mission to abstract a fragment of the precious relic, to be preserved
in the Dublin Herbarium. The singular grape-like fructification
at once marks the species, and on the specimen found
almost every thread had more or less numerous clusters. So
that it fortunately happens, that a small specimen of this rarity
is as characteristic as a much larger would be,—no smaU advantage,
when a half-crown would cover all the specimens at present
known to botanists. Dr. Greville has repeatedly sought it
in vain in the spot on which the solitary tuft was picked up by
Sir J. Richardson, previous to his first and memorable Arctic
Voyage.
Fig. 1. Tuft of Sphacelaiua racemosa :—the natural size. 2. Upper portion
of a frond:—magnified. 3. Apex of a branch, with branches of spores; and
4, one of the pedicellate spores;— nmre highly magnified.
f
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