BOT.— Vol. II.] NOTT—CALIFORNTAN NITOPHYLLA. 35 



conspicuous, branching, sometimes divided into usually conspicuous flabel- 

 late nerves and veins, or unfrequently remaining undivided and evanescent; 

 frequently weathered, thickened, persistent, and proliferating freely from 

 sides and end. Nerves flabellate, free or anastomosing, often conspicuous, 

 or inconspicuous and evanescent, sometimes dividing into minute veins. 

 Proliferations produced very freely, on stalk, on margin of frond or on 

 reduced frond, minute and rounded or large, linear, cuneate, frequently lobed 

 or divided, with midrib and flabellate nerves, often bearing sori and cystocarps. 

 Sporangia in linear sori flabellately disposed about margin of frond, or in 

 linear or irregular submarginal patches, or upon proliferations abundantly 

 produced along margin of frond or upon its surface. Antheridia as yet 

 unobserved. Cystocarps large, infrequent, projecting, irregularly disposed 

 over both surfaces, or gathered together along the margin, or borne upon 

 marginal or surface proliferations. 



Remai'ks on the Species. — Considerable variation in color 

 may be observed in N. rtipreckttamim. The plants, when 

 young, are often bright red, becoming dull red or carmine 

 with increasing age. The proliferating fronds often exhibit 

 this change in color. When dried, the plant becomes a 

 deep carmine to blackish red. A length of 20-30 cm. is 

 not uncommon, as the plant is vigorous in its growth. Fre- 

 quently a large number of abundantly branched fronds 

 develop from a single stalk. Good specimens often form 

 masses 30 cm. in diameter and 30 cm. or more in height. 



The prostrate frond in IV. ruprcchtianiini is developed 

 rather more extensively than in any other species of the 

 coast. It is usually membranous in character, and may 

 either be undifferentiated to any extent or occasionally be 

 provided with midrib and nerves. Owing to the free devel- 

 opment and frequent branching of the prostrate frond, there 

 is formed on the substratum an extensive ramification whose 

 outer ends, by the decay or accidental rupture of the older 

 portions of the frond, become separated, and constitute the 

 starting point for a new frond. 



The predominant characters of N. ru-prechtianum are 

 displayed in the robust habit, the abundant proliferations, 

 and the variety in the position of the cystocarps and sori, 

 and the shape of the latter. 



Proliferation takes place more abundantly in N. riifrecht- 

 iantnn than in any other of the Calif ornian forms. The 

 frond very commonly becomes worn away by the action of 



