848 Friictifkatlon of the Genus Char a. 



Art. XII. On the Fructification of the Genus Chara, By the 

 Rev. J. S. Henslow, A.M., King's Professor of Botany in the 

 University of Cambridge. 



Sir, 

 Allow me, through the medium of this Magazine, to state 

 a curious fact, which I once observed in the fructification 

 of the genus Chara. In the Dictionnaire Classique d'Histoire 

 Naturelle, M. A. Brongniart has noticed the difficulty of 

 accounting for the manner in which the red matter contained 

 in the " globule " (anther of Linnaeus) becomes dispersed. 

 At a certain season of the year this part of the fructification 

 is found empty, but its outer surface does not appear to have 

 been ruptured. It is quite contrary (as he remarks) to all 

 analogy, for us to suppose the included matter to have passed 

 into the "nucule" (germen of Linnaeus), through the internal 

 substance of the plant. The fact, however, to which I am 

 about to allude, seems to show that this is nevertheless the 

 case. At all events, I think it is well worthy of being recorded, 

 in order that others may direct their enquiries by the addi- 

 tional light which it appears to me likely to throw upon this 

 subject. 



A variety of the Chara vulgaris, which grows in a running 

 stream at Coton near Cambridge, is more highly incrusted 

 with carbonate of lime than any specimens which I have else- 

 where met with. Considerable masses of it may be dug out 

 in the form of a loose porous stone. It was in some speci- 

 mens of this variety, gathered on Nov. 3. 1830, that I met 

 with many globules which had become white from having 

 parted with their red matter, whilst the nucules had assumed a 

 reddish tinge, doubtless from their having 

 imbibed the same. Among these nucules 

 I noticed a few in which the outer sur- 

 face appeared to be spirally banded with 

 alternate lines of red and white, {fg. 82.) 

 The outer coat of the nucule consists of 

 five tubes spirally twisted together, and 

 the ends terminating in a sort of crown upon 

 its apex. The banded appearance here 

 described arose from some of these tubes 

 being charged with the red matter, whilst the 

 others were empty. Unfortunately, I could 

 not at the time command sufficient leisure 



as in De CandoUe's general table \Systema Regni Vegetabilis, vol.ii. p. 146.] 

 incumbent." Examination will prove them incumbent and conduplicate, 

 and De Candolle correct. — J. D. 



