Chinese Marine Algae 
MARSHALL A. HOWE 
(WITH PLATES I AND 2) 
In November, 1919, the late Mr. F. S. Collins published in 
Rhodora (21 : 203-207) a short paper on ‘‘ Chinese Marine Algae,”’ 
based chiefly on a small collection made by Mrs. Spencer Lewis 
in 1915 at Pei-tai-ho, in the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. In this Lewis col- 
lection Mr. Collins named 27 species and referred three others to 
genus only. Of the 27 species, 17 are said to be reported for the 
first time as occurring in China. From the previous rather 
meager literature on the Chinese marine algae, Mr. Collins 
accepted 18 species as satisfactorily determined, making the very 
modest grand total of 45 species of marine algae known from the 
Chinese coasts. However, specific determinations in the impor- 
tant genus Sargassum were not included, as the author considered 
determinations in that genus more difficult and uncertain than in 
the other genera. And under the heading ‘‘Species recorded 
from China but unverified and improbable,’’ Mr. Collins listed 11 
species reported by von Martens in 1866, nine species (excluding 
one duplicated by v. Martens) reported by Debeaux in 1875, and 
one species reported by Mrs. Gepp in 1904. 
_Incompiling and combining the previous lists of Chinese algae 
Mr. Collins overlooked the longest list of all, the one published by 
Mr. A. D. Cotton in 1915.* This list included 39 species and is 
based chiefly on specimens collected at Wei-hai-wei, with addition 
of a few from Hong Kong, Macao, and Formosa, the last-named 
being Chinese geographically, even though Japanese politically. 
Cotton’s list includes 11 species of Sargassum, a genus omitted by 
Collins on account of its difficult nature, but in naming the species 
of Sargassum Cotton had the assistance of Yendo, who had given 
much attention to this genus in Japan, and it seems probable that 
at least 10 of these species are as deserving of recognition as are 
any of the other species that have been attributed to Chinese 
waters. But Ecklonia cava Kjellm., found in the markets of 
* Some Chinese Marine Algae. Kew Bull. Misc. Inf. 1915: 107-113. 1915. 
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