CYSTOCARPS OF CALLOPHYLLIS AND RIIODYMENIA. 77 



On the Cystocarps of some Species of Call oplnjll is and Tthodymenia. 



By John Bennett Carrut^rs, F.L.S. 



[Read 5th June, 1890.] 

 (Plate XV.) 



In his 'Epicrisis Floridearum ' (1876, p. 328) J. Agardh has 

 divided the genus Uhodymenia, Grew, into three sections 



* 



PaJmatae, Palmetta3, and Clinophora. The section Palmata) in- 

 cludes three species, yiz. Uhodymenia pertusa, Post & Kupr., 

 J. Agardh, R. peruviana, J. Agardh, and R. pal mat a, Grew 

 In no species of this section has Agardh found cystocarps 

 (Epic. Flor. p. 318); and no other writers have found cysto- 

 carps of these species. Buprecht alone * has described cysto- 

 carps of R. palmata; but these do not appear to be genuine 

 cystocarps. Harvey has observed the existence of the cystocarps 

 of R. pertusa t (from a specimen collected on the north-west 

 coast of America). 



This being so, I had the good fortune to be shown in the 

 Cryptogamic Herbarium of the Natural History Museum at 



South Kensington specimens of R. palmata, R. pertusa, and 

 R. peruviana which bore distinct cystocarps, the study of which 

 was naturally of great interest. 



Encouraged by Mr.. Murray, of the Cryptogamic Herbarium 

 of the British Museum, I began the examination of the fruits of 

 the specimen of R. palmata in the Botanical Department of the 

 Natural History Museum ; and afterwards continued the study 

 of all these specimens under the guidance of Prof. F. Schmitz in 

 the Botanical Institute of the University of Greifswald ; and the 

 following is the result of my work. 



I. 



There are two specimens of Rhodymenia pahnat a, Grew, in the 

 Cryptogamic Herbarium of the British Museum, both with 

 cystocarps and both from the collection of Dickie. They bear 

 the inscription : — "Rhodymenia palmata, var., Santa Cruz, Bay 

 of Monterey, 1873, Dr. C. L. Anderson." My attention was 

 specially directed towards one of these two plants. 



The thallus of this specimen is flat and repeatedly forked, growing 

 more or less irregularly in a fan-like shape. The segments are 



1 Alga 1 Ochotenenses/ pp. 74-75. 

 t Journ. Linn.Soc, Bot. vi. (18G2) p. 171. 



