219 



The earlier of these specimens were originally named Tahehuia 

 pentaphylla^ HemsL, but the identity of the wood had been 

 regarded as doubtful for some years past- 



Wiesner* gives a description of the structure of a West Indian 

 Boxwood, which appears to be the same as the one described here, 

 and therefore the wood of a sjjecies ^i Casearia, He, however, 

 gives the botanical name of the tree yielding the wood as^ 

 Aspidosperma Vargasii, DO. on the authority of A. Ernst, t who 

 mentions that the wood is called ^^ Amarilla yema de huevo^'J in 

 Venezuela. Ernst also refers to the export of the wood from 

 Puerto Cabello to Hamburg, and gives figures showing that the 

 ejsport was considerable in 18T8. Wiesner mentions that the 

 wood is used for making shuttles, combs, sticks and measures, but 

 states that it is less suitable for wood-engraving. 



Useful wood is yielded by other species of Casearia, and in the 

 case of C, tomentosa, Eoxb. the wood is employed for making 

 combs. § A specimen in the museum at Kew shows that the grain 

 of this wood is not so close as In West Indian Boxwood, but it is 

 quite possible that there may be two or more species of Casearia in 

 America yielding woods that are practically indistinguishable. 

 For the present, however, it may be assumed that the different 

 specimens of West Indian or Venezuelan Boxwood referred to 

 above belorig to the same species. 



XXXIX.— THE JAPANESE SEAWEED, 



TOSAKA NORI. 



E 



A. D. Cotton. 



vears asro Mr, E. M. Holmes nresented to the Herb 



'm. f 



some 



from the late Mr. E. C. C- Stanford. The plant is much esteemed 

 in Japan where it is known as TosaJca nori ( = Cock*s-comb sea- 

 weed). The structure of the thallus and cystocarp was plainly 

 that of Eucheumay though the outline of the frond agreed with 

 none of the described species of that genus. Being apparently 

 common in Japan, it was improbable that it had n^yei been named,, 

 hence, pending further inquiry, the plant was laid in the Her- 

 barium as Encheuma sp. Mr. Holmes also had been unable to 

 place it under any described species. 



4 , 



- ■ ' I 



Identification and Description. ^On the occasion of Professor 



Yendo's visit to England last winter, the opportunity was takeij. 

 to ask his opinion. Dr. Yendo's knowledge of the algae of the 

 East is unrivalled, not only from the fact that he has for many 

 years made an exceptionally careful study of the algal vegetation 

 of Japan, but also from the circumstance that he had just com-^ 



■" " " „ ' / 



* Wiesner, Die KohatofEe des Pflanzenreiches, vol, 2, p. 999. 

 t A. Ernst, Bot, Cent ralblatc, 1 Jahrg. (1880), p. 59. 



t The name 



resemble that of the yolk of an e^g. 

 8 Watt, Diet. Econom, Prod, o: 





B2 



