520 



University of California Publications in Botany t VoL - 8 



5. 



Punctaria occidentalis S. and G. 



Plate 35, fig. 6, and plate 80b 



Fronds moderately rigid, linear-lanceolate or oblanceolate to 

 broadly ellipsoidal, usually tapering at the base to a short stipe about 

 5 mm. long, attached by a small disk, 1.5-2 dm. high, 3-10 cm. broad, 

 40-180/a thick, with undulate and coarser ruffled margins, of a light 

 brown color, soon changing to green on exposure, composed of 2-7 

 layers of cells, thickest in the median region, gradually thinner toward 

 the margins ; cells of medulla largest diminishing slightly toward the 

 surfaces, cortical cells being the smallest ; zoosporangia cuboidal to 

 subspherical, scattered on both sides of the frond, 30-40//. (up to 

 70//,) diam., very slightly bulging on the outer surface; gametangia 

 numerous, scattered promiscuously on both sides of the frond among 

 the zoosporangia and usually protruding beyond the surface about 

 one-half their length ; hairs unknown. 



Growing on Zostera, in the upper sublittoral belt. Monterey, 

 California. 



Setchell and Gardner, Phyc. Cont., VII, 1924, p. 4. Homoeostrama 

 latifolia Saunders, Phyc. Mem., 1898, p. 159, pi. 30, figs. 4, 5. Punc- 

 taria latifolia Collins, Holden and Setchell, Phyc. Bor.-Amer. 

 (Exsicc.), no. 873; Tilden, Amer. Alg. (Exsicc), no. 355. 



We have not been able to observe the young fronds of this species, 

 but the fruiting fronds have no hairs so far as we have been able to 

 ascertain. Rosenvinge (1910, p. 121) has found a similar condition 

 in his Punctaria glacialis. The surface is moderately sticky and the 

 plants adhere firmly to paper on drying. 



As cited above, this species has been referred to P. latifolia since 

 its discovery on our coast some years ago. We have not been able to 

 examine any of the material upon which Greville founded the species. 

 We have, however, examined a specimen distributed by Wyatt (no. 9) 

 from Torbay on the southeast coast of England near the type locality. 

 Since no other species have been cited from this general locality, and 

 Wyatt 's specimen agrees so well with Greville 's original description, 

 we are assuming this to be typical P. latifolia and using it as a basis 

 of comparison. Our plants are much larger and thicker and have 

 a larger number of layers of cells all of which are much more variable 

 in shape than those of Wyatt 's distribution. The cortical cells which 

 do not produce zoosporangia and gametangia usually divide hori- 



