THE ALGAE OF JAMAICA. 



By Frank Shipley Collins. 



Presented October 9, 1901. Received October 15, 1901. 



The earliest reference to the algae of Jamaica, and very nearly the 

 earliest reference to the algae of America, appears to be by Sloane ; * in 

 the chapter on submarine plants 43 species are named and described, 

 amono- which, however, are a few aquatic phanerogams, and a considerable 

 number of corals ; of the remainder most are too vaguely described to be 

 now identified, but by the help of the plates, we can give with fair cer- 

 tainty the modern names for four. 



Vol. I. p. 57, PI. XX. Fig. 2, Corallina opuntioides, ramulis den- 

 sioribus, et Jills magis sinuatis atque corrugatis, is Halimeda Opuntia. 

 P. 58, PI. XX. Fig. 3, Corallina major, nervo crassiore fuciformi, inter- 

 nodia breviora nectente, White Bead Bandstring dicta, is Cymopolia bar- 

 bata. P. 61, PI. XX. Fig. 9, Fucus minimus denticulatus triangularis, is 

 Bryothamnion triangulare. P. 58, PL XX. Fig. 6, Fucus marinus vesi- 

 cidas habens membranis extantibus alatas, is Turbinaria trialata. 



P. 58, PL XX., Corallina minima capillacea, is probably our present 

 Corallina capillacea, but neither plate nor description is characteristic 

 enough to make this certain. P. 51, PL XVIII., Corallium album pumi- 

 lum nostras, seems to be some species of Lithothamnion. The other de- 

 scriptions are too uncertain to hazard any identifications. 



A few algae are mentioned by Browne,t apparently mostly copied from 

 Sloane ; some plants undoubtedly belonging to the genus Sargassum are 

 mentioned, and from the description of the great floating masses, S. 

 bacciferum is undoubtedly meant, but it is jjrobable that other species are 

 included under this name. 



Lunan % gives seven species of algae, as follows, p. 157-158 : 



* A voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Cristophers and 

 Jamaica, by Hans Sloane, M.D., London, 1707. 



t The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, by Patrick Browne, M.D., 1756. 

 % Hortus Jamaicensis, by John Lunan, 1814. 



