C o n f e r v a fusco -purpurea.
B row nish-pu rp le M a r in e Conferva.
CRYPTOGAMIA Alga.
Gen. Char. Seeds produced within th e substance o f
th e capillary o r jointed frond, o r in closed tubercles
united with it.
Spec. Char. Brownish-purple. Filaments simple, very
slender, e n ta n g le d ; swelling irregularly by age.
Joints three o r fo u r times as broad as long, pellucid
a t each end, a t length internally granulated.
Syn. Conferva fusco-purpurea. Dillw. Conf. t. 92.
S e n t by Mr. W. Borrer from piles in the sea at Bright -
helmstone. Mr. Dillwyn only has hitherto described it,
from specimens gathered on calcareous submarine rocks by
Mr. W. W. Young. It is said to cover such rocks in patches
2 or 3 square feet in extent, and conspicuous for their glossy
purplish-brown colour. The filaments are clustered or entangled,
simple, very fine and slender, about an inch long;
regular and even when young, but afterwards swelling here
and there into twice their original diameter. The joints are
extremely short, pellucid and white at their extremities and
sides. As they advance in age, their purple internal substance
separates into a simple series of globular granules; and a
similar but less accurate separation takes place whenever the
plant is taken, for some time, out of its native element, as
happens to the generality of this tribe.