
ramulosa minor, Wyalt
FUCACE^,
FUCALES,
Fucus, L.
acicularis, E. Bot.
alatus, E. Bot.
11,
54,
54,
46,
52
58
58
58
62
62
60
60
59
58
61
59
60
61
61
62
60
58
61
59
49
50
- 50
- 50
- 49
- 50
- 50
- 50
- 51
212,213
- 214
- 214
- 215
- 213
- 213
- 213
- 214
- 215
- 213
- 213
- 213
- 215
- 215
- 215
10, 11
4, 7
14, 18
140
- 114
INDEX.
241
I'AGE
amphibius, E. Bot. - 79
articultttm, E. Bot. - 102
asparagoides , E. Bot. - 97
balticus, Ag. - - 18
bifidus, E. Bot. - - 124
BroditEi, Turn. - - 143
Bursa, E. Bot. - - 193
caiialiculatus, L. - - 20
capillaris, Turn. - - 152
cartilagineus, E. Bot. - 139
ceranoides, L. - - 19
ciliatus, E. Bot. - - 126
clavellosus, E. Bot. - 100
coccineus, E. Bot. - 120
confervoides, E. Bot. - 130
corneus, E. Bot. - - 138
coronopifolius, E. Bot. • 128
crispus, E. Bot. - - 142
dasi/phyllus, E. Bot. - 99
dentatiis, E. Bot. - - 78
edidis, E. Bot. - - 150
filicinus. Turn. - - 137
fruticulosits, E. Bot. - 81
gigarthms, E. Bot. - 140
glandulosus, E. Bot. - 160
'Griffithsice, E. Bot. - 145
kaliformis, E. Bot. - 101
laceralus, E. Bot. - 118
laciniatus, E. Bot. - 125
lumbricalis, E. Bot. - 147
lycopodioides, E. Bot. - 78
Mackaii, Turn. - - 19
membranif alius, E. Bot. - 143
nodosus, L. - - 19
obtusus, E. Bot. - - 98
ovalis, E. Bot. - - 101
palmatus, E. Bot. - 127
Palmetta, E. Bot. - 125
pinastroides, E. Bot. - 80
pinnalifidns, E. Bot. - 98
piicatus, E. Bot. - - 145
plumosus, E. Bot. - 159
puncUUus, E. Bot. - 116
purpurascens, E. Bot. - 131
reniformis, E. Bot. - 149
rotundus, E. Bot. - 146
rubens, E. Bot. - - 143
sanguineus, E. Bot. - 114
Sarniensis, Mert. - 127
serratus, L. - - 19
sinuosus, E. Bot. - - 114
subfuscus, Woodw. - 79
tenuissimus, E. Bot. - 99
PAGE
tomenlosus, E. Bot.
-
194
tdvoides, Turn.
.
117
vesiculosus, L.
.
18
vesiculosus , /3.
-
18
Force LLARiA, Lamour.
135,
146
fastigiata, Hiids. -
-
147
G.
GASTROCARPE^,
-
135
Gelidium, Lamour. -
134,
137
cartilagineum, L.
-
139
ct)rneum, Huds.
-
138
corueum, (8. — y.
138,
139
rostratum. Griff.
.
115
GiGARTiNA, Lamour.
134,
139
acicularis, Wulf. -
-
140
mamiliosus, Good.^- Woodw.
141
pistillata, Gmcl.
-
140
Teedii, Turn.
_
140
GiNANNIA, Mont.
136,
, 148
furcellata, Turn. -
-
149
GLOIOCLADIEvE,
-
136
Gloiosiphonia, Carm.
136,
, 152
capillaris, Huds. -
-
152
Gongroccras
sfriclum, Kiitz.
-
164
GitACiLARiA, Grev. -
123,
, 128
compressa, Ag.
-
129
confervoides, L.
-
130
confervoides, /3., y., 8.
-
130
erecta, Grev.
-
130
multipartita, Clem.
