;sy [ 7°i ]
BY SS US barbata.
Bearded Yellow By/fus.
CRY P TO GAM IA Alga.
G e n . C h a r . W h o le p la n t co n f id in g o f down o r
fimple powder. Fruflification u n k n ow n .
S p e c . C h a r . F ilam e n ts u p rig h t, b ran c h ed , b u n d led ,
w ith an n u a l in te rru p tio n s , tawny, w'ith ftnooth,
fwelled, deeper^coloured tips.
S y n . Byflus b arbata. Hudf. 6 0 6 . Hull, 3 0 8 .
B. fulva. With. v . 4 . 1 4 4 . t. 1 8 . ƒ. 5.
B. arb o rea b arbata, fulvi coloris. D ill. M u ß . 9 .
t. i . / . 1 9 . Rail Syn. 5 7 .
D r . W IT H E R IN G has accidentally referred this production
to the Byjfus fulva of Hudfon inftead of his barbata ;
hence there is fome confufion in his account of it. We
have been favoured by the Right Hon. Lady Elizabeth Noel
with a fine fpecimen, accompanied by an excellent drawing of
her own, in which the fwellings at the ends of the branches
are more complete than in any we have before feen; and her
ladythip fuppofes, with great probability, the fructification
may in fome mode or other be contained in them. If fo, it is
the firft approach towards the difcovery of the fructification in
this genus. Thefe tips are fmooth, of the rich colour of the
ftigma of the Crocus fativus, and femitranfparent ] we have
fought in vain for any granules or feeds, but Dr. Withering
perhaps had a more advanced fpecimen.
The B. barbata grows on decayed wood in fhady places,
as court-yards, &c. It forms thick tawny-coloured tufts,
from one to two inches high, and is perennial, the growth of
each year being marked by a (welling and a darker colour in
each principal filament or ftem. Young plants confift of a
fimple filament, regularly and beautifully feathered at the
fummit.