Ser. CiiLOROSPEitME./E. Earn. Siph&nacea. 



Plate II. 



CAULERPA MUELLERI, Sond. 



Gen. Char. Frond consisting of prostrate surculi rooting from their lower 

 surface, and throwing up erect branches (or secondary fronds) of 

 various shapes. Substance horny-mernbranous, destitute of calca- 

 reous matter. Structure unicellular, the cell (frond) continuous, 

 strengthened internally by a spongy network of anastomosing fila- 

 ments, and filled with semi-fluid, grumous matter. Fructification 

 unknown. — Caulerpa (Lamour.), from tcavXos, a stem, and epirw, 

 to creep ; creeping surculi are characteristic of this genus. 



Frons ex surculis prostratis hie illic radicantibus et ramis erectis polymorphis 

 formata. Substantia corneo-meiubranacea. Structura unvcellulosa, celluke 

 membrand continud hyalind intus fills cartilagineis tenuissimis anastomo- 

 santibus finuata et endochromate denso viridi repleta. Fr. ignota. 



Caulerpa Muelleri; surculus robust, densely covered with cylindrical, 

 dichotomous scales ; frond erect, stipitate, oblong, obtuse, pinnated, 

 stipes and pinnae everywhere densely clothed with binate, basally 

 united, cylindrical, obtuse, emarginate and bimucronulate, erect, 

 imbricated, dark green ramenta. 



C. Muelleri; surculo crasso squamulis cylindraceis dichotomis dense muricato ; 

 fronde erecta stipitata oblonga obtusa pinnata ; stipite pinnisque foliolis 

 undique densissime obtectis ; foliolis geminis busi unitis cylindraceis obtusis 

 a]} ice bimucronulatis erectis imbi'icatis intense viridibus. 



Caulerpa Muelleri, Sond. in Linn. v. 25. p. 661. Harv. in Trans. R. I. 

 Acad. v. 22. p. 564; Alg. Austr. Exsic. u. 551. 



Hab. On the steep sides of deep rock-pools and vertical reefs, below low- 

 water mark. Rivoli Bay, South Australia, Dr. Mueller. Abundantly 

 at Rottnest Island, Western Australia, and at Port Fairy, Victoria 

 W. H. H. Fremantle, Mr. Clifton. 



Geogr. Distr. Western and southern shores of Australia. 



Descr. Surculi several inches long, two lines in diameter, densely covered 

 with very short, divaricately forked, rigid cylindrical squamae, the tips of 

 whose branches are bimucronulate. Fronds 8-12 inches long, of an 

 elliptic-oblong, obtuse outline, closely and distichously pinnate from the 

 apex to within 1-2 inches of the base ; the pinnae uniform and subequal, 

 1|— 2 inches long, erecto-patent ; both rachis and pinnae entirely covered 

 with densely inserted, imbricated, suberect leaflets or ramenta. Ramenta 

 1-2 lines long, inserted on all sides, in pairs, connate at base (or the ra- 

 mentum may be regarded as forked, but the forking just above its base). 