-
129
pmpurascetis, Grev.
-
131
Grateloupia, y4^. -
134,
, 137
filioina, Wulf
-
137
Geiffithsia, Ag.
159,
,167
barl)ata, Sm.
-
168
corallina, L.
-
168
Devoniensis, Haw.
-
168
equisetifolia. Light/.
-
167
multifida, Hook. -
_
170
nodulosa, Ag.
-
155
secundiflora, J. Ag.
-
169
setacea, Ell.
-
169
simplicifilum, Ag.
-
167
Gymnogongrus, Mart.
135,
, 145
Griffithsiffi, Turn.
-
145
? plicata, Huds.
-
145
H.
Haliseris, Tozzetti
35, 36
polvpodioides, Desf.
_
36
R'
242
INDEX.
PAGE
Halidrys, Lyngh. -
14, 15
siliquosa, L.
- 15
siliquasa, /3.
- 15
Halvmenia, Ag.
136, 148
ligulata, Woodtv. -
- 148
HlLD£NBRANDTIA,Zana>
•rflOS, 110
rubra, Menegh.
- no
HiMANTHALiA, Lyngh.
14,20
lorea, Lyngh.
- 20
HoRMospoRA, Brieb.
- 235
raniosa, T/nv.
- 235
HORMOSPOREiE,
- 234
Hutchinsia
furcellata, Ag.
- 92
penieellata, Ag.
- 88
subulifera, Ag.
- 91
violacea, Ag.
- 87
Hypnea, Lamour. -
123, 130
purpurascens, Huds.
1.
lRlDMA,B07-y. -
- 131
136, 150
edulis, Slack.
- 150
reniformis, Grev.
- 149
J.
Jania, Lamour.
105, 107
coruiculata, L.
- 107
rubeiis, L.
- 107
K.
Kallymenia, J. Ag.
136, 149
Dubyi, Chauv.
- 150
reniformis, Tzirn.
- 149
L.
Laminarta, Lamour.
- 29
bulbosa Huds.
- 30
debilis, 'Ag.
- 31
digitata, L.
- 29
fascia, Midi.
- 31
lati folia, Ag.
- 30
Phyllitis Stack. -
- 31
saccharina, L.
- 30
saccharina, (3.
- 30
LAMINARIACE^E,
10,26
Laurencia, Lamotir.
9G,97
cffispilosa, Lamour.
- 98
dasyphylla, Woodw.
- 99
hyhrida, Lenonn.
- 98
PAGE
obtusa, Huds.
.
98
pinuatifida, Gm. -
-
98
pinnatifida, (3, y. -
-
98
pinnatiftda, y., Hook.
-
98
teimissima. Good. ^- Wt
wdw.
99
LAURENCIACE^,
74,95
Le atresia. Gray. -
46,48
Berkeley!, Grev. -
-
48
tuberiformis, Sm.
-
48
Lichen.
corrugatus, Dicks.
-
222
LITHOCYSTE^ ?
105,
110
LiTHOCYSTIS, AUm. -
105
111
Allmanni, Harv.
-
111
LiTosiPHON, Harv. -
35,43
LaminariaB, Lyngh.
_
43
pusillus, Carm.
-
43
Lyngbya, Ag.
221,
225
Carmichaelii, Harv.
226
crispa., Carm.
-
226
ferruginea, Ag.
-
226
ferruginea, ft., Ag.
-
226
flacca, Dillw.
-
227
raajiiscula, Dillw.
-
226
speciosa, Carm.
-
227
subsalsa, Carm.
-
226
M.
MELANOSPERME^,
4, 7
Melobesia, Lamour.
105
107
agariciformis, Pall.
-
108
calcarea, Ell. ^- Sol.
.
108
farinosa, Lamour.
-
109
fosciciilata, Lam.
-
108
fragilis, M'Calla ?
.
108
licbenoides, Borl.
-
109
membranacea, Lamour
..
109
polymorpha, L.
