TlaCe C Z X V n i.
P late C L X V I ll.
POLYSIPHONIA FORMOSA, Sukr.
G e n .C h a k . Frond filamentous, partially or generally articulate; joints
longitudinally striate, composed of numerous radiating cells or tubes,
disposed round a central cavity. Fructification two-fold, on different
individuals; 1, ovate capsules {ceramidia) furnished with a terminal
pore, and containing a tuft of pear-shaped spores; 2, tetraspores,
imbedded in swollen branchlets. P o l y s i p h o n i a {Grev), — from
TToXas, many, and mfiav, a tube.
PoLYSiPHONiA_/omoiB; filaments exceedingly slender and fiaccid, full-red,
much divided; branches subdichotomous, long, flexuous, more or less
furnished with scattered, spreading, alternate, subulate ramuli; articulations
marked with two broad tubes, those of the main branches
many times (B-10 times) longer than broad, of the ramuli sho rt;
siphons four, surrounding a minute cavity; capsules urceolate, generally
stalked ; tetraspores imbedded in the middle part of the ramuli.
P olysiphonia formosa, Suhr. Bot. Zeit. 1831, p. 709. Harv. Man. p. 94.
Wyatt, Alg. Damn. no. 216.
P olysiphonia gracilis, Grev. MSS.
H a b . On rocks, near low-water mark. Annual. Summer. Not uncommon.
Lerwick, Shetland, Suhr. Bute, Br. Greville. Belfast Bay, Mr.
Thompson. Antrim, Mr. B . Moore. Clontarf, Miss B a ll. Galway,
M r. M ‘Calla. Malahide, W .E .H . Elver Dart, Mrs. Grifiiths.
Salcombe, Mrs. Wyatt. Plymouth, Rev. W. 8. ITm-e, and B r . Coch.
Wlutsand Bay, Dr. Jacob. Sidmouth, Rev. R . Cresswell.
Geogb. D is t k . Atlantic shores of Northern Em'ope. Baltic Sea.
D esob. Mlammts densely tufted, from six to ten inches in length, the larger
specimens as slender as a human hair, the smaller and more delicate much
more slender, excessively branched, in a manner between alternate and
dichotomous; branches three or four inches long, flexuous, several times
divided, the penultimate divisions more or less furnished with alternate, patent,
subsimple ramuli, ultimate ramuli subulate, spreading. Apices blunt, and
often clothed with byssoid fibres. Articulations very variable in different parts
of the frond; those of the stem about twice as long as broad; of the main
branches from eight to ten times; of the smaller branches from four to five
time s; and of the ramuli about once and half as long as broad. Inter-
stices pellucid. Capsules urceolate, scattered on the sides of the upper
ramuli. Tetraspores forming a line in the middle of the ramuli, which
then become fusiform. Colour a full, deep, and somewhat pinky-red,
becoming red-brown, or very dark, in drying. Substance flaccid, membranous,
or, when young, somewhat gelatinous, closely adhering to paper,
and somewhat glossy when dry.
M
■W. H U. del et •jCb. .. iie’VB uup ' ri