Rhodomelea.'] dasya. 303 



tiful zoophyte, Valkeria cuscuta. Neither are we sure that 

 it is annual ; for we have often got it in winter in small 

 patches of a very dark hue, and stripped of almost all its pretty 

 byssoid ramuli. When got fresh in summer it is of a fine 

 clear colour. It generally loses this when exposed to the 

 air, or put into fresh water and dried. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, it retains its clear red colour in drying. We wish we 

 could discover the secret for fixing this fine colour, as it 

 adds much to the loveliness of this beautiful plant. 



There is a variety at times found both in Arran and A}t- 

 shire, in which the branches are opposite and horizontal, so 

 that in form the specimens greatly resemble larch- trees. 

 This variety is generally of a darker hue than the common 

 kind. 



Genus LXXXVI. DASYA, AgardL 



Gen. Char. Froiid filamentous ; the stem and branches mostly 

 opake, irregularly cellular (rarely pellucid, longitudinally tubed), 

 composed internally of numerous parallel tubes ; the ramuli 

 jointed, single-tubed. Tructification twofold, on distinct plants : 

 1, ovate capsules (ceramidia) furnished with a terminal pore, 

 and containing a tuft of pear-shaped spores ; 2, lanceolate pods 

 (stichidia) containing tetraspores ranged in transverse bands. — 

 The name is from a Greek word signifying halrij. — Harvey. 