.
108
pustulata, Lamour.
.
109
verrncata, Lamour.
-
109
Mesogloia, Ag.
45,47
affinis, Berk.
-
47
attenuata, Ag.
-
155
capillaris, Ag.
-
152
coccinea, Hook,
-
154
gracilis, Carm.
.
47
Griffitbsiana, Grev.
-
47
moniliformis. Griff.
-
156
multifida, Harv. -
-
153
purpurea, Harv.
-
153
vermicularis, Ag. -
-
47
virescens, Carm. -
-
47
INDEX.
243
MicROCLADiA, Grev.
glandulosa, Soland.
MiCROCOLEUs, Desmaz.
aiiguiformis, Harv.
MONORMIA, Berk.
intiicata, Berk.
MvRioNEMA, Grev. -
clavatum, Carm. -
Lecblancherii, Chauv.
punctiforme, Lyngb.
stiaugulans, Grev.
Myriotbichia, Harv.
clavasforrais, Harv.
filiformis, Harv. -
N.
PAGE
158, 160
- 160
222, 227
- 227
- 231
- 231
46,51
- 51
- 51
- 51
- 51
63
63
63
54
Naccaeia, Endl.
136,
152
Wigghii, Turn.
-
152
Ne MA LEON, Targioni
136,
153
multifidum, Web. ^•
Mohr.
153
purpureum, Harv.
-
153
NiTOPHTLLUJi, Grev.
113,
116
Bonnemaisoni, Ag.
-
117
Gmelini, Lamour.
-
118
Hillise, Grev.
-
117
laceratum, Gmel. -
-
118
laceratum, /3.
-
118
ocellatum, Grev. -
-
116
puiictatum. With. -
-
116
punctatum, (i.
_
116
itlvoideum, Harv.
-
117
versicolor, Harv. -
-
118
NOSTOCHACE^,
190,
230
NULLIPORE^, -
105,
107
o.
OCHLOCH^TE, Thw.
108,
211
liystrix, Thw.
-
211
Odonthalia, Lynyb.
-
77
dentata, L.
-
78
Oligosiphonia,
-
82
Oscillatoria, Vanch.
222,
,228
insignis, Thw.
-
229
littoralis, Carm.
-
228
nigro-viridis, Thw.
-
229
spiralis, Carm.
-
228
subsalsa, Ag.
-
228
subulil'orinis, Thw.
-
229
OSCILLATORIAC E^,
190,
,219
Padina, Adans
deusta, Hook.
Pavonia, L.
PALMELLACE^,
Peyssonelia, Due. -
Dubyi, Cruuun.
Phyllophora, Grev.
Brodiaei, Turn.
PACK
35,37
- 49
- 37
190, 234
135, 144
- 144
135, 142
143
membranifolius, Gd. ^ Wdw. 143
Palmettoides, J. Ag. - 144
rubens, i. - - 162
Plocamium, Lamour. 113, 119
coccineum, /jTuf/s. - 119
PoLYiDES, Ag. - 135, 146
rotundas, Gmel. . - 146
PoLYsiPHONiA, Grev. 77, 82, 88
affinis, il/oore - - 90
Agardhiana, Grev. - 91
atro -'purpurea, Moore - 90
atro-rubesceus, Dillto. - 91
badia, Grev. & Harv. - 91
Brodi^i, Dillw. - - 88
byssoides, Good. ($• Woodtv. 92
Caruiichaeliana, Harv. - 87
crisiata, Harv. - - 88
demidata, Grev. ^c Harv. - 91
divaricata, Carm. - 87
elongate, Huds. - - 86
elongata, /3., y. - - 86
elongella, Harv. - - 85
fastigiata, Roth - - 92
librata, Dillw. - - 83
fibrillosa, Dillw. - - 87
Ibrmosa, Suhr. - - 82
fruticulosa, Harv. - 81
furcellata, Ag. - - 92
ffracili.'i, Grev. - - 82
Grevillii, Hrtry. - - 86
Griffithsiana, Harv. - 85
Lyngbycei, Harv. - - 86
macrocarpa, Harv. - 83
nigrescens, Huds. - 89
obscura, Ag. - - 89
parasitica, Huds. - - 92
patens, Grev. - • 82
pulvinata, Ay. - - 83
Richardsoni, Harv. - 84
rosea, Grev. - - 86
simulans, Harv. - - 89
244
INDEX.
