Ll
P l a t e X L V I .
SPYRIDIA FILAMENTOSA, Harv.
Gen. Char. Prond filiform, cylindrical, much branched, traversed by a
wide articulated tube, whose walls are composed of small, angular
cells; ramuU setiform, simple, jointed. Fructification of two kinds
on distinct individuals; 1, external tetraspores, with colourless borders,
attached to the ramuli; 2, stalked, gelatinous, lobed receptactes { fa vellm),
involucred by short ramuli, and containing two or three distinct
masses of roundish spores. Spyridia {Harv.)—from trn-vpls, a
basket.
SpYaimA filamentosa ; frond irregularly branched, subopake; branches
tapering at the base, more or less densely clothed with setaceous
ramuli; joints of the stem very short, of the ramuh once and a half
as long as broad.
S p y r i d i a filam e n to s a , Harv. in Hook. B r.M . v o l.ii. p . 3 3 7 . Wyatt, Alg.Banm.
n o . 8 8 . Harv. Man. 191. J. Ag. Alg. Medit. -p. 19. Endl. 3rd. Suppl.
p . 3 5 . Kiits. Phyc. Gen.-^.313. t.4 3 . Mont. PI. Cell. Canar. ^ .1 1 4 .
S p y r id ia c ra s s iu s cu la , Kiitz. Phyc. Gen. p . 3 7 6 .
Sp y r id ia se ta c e a , Kiitz. I. c.
S p y r id ia nudiuscula, Kutz. I. c.
Fucus filam e n to sn s, Wulf. Cr.Aq. p. 6 4 .
Fucus friabilis, Clem. Ess. p. 3 1 8 .
C e r a m iu m filam e n to sum , Ag. S p.A lg. v o l.i i. p . 1 4 1 .
H u t c h in s ia fllam e n to s a , Ag. Syst. p . 1 5 9 .
C o n f e r v a Griffithsiana, E. Bot. t. 2 3 1 3 .
H ab. On submarine rocks, near low-water mark. Perennial, Summer.
Southern coasts of England, in several places; bnt rare. Southampton,
Miss Biddulph. Torquay and Sidmouth, Mrs. Griffiths. Jersey,
Miss W h ite ; Miss Turner. Aberfraw, Anglesea, plentiful; and
Holyhead, Mr. Ralfs.
G e o g r . D i s t r . Atlantic coasts of Europe from England to Spain. Abundant
in the Mediterranean. East and West Indies. Canary Islands. Australia
and Tasmania.
D e s c r . Boot a large disc-like expansion, half an inch or more in diameter.
tufted, many springing from the same base, from two to ten inches high,
about half a line in diameter below, gradually attenuated upwards irregularly
branched in a manner between dichotomous and alternate. In some
specimens, an undivided stem, six to eight inches long, is densely beset
with lateral branches spreading nearly horizontally, and diminishing in
length as they approach the ap ex ; the lowest being three to four inches