364 



branching, which was sometimes dichotomous, sometimes quite 

 irregular. 



Along the coasts of the Færoes this species grows both in the 

 littoral and in the snblittoral zone. In the former it occurs espe- 

 cially along exposed shores near low-water mark, where it forms 

 rather wide-spread almost pure societies more particularly on hori- 

 zontal surfaees. In the sublittoral it occurs most often as an epi- 

 phyte, e. g. on Laminaria species and Fucus: sometimes it may 



Fig. 55. Rhodymenia palmata (L.) Grev. 1 : 1 (compare pp. 363 — 41. 



also be said to occur in the littoral zone as an epiphyte, as it grows 

 by p reference on those Laminaria of which the leaf and upper part 

 of the stem are left uncovered at low-tide, and then the red bushes 

 of Rhodymenia may be seen projecting above the sea together with 

 the brown Laminaria. Forms of f. prolifera are most commonly 

 met with in the latter habitat, and they can attain to a very con- 

 siderable size, but f. tgpica also frequently occurs here in large, 

 vigorous examples. On the whole along the Færoese coasts those 

 growing as epiphytes are larger and more vigorous than those 

 occurring on rocks, and they are particularly small on rocks in 



