RED SEAWEEDS 81 



stunted ; but under the shelter of rocks, in deep water, it grows in dense 

 masses and is a dark purplish-red or reddish-green. Often it appears 

 iridescent when seen through the water, with the sun shining on it. It 

 is firm and leathery in substance. It is an edible alga, and was formerly 

 very generally used for culinary purposes. At Hingham, Massachusetts, 

 large quantities are gathered as an article of commerce. It is a beautiful 

 and very common plant found from New York northward. ( Plate X VII. ) 



GENUS Giffartina 



Of the species of this genus but one is found on the eastern 

 coast ; on the Pacific coast there are several, and they are large 

 and conspicuous. 



G. mamittosa. Frond three to six inches high, one inch to two 

 inches broad, flat, leathery, gelatinous ; forking near the base, then divid- 

 ing and subdividing in the same plane i; segments more or less wedge- 

 shaped and with a tendency to roll inward ; covered with numerous 

 small nipple-like protuberances which contain the spores. These pro- 

 jections distinguish this genus from Chondrus, which it otherwise resem- 

 bles, and with which it grows. The color is dark purple. It is found 

 from Boston northward. (Plate XVIII.) 



G. radula. Frond flat and thick ; rising from a short stem and 

 widening to several inches; sometimes tapering to the top, sometimes 

 blunt or divided, sometimes cleft on the sides, but usually simple ; cov- 

 ered with wart-like projections ; color dark, livid red. It is found on 

 the Pacific coast at ah 1 seasons, growing on rocks between tide-marks. 

 Large specimens are one foot to three feet long and six to ten inches 

 wide. (Plate XVIII.) 



G. spinosa (" thorny "). Frond thick, leathery ; surface rough and 

 spiny ; form variable, the divisions sometimes emanating from a broad, 

 flattened base, or again branching from a main axis ; all covered with 

 the protruding processes peculiar to the genus; color dark red, brown, 

 or purple. It is found on the California coast. (Plate XVIII.) 



G. microphylla (" small-leaved"). Plant rises from short, flat stem, 

 and rapidly expands into a flat, wide, thin frond which is simple or 

 divided into two or three segments, each of which tapers into a long, 

 pointed apex ; thickly covered with long, slender spines, and on its 

 edges bearing small, thin leaflets ; color brownish-red. It is abundant 

 on the California coast. (Plate XVIII.) 



GENUS fhyllophora 



Leafweed. Fronds cylindrical ; branched stalks which expand 

 into rigid, membranaceous, simple or cleft, wedge-shaped laminae ; 

 laminee bear leaflets on their edges or on their surface ; spores in 

 masses form projections on the surface, or are on stalks at the 

 summit ; color dark red. Found washed ashore from New York 

 northward. 



