P l a t e CXLVI.
POLYSIPHONIA ELONGELLA, Harv.
G e n . C h a e . Frond filamentous, p a rtia lly or g en erally a r tic u la te ; jo in ts
lo n g itu d in a lly s tria te , composed o f n um e ro u s r a d ia tin g cells or tu b e s
disp o sed ro u n d a c en tra l cavity. Fructification two-fold, o n different
in d iv id u a ls ; 1 , ovate capsules {ceramidia), fu rn ish e d w ith a te rm in a l
p ore , a n d c o n ta in in g a ma ss of p e a r-sh ap ed s p o re s ; 3, tetraspores
im b e d d e d in swollen b ra n c h le ts . P o l y s i p h o n i a {O r e v .),— h om
TTokvs, many, an d mfiav, a tube.
P o l y s i p h o n i a elongella-, filaments setaceous and rigid helow, g r a d u ^ y
attenuated upwards, irregularly dichotomous, with very patent a x ils ;
upper branches flaccid, more or less furnished with lateral, pencilled,
multifld, rose or blood-red ram u li; articulations of th e branches about
as long as broad, those of th e ramuli ra th e r longer, b o th marked with
2 -3 broad, parallel, oblong c e lls; primary tubes four, surrounding a
minute cavity, and encompassed with an external coat of small c e lls;
capsules ovate, on a short s ta lk ; dissepiments pellucid.
P oly siph o n ia elongella, H a n . in Hook. Br. ¥1. vol. ii. p. 334. Harv. Man.
p. 96. Wyatt, Alg. Damn. no. 84. J .A g . Alg. Medit. g .l3 6 .E n d l. Srd Suppl.
p. 45. (u. 30).
H a b . On rocks and stones, and on th e smaller Alg®, near low-water mark
and at a greater depth. Biennial. Spring and Summer. Rather
rare. Sidmouth and Torbay, Mrs. Oriffiths and Miss Cutler. Devon-
port. R ev. W. S. Ilore. Jersey, Miss. H . M . White. Orkney, Rnv.
J . H . Pollex fen. Ardrossan, Rev. D. Landsborough. D u b lin Bay,
Miss B a ll. Howth, Miss. Cower. Killiney, Mrs. Apjohn. Belfast
Bay, I)r. L nm m o n d and M r. Thompson. Larne, M r. D. Moore.
Malahide, M r. M ’Calla.
G e o g e . D i s t b . Coast of France, Lenormand. Adriatic Sea, J ..
D e s c e . Fronds from two to four or five inches high, solitary or slightly tufted’
as thick as hogs’ bristle below, cartilaginous and firm, gradually attenuated
and becoming flaccid and tender upwards, divaricately or very patently
branched, more or less regularly dichotomous, the axils, especially the lower
ones, very wide and obtuse. Upper branches elongate, flexuous, alternately
divided, and furnished with lateral, multifld, pencilled ramuli, which are
more or less dense on different specimens. These ramnh are excessively
tender and flaccid, and of a more or less intense sanguineous-red : late in
the season they fall away, leaving naked spine-like branchlets. Articulations
clearly visible in all parts of the frond, the dissepiments being peUucid;
lower articulations shorter than their breadth, those of the branches about
equal in length and breadth, those of the ramuli rather longer, but rapidly
diminishing toward the apices. A transverse section of the lower part of
the stem shows four large primary tubes, arranged in a cruciform manner
round a minute central cavity, and surrounded by two or three rows of cells,
gradually smaller outwards ; a section of a branch has four similar primary
J l . e « r e , a iH p ,