214 



a few come off almost perpendicularly, soon diverging so as to extend almost 

 parallel to the others. The smaller branches have a diameter of about 2'25 mm. 

 and maintain this throughout almost their entire length. There are a few traces 

 of anastomosis in this specimen but in some of the others it is absent. One 

 feature worthy of notice in this specimen is the fact that there are numerous 

 cirripede galls overgrown by coenenchyma bearing polyps and also twigs. As 

 many as seven arise from one gall, several of which bear smaller twigs. These 

 intrusive growths naturally stand perpendicular to the plane of ramification. 



A light brown specimen is not so robust and there is more anastomosing. 

 The branching is mostly all on one side of the main stem. In another specimen 

 some of the finer twigs which are club-shaped at the tips diverge considerably 

 from the plane of ramification. 



The coenenchyma is thick and densely packed with warty and spiny 

 spicules of great diversity in form, which give the colony a very rough appear- 

 ance. Sometimes lai'ge spindles appear on the surface lying in any direction. 

 Nearly all the spicules, however, are arranged perpendicularly to the stem. 



The polyps are disposed irregularly over the whole ctenenchyma and ap- 

 pear as roughnesses to the naked eye. On the lighter specimens they are more 

 conspicuous because the black anthocodia^ stand out in contrast to the lighter 

 coenenchyma. When expanded the verrucre appear cylindrical with eight pro- 

 jecting points, but when contracted they are wart-like and the points fit 

 together so as to be hardly noticeable. They are very rugose in appearance 

 owing to the projecting folia of the spicules. The anthocodise are wholly 

 retractile and the operculum is feebly developed. Its triangular lobes do not 

 project beyond the verrucif. They consist of about three spindle-shaped 

 spicules, two forming the sides of a triangle and an almost horizontal curved 

 spindle forming the base. Below this there are three or four rows forming a 

 simple collaret. 



The axis is horny and slightly opaque. In the red specimen the colour is 

 brown and yellow, but in the brown specimens it is black. 



The following are some of the types of spicules with measurements in 

 millimetres : — 



(a) Large warty spindles, 07 x 0-3 ; 0-85 x 0-2. 



(h) Smaller „ „ OS x 005 ; 0-32 x 0-12. 



{(•) Three or four warty rays from which arises a foliaceous expansion, bi-, 

 tri- or quadri-dentate, 0-4 x 0-25 ; 0-42 x 025 ; 0-375 x 0225 ; 035 x 0-3. 



(d) Irregularly branched plates, smooth or slightly warty, 0-25 x 0'2 ; 

 0-3 x 015 ; 0-3 x 0-2. 



(e) Tri-radiate warty forms, rays tapering markedly, 07 x 0-4 ; 0-8 x 0-35. 

 (/) Spiny spindles of the anthocodiiu, bent often almost in a semicircle, with 



most of the spines on the convex side, 03 x 0-02 ; 0*4 x 0-02. 



