Ser. GONGYLOSFERME^. ( 19!) ) Eam. GEKAMIACEiE. 



CALLITHAMNION SPARSUM.— iTar^. 



Gen. Char. — Fronds filiform and articulated, sometimes at length in the older parts 

 cellular and partially opaque, single-tubed ; divisions mostly pinnate, dissepiments 

 hyaline. Fructification of two kinds, on distinct plants : 1. Favellse, mostly 

 lateral on the branches, and filled with minute spores ; 2. Tetraspores, external, 

 tripartite or cruciate. Name from KaA.bs, " beautiful, " and Oayuws, "a shrub." 



Callithamnion sparsimi. — " Parasitical, minute ; filaments tufted 

 and scattered, sparingly branched ; branches spreading, unequal ; arti- 

 culations twice or thrice as long as broad ; tetraspores ' obovate, sessile, 

 mostly axillary' {Carmichaeiy — Plii/c. Brit. 



Callithamnion sparsum, — Harv. in Hook. Br. Fl. vol. ii. p. 348 ; Harv. P. B. 

 plate 297 ; Harv. Man. p. 184 ; Harv. Syn. p. 157 ; Atlas, plate 60, 

 fig. 280 ; Kiitz. Sp. Alcj. p. 643 ; /. G. Agardh, Sp. Gen. Alrj. vol. ii. 

 p. 15. 



Callithamnion floridulum. — Lyngh. Hyd. Dan. p. 130, t. 41 (not of Phyc. Brit.). 



Trentepohlia sparsa. — Harv. in Mack. Fl. Hib. part 3, p. 219. 



Hab. — On old stems of Laminaria saccharina at Appin {Capt. Carmichael) ; on 

 CladopJiora rupestris at Miltown Malbay (Br. Harvey). 



Geogr. Dist. — Shores of Greenland [Gieseke). 



Description. — "Fronds forming small scattered tufts, one or two 

 lines in height, and as much in diameter, composed of erect, closely set 

 filaments. Filaments nearly simple or furnished with two or three 

 simple, alternate, or secund branches, equalling the main filament in 

 diameter, cylindrical and obtuse. Articulations about once and a-half 

 as long as broad, with peUucid dissepiments. Tetraspores (which I have 

 not seen) 'obovate, sessile, mostly axillary' (Carm.). Substance mem- 

 branaceous. Colour, a clear crimson red." — Phyc. Brit. 



Equally obscmre and little known with the last species, the present 

 is said to be very nearly allied to C. Daviesii, and in other respects to 

 C. Rothii, but " to differ from both in the veiy simple filaments and 

 flexuous branches." The articulations appear also to be somewhat longer 

 than those of G. Rothii, but we have often met with specimens of 

 C. Rothii (1) wdiich certainly come very close to the present species. 

 We have, therefore, given the figures partly as in Phyc. Brit, in 

 the hope that more accm-ate iufoi-mation may be obtained for futm-e 

 description. 



