U L V A l a c t d Ca .
Small green Sea Laver.
C la s s a n d O r d e r CEYPTOGAMIA ALGÆ, Linn— N a t . O rd . ALGÆ, Juss.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Frons plana vel tubulosa C?) membrana oequali ( nee striato-areolata). Granulée
quaternatæ.
Frond plane or tubular (.?) the membrane equal (not striated in a reticulated
manner).ni Gramules in fours.
SPECIFIC c h a r a c t e r .
U lv a lactuca; fronde obovata, tubulata, inflata, subgelatinosa, demum ad basin
f s s a , laciniis planis inoequalibus, semipellucidis.
U. frond obovate, tubular, inflated, subgelatinous, at length cleft to the base,
the segments plane, unequal, semitransparent.
U l v a la c tu c a , Linn. Sp. PL l639.— Vinc. Pet. Inst. Bot. v. 5. p . 2 1 0 3 .— ^ g .
Sp. Alg. p . 409.—Syst. Alg. p . I 89.
T r e m e l l a marina vulgaris, Lactucæ similis. Dill. Hist. Muse. p. 42. t. 8.
f. 1.
H a b . In the sea, attached to rocks or other algse ; May and June. Island
of Bute, abundant. F rith of Forth. I have also gathered specimens
in Torbay in England, growing upon Cystoseira ericoides.
Fronds generally produced in a crowded manner, especially when growing
from the sides of small rocky pools, three to six inches in length, of a
pale yellowish-green colour, and exceedingly thin, membranous, semitransparent
somewhat gelatinous substance ; at first entire, hollow, inflated,
and o f an obovate figure; at length variously lacerated, or divided
into unequal and irregular portions, to the very base. Granules
in fours, the quaternate groups arranged in no specific order.
The frond adheres closely to paper, when dried, and has then a shining
a p p e a ra n c e .
This species of Ulva, if it has been noticed at all in this
country, has been so confounded with Ulva latissima, that it
is impossible to determine the synonymes with any degree of
accuracy. The figure in “ English Botany,” given under the
name oilactuca, is certainly Zaimiv««,—at least the Ulva lac-
VOL. VI.