C O N F E R V A sordida.
D ir ty Conferva.
CUYPTOGAMIA Algae.
Gen. Char. Seeds produced within the substance o f
th e c a p illa ry or jo in te d frond, or in closed tubercles
united with it.
Spec. Char. P ale olive green. Filaments unbranched,
very slender, en tan g led in dense masses. Jo in ts
rath e r longer than broad, pellucid as well as their
partitions.
Syn. Conferva sordida. Roth Catal.'fdsc. 1. 177. t. 2.
ƒ . 4. Dillw. Cortf. t. 6 0 . Syn. n. 2 1 .
(3. C. fugacissima. • Roth C a ta l.fa sc. 1 . 17 6. t. 2 .
ƒ . 3. Dillw. Syn. n. 2 0 . t. B.
T h i s is excellently described by Roth and Dillwyn as composing
cloud-like or slimy semitransparent masses in clear
stagnant pools, and adhering in that form to grasses or reeds
that grow under water. When dislodged it floats on the surface,
and assumes a dirty appearance, from ee decayed vegetable
matter and mud; ” we suspect that, like many other aquatic
plants, it causes the water to deposit earth, by absorbing
the air which had been united with it. The filaments are very
fine, even, simple, of a light green when young, turning of
a very pale olive by age. Their joints are as long as broad,
or twice as long, for we cannot but think, with Mr. Borrer,
that the latter circumstance, which characterizes the fugacissima,
is variable. The whole, with the partitions, is so extremely
pellucid, that we can judge of the length of the
joints only by observing the contraction or disturbance of the
green matter within, which takes place very soon after gathering.
The synonyms of Roth Mr. Dillwyn verified by
a comparison with his specimens in Mr. Turner’s herbarium.