Ser. MELANOSPEKME.E. ( lH ) Fam. CHOKDAIUE^. 



Plate CLXVIIL 

 MESOGLOIA VERMICULAEIS.— ^^. 



Gen. Char. — Frond gelatinous, filiform, subcylindrical, much and irregularly branched, 

 of two strata of cells ; those of the axis arranged in longitudinal filamentous 

 series ; those of the periphery forming vertical dichotomous moniliform series ; 

 those at the apices clustered, frequently club-shaped, simple, moniliform. Fructi- 

 fication : obovate spores, attached near the base of the apical fibres. Name from 

 yueVos, "the middle," and yXoios, "viscid," alluding to the very gelatinous nature 

 of the fronds. 



Mesogloia vermicularis. — Frond subcyliudrical, much and iiTegiilarly 

 branched from the base ; branches patent, somewhat fusiform, attenu- 

 ated to the base and apex ; all the apices obtuse, the axils very much 

 rounded. 



Mesogloia vermicularis. — Ag. Syn. p. 126 ; Lyngh. Hyd. Dan. p. 190, t. 65 ; 

 Ag. Syst. p. 51; Wyatt, Ah/. Danm. No. 100; Kiitz. Phyc. Gen. 

 p. 332, t. 27, f. 1 ; Menegh. Alg. Ital. et Dalm. p. 279; Endl. 

 3rd Suppl. p. 23 ; Earv. in Hooh. Br. Fl. vol, ii. p. 387 ; Harv. P. B. 

 plate 31; Harv. Man. p. 47; Harv. Syn. p. 40; Atlas, plate 14, 

 fig. 55 ; Harv. N. B. A. part 1, p. 126 ; /. G. Agardh, Sp. Gen. Alg. 

 vol. i. p. 58. 



Trichoci-adia vermicularis. — Harv. in MacJc. Fl. Hib. part 3, p. 186. 



Helminthocladia vermicularis. — Harv. Gen. S. A. PI. p. 397 ; Harv. Man. 

 1st edit. p. 45. 



RivuLARiA vermiculata. — E. Bot. t. 1818. 



Ch.s;tophora vermiculata. — Hook. Fl. Scot, part 2, p. 75. 



Hab. — On rocks and stones in the sea, about half-tide level. Annual. Summer. 

 Common. 



Geogr. Dist, — Atlantic shores of Europe ; Mediterranean Sea. 



Description. — Root, a minute disc. Fronds thickening upwards from 

 a narrow base, often much tufted, six to ten inches or more in length, 

 and one to three lines in diameter, irregularly cylindrical, and very 

 much branched from the base ; all the branches patent, with rounded 

 axils and obtuse apices, subcylindrical like the main stem, or somewhat 

 fusiform, subpinnate or in-egularly scattered ; ultimate ramuli generally 

 short, cylindrical, obtuse. The main stem is generally simple, but 

 occasionally once, or two or three times divided, the divisions forming 

 similar subflabelliform fronds. Structure cellular ; the cells of the axis 



