U:
There is no British alga with which this bcantiful plant can well
he confounded. The extreme delicacy of its capillary raumli,
the constantly exact opposition of all its parts, from the primary
branches to the most minute of the decompound ramuli (the last
of which are much finer than the most slender hair), and the versatile
colour, are all marks which peculiarly belong to Besmares-
tia viridis. Old and weather-beaten fronds, which have lost the
more delicate ramuli, have something the aspect of Bictyosiphon
fosnicidaceus, but may at once be distinguished hy the opposite
branching.
At Big. 2 I have represented the magnified appearance of one
of the growing points of the young frond, showing the gradual
coating of the confervoid frame-work (or skeleton) of the frond.
It will be seen that all the younger portions consist of a simple
string of cells, or articulated filament, and that in the lower part
these cells are coated by a stratum of much smaller cellules. As
the growth proceeds these external coats are constantly increased,
while the original central skeleton may still be traced, through all
the branches, and even in the stem, a section of which is seen
at Big. 3.
B. viridis is very widely dispersed through the colder zones,
both north and south, and increases in luxuriance as it approaches
either pole.
E g . 1. D e s m a r e s t ia v i r i d i s :—the. natural size. 3. A p o w i n g apex of a
young bvanch :— highly magnifiei. 3. A transverse section of the stem :—
magnified.
% I