s])inulosa, Grev.
spinulosa (of Herbaria).
stricta, Dillw. - ,
subulif'era, Ag.
suhulifera, /3.
urceolata, Sm.
variegata, Ag.
violacea, Ag.
PORPHYRA, Ag.
laciniata, Lightf.
vulgaris, Ag.
linearis, Grev.
miniata, Ag.
Ptilota, Ag.
plumosa, L.
plwnosa, (3., Harv.
sericea, Gmel.
PuNCTARiA, Grev. -
lalifolia, Grev.
plantaginea, Roth
teniiissiiua, Grev.
Pycnophvcus, K'utz.
tuherculatus, Huds.
R.
Ralfsia, Berk.
deiist'i, Berk.
verrucosa, Aresch.
Rhizoclonium, Kiitz.
riparia. Roth
Rhododermis
Drurnmondii, Harv.
Rhodomela, Ag.
lyeopodioides, L. -
■pinastrnides, Grev.
sul)lusca, Woodw.
rhodomelacp:^,
rhodosperme^.
Rhodvmenia, Grev.
bifida, Good, (j- Woodw.
bifida, /?.
ciliata, L.
cristata, L.
jubata, Good. |- Woodw
laciniata, Huds.
palmata, L.
palmata, /?., y.
Palmetta, Espcr.
polgc/irpa, Grev.
reniformis, Hook. -
soholifera, Grev.
PAGE
PAGE
- 84
RHODYMENIACEiE,
75,
120
- 89
RiVULAKIA, Rnth. -
221,
,222
- 83
applaiiata, Carm.
.
223
- 90
atra, Roth
222
- 91
bnUata, Berk.
-
223
- 82
nitida, Ag.
-
223
- 88
Oputitia, E. Bot. -
-
151
- 86
plicata, Cnrm.
-
222
212,216
tiiberifoniiis, Sm. -
-
48
- 216
vermicularis, E. Bot.
_
47
- 217
verticillata, E. Bot.
-
154
- 217
Rytiphl^a, Ag.
77,80
- 217
coiiiplanata, Ag. -
-
80
158, 159
fniticulosa, Widf.
-
81
- 159
pinastroides, Gm. -
_
80
- 160
ihnyoides, Harv. -
-
81
- 160
35,41
S.
- 41
- 41
Sargassum, Ag.
_
14
- 42
bacciferum, Tarn.
-
15
14, IS
vulgare, Ag.
-
15
18
SCHIZOTHRIX, Kiitz.
221,
223
Creswellii, Harv. -
223
Scgtoncma
hgdnoides, Carm. -
-
225
46, 49
intestinatis, j3., Lyngb.
-
213
- 49
Seirospora, Harv. -
159,
, 170
- 49
Griffithsiana, Harv.
-
170
198,206
SIPHONACE^, -
190.
, 191
- 206
Spermoseiea, Ag.
231,
,233
litovea, Kiitz.
-
234
- 110
Harveyaiia, T/uc.
-
234
77,78
Sphacelaeia, Lyngh.
54,55
- 78
cirrhosa. Roth
-
56
- 80
cirrhosa, /3., y.
-
56
- 79
cirrhosa, ^., Ag.
-
57
74,75
disticha, Lyngb. ? -
-
56
5,64
filicina, Gratel.
.
55
123, 124
filicina, |3.
-
55
- 124
fusca, Dilliv.
-
57
- 124
h!/p)ioides, Grev. -
-
55
- 126
olii-acea, Hook.
