124 CLASS II.— ORDER II. 



Var. A. European seas ; B. Thalassiophytes of the 

 coast of Cherbourg ; C. Bay of Cadiz. 



CORALLINA. 



Plant-formed Polypidom, articulated, branched, 

 and trichotomous ; axe or interior wholly copjposed 

 of horny fibres ; rind cretaceous and cellular ; cells 

 invisible to the naked eye. 



The ancient authors had united under the name of 

 Corallinas all the flexible Polypidoms, such as the 

 Sertularias, Tubularias, &c. Later writers on the sub- 

 ject deemed it advisable to reserve this denomination 

 for one order in this class of creation : but observing 

 the various characters which accompanied this order, 

 I have been induced to divide it into genera, and 

 assign particularly to one genus the appellation of 

 Corallina. 



The Corallinas of Europe have their polypean cells 

 so very small, and so subject to obliteration, that it is 

 not extraordinary they still remain undiscovered : 

 in the equatorial seas the cells are much larger, and 

 frequently visible to the naked eye. 



In rambling over the Calvados, (a range of rocks 

 on the coast of Normandy,) I have frequently found 

 a very large Corallina, a variety of the C. Oflicinalis ; 

 it was covered with simple transparent filaments, a 



