CONFERVA STRICTA. 



C. filamentis fub dichotomis fafciculatis venofis ; articulis Ioncis 

 On rocks in the i'^a at Dover and Swanfea. 



THE firft time I found this fpecies was on the rocks near Archliff Fort, 

 Dover, in 1799, but it had for many years before been gathered by M. Wigg, 

 on the coaft at Yarmouth, whence a fpecimen of it was communicated by 

 D. Turner to his learned friend Profeflbr Mertens, who gave it the name of 

 C. ftricta. It grows in thick bundles, feldom more than three inches in length, 

 of a dull crimfon color. Many filaments rife from the fame root, in thicknefs 

 about equal to the hair of the human head, and repeatedly divided and fubdivided 

 into branches and ramuli, for the mod part alternate. Under the higher powers 

 of the microfcope, the filaments appear as if compofed of a number of longi- 

 tudinal cylindric tubes, divided by dark diffepiments at equal diftances, and at 

 the fame part of the filament, and appearances make it highly probable that the 

 filaments in this and fome other marine fpecies have no general diflepiment, but 

 that the tranfverfe line agreeing at firft fight with thofe of C. glomcrata, is in 

 fact an aggregation of the diffepiments of the before-mentioned cylindric tubes ; 

 and the tubes, efpecially in the young and ultimate ramuli, are more or lefs fpiral. 

 The joints in length are about equal to thrice their thicknefs. There is no danger 

 of confounding this with any other fpecies ; it approaches neareft to C. fetacea, 

 but its more brilliant color, larger fize, and far longer joints, at once diftinguifh 

 that fpecies. 