-
57
- 126
plumosa, Lgngh, -
-
56
. - 127
racemosa, Grev. -
-
57
- 125
radican.. Fucus, page 18.
Fig. 1, part of a frond of F. vesiculosus ; the natural
size. 2, part section of a receptacle, showing three
conceptacles. 3, a spore, containing eight sporules ;
both magnified.
n.L
K.-ii: im .
PLATE XVIII.
A. Phyllophora, page 142.
Fig. 1, P.rubens; the natural size. 2, a neraathe-
cium. 3, filaments from the same. 4, tubercles.
5, spores from the same ; all magnijied.
B. Gymnogongrus, page 145.
Fig. 1, G. GriJjUthsicB ; the natural size. 2, part of a
fertile branch with nemathecium. 3, section of ne-
mathecium. 4, chained tetraspores from the same ;
all magnijied.
C. FuRCELLARiA, page 146.
Fig. 1, F. lumbricalis ; the natural size. 2, cross sec-
tion of a portion of the frond, showing tetraspores
imbedded among the filaments of the periphery. 3,
a tetraspore attached to a filament ; all magnijied.
D. PoLYiDES, page 146.
Fig. 1, P. rotundus ; the natural size. 2, section of
part of the frond, and of one of the warts. 3, favel-
lidium from the wart. 4, a spore. 5, a tetraspore
from another specimen j all magnijied.
I
1
pi.m
-HE.D
~Ena i") J[ PeCe.*^:a7h ,Th.^laH' .
PLATE XIX.
A. IriDvEA, page 150.
Fig. 1, I.eduUs; the natural size. 2, section of a
frond with favellidia. 3, section of a frond with
tetraspores. 4, tetraspores ; all magnified.
B. Kallymenia, page 149.
Fig. 1, K. reniformis, the natural size. 2, section
through a favellidium. 3, a tetraspore, from another
specimen ; both magnified.
C. GiNANNiAj page 148.
Fig. 1, G. furcellata; the natural size. 2, small por-
tion of the frond. 3, longitudinal, and 4, transverse
sections of the same, the latter showing immersed
favellidia ; all magnified.
D. Halymenia, page 148.
Fig. 1, H. Ugulata, the natural size. 2, cross section
of the frond. 3, a favellidium. 4, spores. 5, por-
tion of the surface cells ; all magnified.
I
nj9.
^n^^XTet'^aruI/u.ihn
i
I
PLATE XX.
A. DuMONTiA, page ]47.
Fig. 1, D. JiUformis ; the natural size. 2, small por-
tion of the frond, in fruit. 3, favellidium, attached
to the inner face of the wall of the frond ; magnijied.
B. Catenella, page 151.
Fig. 1, C. Opuntia ; the natural size. 2, a frond mag-
nified. 3, a tetraspore. 4, a favellidium, immersed
in one of the ramuli. 5, vertical section of the frond ;
all magnijied.
C. Cruoria, page 151.
Fig. 1, C. 'pellita^ growing on a portion of rock; the
natural size. 2, vertical section of the skin-like
fi'ond. 3, filaments of which the frond is composed \
all magnijied.
D. Naccaria, page 152.
Fig. 1, N. Wiggliii ; the natural size. 2, portion of
one of the branches, with fertile ramuli. 3, filament
bearing a spore from the ramuli. 4, transverse sec-
tion of the stem ; all magnijied.
n.zo.
Sr^ht/ X.VfOBrlcavJ/uhd^
PLATE XXI.
A. Gloiosiphonia, page 152.
Fig. 1, G. capillaris ; the natural size. 2, ramuli, in
fruit. 3, transverse section of a branch, showing the
tubular frond. 4, portion of the wall of the frond,
with favellidium ; all magnified.
B. Nemaleon, page 153.
Fig. 1, N. multijidum ; the natural size. 2, filaments
from the periphery of the same. 3, favellidium sur-
rounded by moniliform filaments; both magnified.
