ALGJE OF MAURITIUS. 153 
above, alternate or secund, thick, flexuose, wrinkled, divari- 
cating, often with a few patent ramuli or tertiary branches, 
more or less beset with spreading conical spines, 1—1 line 
in length: substance gelatinoso-cartilaginous, tough, firmly 
adhering to paper: colour a dull dark purple. In referring 
the specimens to Agardh’s *SpA. horridus,” I have been 
perhaps a little guided by his reference, **ad insulam Fran- 
cio," but independently of this, our descriptions nearly 
accord. 
13. Hypnea musciformis (Lamour.). 
Of this very variable species, the collection contains a 
large number of specimens, from which I have selected the 
following varieties, as most worthy of notice. 
v. divaricata, (Hypnea divaricata? Grev.); fronde com- 
pressa, ramis erecto-patentibus, ramulis densissimis 
elongatis multifidis. 
3—6 inches high, tufted; branches short, alternate, 
spreading; ramuli 2—6 lines long, the smaller quadri- 
farious, bi-trifid, the larger distichous, very much 
branched. Capsules (which I have only seen øn this 
variety) abundant, deep-red, depresso-spherical, lateral 
on the ramuli, mostly ternate. I consider this the 
Fucus divaricatus of Turner (T. 181.) On a slight 
inspection (and Turner had only seen a solitary speci- 
men) it might easily be mistaken for a distinct species ; 
but it passes imperceptibly into the following variety, 
and after that into F. Valentie of the same author. 
B. ramulosa; fronde compressa lata, ramis intricatis 
divaricatis, ramulis densissimis quadrifariis tri-multifidis 
abbreviatis. 
Stems a line broad, much branched, divaricating 
and entangled, branches long, set on all sides with 
very dense, short, divaricating, forked or trifid, occa- 
sionally multifid ramuli. 
y. Valentie; fronde subcompressa filiformi, ramulis densis 
patentibus subsimplicibus. 
Stems elongated, much branched, varying in diameter 
Srconp SERIES. U 
