"- 
152 ALGJE OF MAURITIUS. 
A highly beautiful plant, combining the habit of Delesseria 
with much of the structure of Amansia. Root scutate; frond 
much branched, its lower branches often bare of membrane, 
thick, cylindrical, woody, opaque, their upper parts beset on 
all sides with lanceolate distinct leaves, which are often col- 
lected round the apices into beautiful flat stellate tufts, 
resembling expanded roses, a peculiarity to which I have 
alluded in the trivial name. Leaves furnished with a midrib, 
which usually vanishes beyond the middle, lanceolate, atten- 
uate, somewhat ovate at the base, closely and transversely 
striated, ciliato-dentate; the cilise often branched or trifid, 
their apices incurved. Structure exceedingly beautiful, con- 
sisting of transverse series of oblong hexagonal cellules. I 
have seen no capsules, but the cili: often contain ternate 
granules, colour a deep rose-red. 
Tas. CXXVI. Fig. 1. Plant nat. size. F. 2. leaf. f. 8. 
portion of a leaf with ciliæ, f. 4. granulesz— magnified. 
10. Laurencia papillosa. ( Grev. Syn. 52. Chondria papil- 
losa, Ag. Syst 203. Fucus thyrsoides, Turn. T. 19.) The 
collection contains some fine specimens of this curious plant. 
11. Laurencia obtusa? var. nana. 
This may perhaps be the L. nana. of Agardh, a question 
which I have no means of determining. It forms densely 
interwoven pulvinate strata, 1—1 inch high. Frond subdi- 
chotomously branched; branches quadrifarious, spreading, set 
with a few irregular alternate (never opposite) ramuli, which 
are again occasionally furnished with a second series; ramuli 
obtuse, simple, short, slightly narrowed at base: substance 
cartilaginous.— H5. Among the creeping roots of various 
Caulerpe. 
12. Gigartina horrida, ( Grev.—Spharococcus horridus, 4g. 
Syst. p. 327); fronde filiformi rugulosa ramosissima gelatino- 
so-cartilaginea, ramis flexuosis divaricatis aculeatis, aculeis 
conicis patentibus. 
Stems tufted, 2—3 lines in diameter in the thickest part; 
(ramuli a line broad), branched from the base, in an irregu- 
lar manner, inclining to dichotomous; branches crowded 