C. DuDRESNAiA, page 154.
Fig. 1, D. divaricata ; the natural size. 2, segment of
a cross section of the frond. 3, favellidium ; both
magnijied.
D. Crouania, page 155.
Fig. 1, C. attenuata, growing on Cladosteplius spongi-
osHS ; the natural size. 2, portion of one of the
branches. 3, whorl of ramuli from the same. 4, te-
traspore attached to one of the whorled ramuli ; all
magnified.
Fl.22.
A
D
WEKDu:
£ny^lj J.Faerki-r,..Dulu
PLATE XXII,
I
A. Ptilota, page 159.
Fig. 1, P. plumosa ; the natural size. 2, favella on its
peduncle, surrounded by involucral ramuli. 3, favella
removed. 4, ramulus bearing tetraspores. 5, a te-
traspore. 6, pectinated ramulus ; all ntagnijied.
B. MiCROCLADiA, page 160.
Fig. 1, M. glandulosa ; the natural size. 2, ramulus
with favella. 3, favella. 4, ramulus with tetraspores.
5, a tetraspore ; all magnified.
C. Ceramium, page 161.
Fig. \, C. ri(hrum; the natural size. 2, ramulus with
favellidium. 3, ramulus with imbedded tetraspores.
4, a tetraspore; all magnijied.
D Spyridia, page 166.
Fig. 1, (S*. Jilanienlosa ; the natural size. 2, fragment
with pedunculated favellae. 3, iragment with ramuli
bearing tetraspores. 4, a tetraspore. 5, a transverse,
and 6, a longitudinal, section of the frond ; magni-
jied.
A
Pl.ZZ,
B
Eny"
PLATE XXIII.
I
A. Callithamnion, page 171.
Fig.l, C. Borreri ; the natural size. 2, a pinnated
branch, or plumule of the same, bearing tetraspores |
on the rantiuli. 3, a ramuhis with tetraspores. 4, a
favella on a truncated plumule; magnijied.
B. Griffithsia, page 167.
Fig. 1, G. corallina ; the natural size. 2, part of a
branch with involucrated tetraspores. 3, an invohi-
cre, to whose ramuli tetras])ores are attached, sur-
rounding a fragment of the stem. 4, a tetraspore.
5, part of a branch with favellae ; magnijied.
C. Seirospora, page 170.
Fig. 1, S. GriJjUthsiana; the natural size. 2, part of
the main stem. 3, dichotomous ramulus, partly con-
verted into strings of spores. 4, tetraspores ; all mag-
nijied.
D. Wrangelia, page 199.
Fig. 1, W. multijida ; the natural size. 2, fragment
of stem with whorled ramuli, bearing a whorled and
pedunculate favella. 3, spores from the favella. 4,
ramulus with tetraspore. 5, a tetraspore ; all mag-
nified.
B
yy.^j.
^.fell ^
jf, u ■♦
D
WB3 dd*-
Zna ^ inJ. J'e^ico; .Dui'iir^
PLATE XXIV.
A. CoDiuM, page 193.
Fig. 1, C. tomeniosum ; the natural size. 2, filaments
from the same, in frnit ; magnified.
B. Bryopsis, page 194.
Fig. 1, B. plumosa, the natural size. 2, part of a
branch ; magnijied.
C. Vaucheria, page 195.
Fig. 1, V. suhmarina ; the natural size. 2, portion of
a fertile filament; magnijied.
D. Cladophora, page 198.
Fig. 1, C. falcata ; the natural size. 2, small branch
with secnnd, falcate ramuli ; magnijied. 3, ramulus,
more highly magnijied.
E. Conferva, page 207.
Fig. 1, C. tortuosa; the natural size. 2, portion of a
filament ; magnijied.
F. Rhizoclonium, page 206.
Fig. 1, R. riparium; the appearance to the naked eye.
2, portion of a filament, magnijied.
P7.24.
W.M.S. i