24 HENRIK PRINTZ [1920 



Ihe vegetative thailus, and above all the cell-divisions, are also 

 differing and ven' characteristic/) 



I have never found this species in dense and macroscopically 

 visible masses, but it has ven' often been found associated with a 

 liver-wort rather frequently occurring on the bark of various 

 trees. Associated with these two organisms were also very 

 frequently to be found Trentepohlia aurea f., and these three species 

 seem to constitute a rather conimon plant-conimunity on trunks in 

 the environs of Durban. 



As to Ihe structure of the vegetative filaments of this plant I have 

 nothing i)articularly to add to the descriptions already given by 

 the previous authors, especially De Wildeman, 1. c, Karsten, 1. c, and 

 Hariot, Notes on Trentepohlia in Journal de Botanique 1889 et 1890. 

 It forms rather large and richly, but very irregularly ramified 

 filaments, without any difference in main ones and branches. 

 Intercaiary cell-divisions do not occur, but new cells always 

 originate from apical or lateral protuberances of older cells in one, 

 or sometimes in several piaces. Such a protuberance is at first only 

 a thin-walled wart or cylindric papilla, which gradually grows in 

 size and becomes spherically inflated. As shown in the figures on pi. 

 XIII, this protuberance, which is to form the new cell, reaches a 

 comparatively considerable size before it is separated from the 

 mother cell by a wall across the narrowing. Further it is a very 

 conspicuous character in this species that the membranes are 

 extremely thin and delicate. At least on my old material which 

 has been drisd and later on resoaked, Ihey seem to be colour- 

 less. Usually the membrane is smooth; only as a rare excep- 

 tion I have observed that the membrane — just as in so many 

 others of the subaérial algae mentioned — ma}' be finely crenulate, 

 either on the whole of the surface, or partially only (sample no. 

 154). It may also be noticed that in the samples where the speci- 

 mens of PhijsoUnum monile occur with crenulate membranes, the 

 same feature is also to be noticed in the other subaérial algae 

 associated with it, e. g. Tr. aurea f. This indicates that the above 



^ In a paper: Whn.MOKiHin uan^ ncxopieil pasujnia ]!fj,Ki[)ric.iii Tren- 

 tepohlia la(/enifera Hild. Hat ..Bio.ioni'iecnaro 'fK\]nm.m". Moskau. 1910) 

 K. Meyer reijorts lo have observed the ganietes in Trcnlepohlia lar/eni- 

 fera sometimes not beinj^ liberated from the mother membrane. but «er- 

 minatin;* there after surroundin^; themselves with a wall. The aulhor, 

 however is scarcely ri^^ht when desi^^natinj^ these as a pianospores 

 as they have arisen from ^ametes, unisexual protoi)lasmic brxlies. The, 

 aplanospores are, accordinj^ to their ori«in, of an ase.xual nature, and 

 must be regarded as reduced zoospores. If, however, the said repro- 

 ductive orj^ans should realh' turn out to be true aplanospores. this 

 species is also to be referred to the j^enus Phgsoliniim. It recalls for 

 the rest. not a little. Physolinum monilr in the shape of the cells as 

 well as in their inner structure and cell flivisifjns. 



