SEA WEEDS. 151 



red stain on rocks at low tide. Edward met with it on 

 the rocks at Looe at Cornwall but could not preserve it. 



The next natural order is a very interesting one, con- 

 taining the leafy Delesserias and Nitophyllums, it is called 

 the Delesseria order ; both the family and the order are 

 named in honour of the French naturalist, Benjamin 

 Delessert. The D. sanguinea we found lying on the 

 beach between Corrie and Brodick, the delicate crimson 

 leaves torn as usual by the contact with the rocks. This 

 weed is a favourite with every one, and as common as it is 

 beautiful. I have seldom seen a collection, however small, 

 which did not boast one of its rosy fronds. The D. sinnosa 

 (Plate II., Jig. 8) is scarcely less common or less beautiful, 

 its fronds are varied as in the last species, and sinnated as 

 in the oak-leaf ; it is often called the Oak-leaf Delesseria. 

 We found small fronds and clusters of fronds of this 

 plant both at Arran and Ardrossan, and Edward brought 

 gigantic specimens from Cornwall in February. The 

 Winged Delesseria (D. alata) is the most common red 

 weed on the western shores of Scotland, its fronds are 

 narrow and branched, and have narrow leafy edges or 

 wings, the substance is gelatinous. We picked up an 

 armful of it between Corrie and Brodick, and we could 

 have done the same afterwards at Ardrossan. The 

 species Hypoglossum and Ptuscifolia are smaller and 

 rarer species — the former with long narrow leaves, the 

 latter with clustered broad ones. 



The Nitophyllums are equally handsome Algse, each 

 frond consisting of a broad out-spread membrane of a full 

 red colour ; the seed is dotted over the frond. We 

 found specimens of the Torn Nitophyllum, the fronds of 



