ser. gongylosperme^. ( 107 ) fam. cekamiacej;. 



CEEAMIUM FASTIGIATUM.— ir«r?;. 



Gen. Char. — Frond filiform, single-tubed, articulated ; joints, and occasionally more or 

 less of the articulation, pervaded by coloured cells. Fructification of two kinds, on 

 distinct plants : 1. Favell», roundish, with a pellucid limbus, and generally sur- 

 rounded at the base by an involucre of few short articulated spine-like ramuli ; 

 2. Tetraspores, more or less immersed in the ultimate ramuli. Name from 

 K^pafj.os, "a pitcher ;" but the name is not applicable to the fruit of any species 

 of the genus as now restricted. 



Ceramtum fastigiatum. — Fronds densely tufted and corymbose, fila- 

 ments much branched dichotomously ; main divisions cylindrical, of 

 eqiial diameter throughout, very erect, -with acute axils, the apices 

 shortly forked, and slightly incurved ; articulations, towards the middle, 

 four to six times longer than broad, gradually shorter upwards ; favellse 

 subterminal, with two to four involucral spines. 



Ceramium fastigiatum. — Harv. in Hook. Lond. Joxirn. Bot. vol. i. p. 303 ; 

 Harv. P. B. plate 255; Harv. Man. p, 164; Harv. Syn. p. 135; Atlas, 

 plate 51, fig. 235 ; Harv. N. B. A. part 2, p. 217 ; J. G. Agardh, 

 Sp. Gen. Alg. vol. ii. p. 119 ; Wyatt, Alg. Damn. No. 86. 



GoNGROCERAS fastigiatum. — Kiitz. in Linn. vol. xv. p. 736 ; Phyc. Gen. 



Hab. — On rocks, shells, &c., near low- water mark. Rare. Annual. Autumn and 

 ■ft-inter. Torquay {Mrs. Griffiths) ; Plymouth (Rev. W. S. Hore) ; Frith of Forth 

 {Dr. GreviUe). 



Geogr. Dist. — Mediterranean Sea (Kiitzmg) ; east coast of North America. 



Description. — Fronds much tufted, corymbose, extremely slender and 

 cylindi'ical, of equal diameter throughout, regularly dichotomous and 

 flabellate, with very rarely a few distant, simple, or occasionaEy once 

 or twice divided ramuli ; the apices shortly forked, and scarcely in- 

 curs^ed ; branches distant below, gradually shorter upwai'ds. Articula- 

 tions at the middle four to five, or " six " times longer than broad, 

 growing gi'adually shorter upwards, coloured, but without cells ; the 

 dissepiments slightly contracted or cylindrical. Substance " tender and 

 flaccid, closely adhering to paper." Colour " in the tuft, a dark purple, 

 fading to brick-dust colour in the herbarium." Favellse near the 

 extremity of the branchlets, furnished with two to four short involucral 

 spines, foiTaed by the metamorphosis of one of the segments of a fork (?). 



With this species we are but very imperfectly acquainted, not having 



