45 



381 



nection I need only refer to Nr. 1204 in Wittrock & Nordstedt, Algæ exsiccatæ, 

 where I have published a form of Caiilerpa racemosa var. clauifera which has a 

 very well developed root-system and which form Svedelius 1. c. p. 121 approves to 

 be var. clauifera. That this form is common on coral-reef and rocky shores and 

 that on the other hand the typical var. iwifera from the Red Sea is a sand plant 

 is quile right. Svedelius found var. iwifera on loose bottom consisting of mud 

 mixed with sand, and the specimens I have seen of the typical var. iwifera 

 belonging lo the Botanical Museum in Hamburg were collected by Schimper "in 

 arena repens, 3 — 4 Fuss tief". The typical var. iwifera is most probably, as 

 mentioned above, a form growing in 

 intense light on the white coral-sand 

 and on rather open shores; but under 

 such conditions I have never met with 

 C. racemosa var. iwifera in Danish 

 West India where it is always found 

 in shallow water growing on rocks or 

 coral-reef. Typical var. iwifera like 

 Turner's figure I have as mentioned 

 not found in the Danish West Indies. 

 This form is as pointed out by Mme. 

 Weher van Bosse (1. c. p. 363) charac- 

 terized; "par son port plus robuste, et 

 ses ramules serrés, en général de forme 

 obovoïde, et assez grands". The forms 

 I have referred to var. uvifera are Å 

 most like f. intermedia Web. van Bosse 

 (I.e. pi. XXXIII, fig. 24 a) distinguished 

 by the ramiili being rather long-stalked 

 with a ball-shaped swelling at the 



apex. As the name indicates, this is c- „o r- / „ m y \ w i u 



r ' Fig. 23. Caulcrpa racemosa (Forsk.) Weber van Bosse 



to be considered as an intermediate var. iwifera (Turner) Weber van Bosse. 



form between the typical var. uvifera From Cruz Bay (St. Jan). (About 1 : 1.) 



and var. clauifera (see my fig. 22 & 23) and is at least the West Indian form con- 

 nected by numerous intermediate forms to the var. clauifera. Some flattening of 

 the ramuli as mentioned by Mme. Weber van Bosse and also found by Svedelius 

 who gives this form the name planiuscula I have never seen in the West Indies. 



Var. clauifera is characterized by shorter erect shoots and especially by the 

 fact that these have fewer ramuli. In somewhat exposed localities it often forms on 

 rocks and coral-reef large flat tufts, which on the upper side consist of the densely 

 placed, grape-like short erect shoots, on the downward side of the close tissue of 

 the rhizomes, which twisted and entangled together form the underside of the tufts 

 and by means of numerous finely ramified rhizoids are firmly fastened to the sub- 



