SjQorochnoidece . ] desmaeestia. 129 



tufts of byssoid branching fibres. Fructification unknown. — 

 Named in honour of A. G. Desmarest, a celebrated French 

 naturahst. — Harvey. 



1. Desmaeestia ligulata, Lamoiir, (Plate I. fig. 3.) 

 Strap-leaved Desmarestia. 



Hab. In the sea ; generally in deep water. Annual. 

 Summer. Trequent in the south of England and in the 

 south and west of Ireland ; we have got it also in the north 

 of Ireland_, at the Giant^s Causeway. Not common in Scot- 

 land. Orkney, Clouston. Frith of Forth, Lightfoot. We 

 have got it, and know that it is not uncommon at Southend, 

 Kintyre, Argyleshire. It has a wide range : — it is found in 

 Jersey ; from the coast of France to the Faroe Islands ; 

 and at Cape Horn. 



The frond is from two to six feet long ; substance at first 

 cartilaginous, becoming flaccid when exposed to the air; 

 colour, when growing, olive-brown, becoming green in the 

 air, and yellowish in the herbarium. The fructification is 

 unknown. 



This is a remarkably elegant plant. It was first described 

 by Lightfoot, who gives an excellent figure of it. A good 

 coloured figure of it may be found in Phyc. Brit., PL cxv. 

 When young it adheres to paper, but not afterwards. Little 



