30 Notes on the Morphology of the Fiicacece. 



confirming your conclusions as to their real nature. I have written a 

 note on the subject for the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute' etc. 



With regard to the other genera named, excepting the two reserved 

 for the present, the general result is that, with regard to Seirococcus 

 and CoccopJiora, Oltmanns' expectations are confirmed as to their oogonia 

 and the number of their oospores. XiphopJiora, on the other hand, yields 

 four oospores in each oogonium instead of one, as conjectured by 

 Oltmanns. It had better, therefore, be removed from his section 

 Loriformes and be placed in the Fucece with AscopJiyllitm, though its 

 receptacle bears a remarkable likeness to HimantJtalia, the type of 

 Loriformes. Notheia was not included in Oltmanns' review of genera. 

 The result of this examination would point to its true position in the 

 section Fucece as a very degenerate member. Hormosira is also in 

 the same section, judging by Mr. Mollet's observations (confirmed by 

 Miss Smith). 



Sarcophycus, which has four oospores in each oogonium, is so plainly 

 the ally of Dnrvill<za that it may remain with it and Ecklonia pending 

 the further investigation of these genera. It may be noted that, 

 though the four oospores suggest affinity with the Fucea in this 

 respect, yet the different form of their segmentation described by Miss 

 Whitting, and the frequent situation of the oogonia on branching hairs 

 afford characters that may be looked for in its companion genera. 



Oltmanns appears to me to attach undue weight, in estimating those 

 characters on which he rests his sections, to that afforded by the growth 

 of the plants, viz., the occurrence of three or four-sided apical cells. 

 My reason for depreciating the value of such a character is its proved 

 inconstancy, not only among Algae, but even in the much less plastic 

 forms of the Vascular Cryptogams. 



Hearty thanks for material of Seirococcus, XipJiopIiora, Hormosira, 

 NotJieia, and SarcopJiycus are due to Mr. Bracebridge Wilson, of Geelong, 

 Australia. (ED.) 



COCCOPHORA LANGSDORFII GREV. 



DAWSON TURNER gives us the first account of this beautiful and 

 uncommon sea-weed in his Fitci, vol. Hi., p. 76, tab. 165. 



It was brought to him from Japan, as a dried specimen, by Dr. 

 Langsdorff, the ' natural Philosopher ' attached to a Russian expedition 

 round the world. 



