Ser. EiHODOSPERME^. Fam. Sjoharococcoidea. 



Plate CXXXVII. 



DELESSERIA DENDROIDES, Harv. 



Gen. Char. Frond leaf-like, membranaceous, areolated, symmetrical, sim- 

 pie or branched, midribbed. Fructification : 1, hemispherical con- 

 ceptacJes, sessile on the midrib, or on a lateral nerve, containing a 

 tuft of moniliform spore-threads on a basal placenta; 2, tripartite 

 tetraspores, in definite sari or spots, on the frond, or on accessory 

 leaflets. — Delesseria {Ag.), in honour of Baron Delessert, a distin- 

 guished patron of botany. 



Frons foliacea, memiranacea, areolata, symmetrica, simplex v. ramosa, costata. 

 Fruct. : 1, coccidia in casta venisque frondi ssessilia, liem.isph(Erica, fila spori- 

 fera moniliform,ia a placenta basali emissa foventia ; 2, tetrasporce triangule 

 divisce, in soros definitos collectce. 



Delesseria dendroides ; stem long, naked, cartilaginous, very thick (2-3 

 lines diameter), passing upwards into a much branched tree-like 

 frond ; fronds {secondary) ribbed, the rib emitting leaflets ; leaflets in 

 pairs, opposite, linear-lanceolate or oblong, acute or obtuse at each 

 end, the full-grown with an opaque, the young with a jointed midrib ; 

 veins none ; cells of the membrane in a single series, large, oblong ; 

 sori in minute leaflets issuing from the midrib of the youngest 

 leaves. 



D. dendroides ; caule elongato nudo carnoso-cartilagineo crassissimo (2-3 lineas 

 diametro) apice infrondem ramosissimam dendroideam desinente ; fronde cos- 

 tata foliolis e costa valida prorumpentihus ramosa ; foliolis geminis exacte 

 oppositis Uneari-lanceolatis oblongisve utrmque acutis v. obtusis, adtdtis costa 

 cartilaginea opaca, junioribiis costa articidata percursis, venis nullis, mem- 

 brance celhdis strato iinico dispositis magnis oblong is ; soris in sporophyllis 

 propriis e costa enatis. 



Delesseria dendroides, Harv. in Trans. R. I. Acad. v. 22. p. 548 ; Alg. 

 Aiistr. Exsic. n. 278. 



Var. a. lancifolia ; foliolis lanceolatis, ntrinque acutis. 



Var. )S. oblongifolia ; foliolis Uneari-oblongis, undnlatis, utrinque obtusissimis. 



H ab. At Tremantle, rare ; both varieties, G. Clifton, IF. H. H. 



Geogr. Distr. Western Australia. 



Descr. Root knobby. Frond 1-1 i foot higli, excessively branched, tree-like. 

 Stem 2-3 lines thick, hard and horny-cartihiginous, dark-coloured and quite 

 opaque, eiuittuig opposite or alternate branches, and breaking up at the 

 summit into numerous " leading shoots." The primary branches are carti- 



