rather iirm, adhering, bui not very closely, to
when diy.
paper, and without gloss
i
: (II;
I, ( ;
If
This pretty species appears to have been lirst found, nearly
half a century ago, by the late Mr. Brodie of Brodie, whose
name it deservedly bears. Mr. Brodie, indeed, considered it
identical with the Conferva purpurascens of Hudson : a doubtful
synonyme, referred by Agardh to his Cal. versicolor, and applied
by Sir James E. Smith (‘ E. Bot.’ t. 2465.) to a plant found
on the beach at Brighton by Mr. Borrer, which, to judge by the
figure, has most of the characters of C. roseum. Hudson’s brief
description is insufficient, in the absence of authentic specimens,
to ascertain the plant he had in view, and, therefore, when describing
the present species in the ‘ British Flora ’ I assigned to it
a new name.
Cal. Brodiæi has much the habit of a small specimen of C.
tetragonum- the conical outline, undivided shrubby stem and
lateral branches, are common to both. But the microscopic
characters show a much nearer affinity with C. Hooheri, to some
varieties of which it make a very near approach. In the individuals
producing tetraspores, which are always more slender, and
more regularly branched than those which bear favelloe, the pinnules
are pretty constantly furnished with short, secund ramuli
in their upper half. In C. Hookeri such ramuli are either absent
or are alternate, and more patent. In the length of the joints
there is not much difference, and both species have sub-opake
stems, traversed by densely packed articulated veins. I have
not received any specimens of C. Brodioei from the continent,
nor am I aware that it has been found out of Britain.
Kg. 1. C a l l i t h a m n i o n B k o d m i :— 0/ tie natural size. 2. Portion of a
branch, with secondary branches. 2. A plumule. 4. Tetraspores, m silu.
5. Branchlet with o. favella. 6 . A portion of one of the main branches,
showing the veins:— all nurre or less highly magnified.