CRYPTOGAMIA Algee.
G en. Char. Male, scattered warts.
Female, smooth shields or tubercles, in which the
seeds are imbedded.
Spec. Ch ar. Crust tartareous, uninterrupted, slightly
tessellated, very white. Young shields* sessile, flat,
covered with a grey b lo om ; old ones elevated,
convex, very black, with a white border.
Syn. Lichen speireus. Ach. Prod. 59.
Lecidea speirea. Ach. Meth. 52.
Patellaria calcarea. Hoffm. PL Lich. v. 3. 5. t. 56.f . 2 .
FO U N D by Mr. W. Borrer, clothing flinty pebbles on the
summits of the cliffs by the sea near New haven, Sussex. Acha-
rius mentions it as a maritime Lichen. We know not of its
being observed by any other British botanist, but doubtless
'it may have been overlooked for L. ater, or taken for L. cal-
careus, an obscure species, to which almost every black and
white one has been, at some time or other, referred. Our
specimens accord with those sent by Professor Acharius.
The crust is very white and chalky, spreading in uninterrupted
roundish patches, with a thin white edge, not marked
by any evident concentric lines. Its surface slightly tessellated
when old, rugged, not mealy. Shields numerous, small;
when young sunk in the crust, flat, and veiled, as it were,
with a grey bloom; when old they are raised almost upon a
• footstalk, becoming convex, roughish, coal-black, with a
thin depressed border of the substance of the crust. Hoffmann’s
excellent figure and description leave no doubt on our
minds as to his synonym.