50 MAEINE 



green, or dark bluish -purple. The genus is very common, and 

 the plants are often found on the bottoms of boats. 



GENUS Lyngbya 



(Named for Hans Christian Lyngbye, a Danish botanist) 



L. majuscula, mermaid's-hair. The filaments are curled or crisped, 

 long, thick, and tenacious, matted together at the base, and blackish- 

 green. The species grows in tufts on eel-grass and algae, and is often 

 found floating free. It is common in summer everywhere south of Cape 

 Cod and on the Pacific coast. 



L. ferruginea or (estuarii. In this species the filaments are thin, 

 soft, and without stability (flaccid), so that they lie flat like a thin 

 stratum. They are verdigris-green in color, and are found in brackish 

 pools and ditches and on muddy shores near the sea. 



