Jour new Species of Fiicus. i^l 



minis rapx', verrucofn, pallide rubentia, feminibus rcpleta, utrique 

 frondis paginac infidentin. Subfiantia coriacca. Color e fufco 

 faturate fanguineus, fugaciflimus, ct in fordido-flavefcentem tranl- 

 iens. 

 Var. /3. fubftantii tenuiore, margine integro, apicibus plerumque ob- 

 tufiflimis. 



In fele6ling for defcription this Portugucfe Fucus, in preference 

 to many more beautiful as well as more rare fpecies, which my 

 friends have been fo obliging as to procure for me from foreign 

 fhores, I am actuated principally by the hope that it may thereby be 

 iu my power to throw fome light upon the botany of my own 

 country ; what I confider a variety of this having been found abun- 

 dantly at Dover by my friend Mr. L. W. Dillwyn, and by him 

 obligiogly communicated to me in the courfe of the lafl: autumn. 

 When this plant becomes more generally known and underftood, it 

 may probably admit of well-founded difcuflion how far what I have 

 now made a variety may not in reality be a diftin6t fpecies ; and I 

 have little doubt but almoft every botanifV, who has only an oppor- 

 tunity of examining them in a dry ftate, will immediately decide in 

 favour of the latter opinion. For my own part, I can only fay that 

 I have had many fpecimens of each under my obfervation, and that, 

 after having frequently examined and compared them as attentively 

 as was in my power, I could find no permanent difference between 

 them ; though the Englifti plant is flrikingly diflimilar at firft fight, 

 in having the edges of the frond far more entire, the ends generally 

 blunt and frequently emarginate, but neither of thefe are conftant, 

 and the angles of the forks much lefs acute. The final determina- 

 tion of this point muft be referved for future inveftigation: it is fuf- 

 ficient for my purpofe here to (how how this fpecies differs from its 

 congeners. Fucus cremlatus was brought me in fuch quantity 



S a from 



