HOW TO KNOW THE SEAWEEDS 



43a Short branchlets much reduced, compound but not forked or stel- 

 late. Fig. 70 Acanthophora spicifera 



Fig. 70. Acanthophora spicifera (Vahl) Borgesen 



A small portion of a densely branched form to 

 show the compound, short spine-hke branchlets, 

 X 5. This widely distributed tropical species has 

 been known in the Caribbean Sea since it was 

 described in 1799 from the Virgin Islands. It is com- 

 monly encountered in infratidal waters of Florida. 

 Another species occurs in the Florida keys, but is 

 rare. 



Figure 70 



43b Short branchlets sunple, forked or stellate. Fig. 71 



Hypnea (in part) 



Fig. 71. Hypnea spp. 



A. Hypnea cornuta (Lamouroux) 

 ]. Agardh. A small part of an axis 

 magnified X 6.4 to show the stel- 

 late branchlets. B. Hypnea cervi- 

 cornis ]. Agardh. Habit of a small 

 part of a matted plant showing 

 shell fragments attached by small 

 discs and simple, spine-like branch- 

 lets, X 2.4. Both of these are tro- 

 pical plants of Florida and the 

 Gulf Coast. Two or three other 

 species may be encountered in this 

 region as well as the distinctive 

 H. musciformis which appears in 

 the key at step 41a. Two other 

 species are frequent in southern 

 California during the summer. 



Figure 71 



62 



