Allen : Three new Charas from California 301 



Miss Nordhoff 's Chara was collected in the small lake at Lakeside 

 in San Diego Co., Calif., where it grows luxuriantly, quite monop- 

 olizing one end of the lake, the other end equally occupied by 

 Chara liirsnta Allen. The numerous "sinks" in the surrounding 

 country, kept supplied during the long " dry season" by subter- 

 ranean waters, are also well stocked with this species. The species 

 has a fresh, light green color and is very noticeable by the peculiar 

 beard of stipules which surrounds the stem at intervals. Fertile 

 spore-bearing plants were found only in very shallow water ; the 

 large and diffuse plants growing in deep water were all of the male 

 form. Collected by Miss Nordhoff in August, 1898. 



The appearance of this variety differs strikingly from Chara 

 Horncmanni A. Br. ; the latter is stouter with more nodes on the 

 leaves : the spines of the stem numerous and very broad, diameter 

 400-500 ft {Nordhofjiae 160 ji in diam.) ; the difference in size of 

 stipules and bracts equally great. 



Chara hirsuta 



FMchara : corticata diplostepliana liaplosticha-vera monoica con- 



tigua. 



Plants slender, elongated, sparingly branched, the branches 

 rivalling the main stem in length and appearance, 5—6 cm. in 

 length (varying with the depth of the water) ; rarely of greater 

 length, for the plant does not frequent a great depth of water and 

 seems to extend to the surface. A single stem from the root sends 

 out 5 or 6 long shoots, though when growing in shallow water a 

 stem may have quite a " tuft " of shoots near the apex. The stem 

 is extremely hairy ; seeming larger than it really is, owing to the 

 long and dense hairs which cover it. The stem is from 450 to 

 500 fi in diameter ; the spines (hairs) arising from it, slender and 

 more than twice as long as the diameter of the stem; 1000- 

 1400 ji long x 75-80 in diameter. The stem is, when ma- 

 ture, singly and quite regularly corticated, though, in the younger 

 portions, the cortex cells do not always quite unite, leaving spaces, 

 which may or may not become occupied by imperfectly devel- 

 oped secondary cortex tubes ; this imperfect development of the 

 cortex is frequently noticed in the leaves which are at times quite 

 imperfectly corticated. The spines are quite numerous and very 

 slender, usually developed in pairs from the nodal cortex-cells. 

 These paired cortex-spines are very unequal ; often the second cell 

 is developed only as a mere u knob n and not produced as a spine ; 



