438 Verrill, JVotes on Madiata. 



ed. The first branch usually arises from one side, about 1 or 1 '5 inches 

 from the base, and soon becomes about as long and targe as the original 

 stem. Each of the two main branches usually forks again at distances 

 of "5 to 1 inch, their divisions mostly remaining unequal, some of them 

 remaining long simple branchlets, others irregularly two or three times 

 dichotomous, the branches all spreadmg in one plane. The larger 

 specimens are usually irregularly and sparingly branched, the branch- 

 es being seldom more than three times dichotomous, the distance be- 

 tween the divisions being two or thvee inches. Sometimes the second- 

 ary branches arise only from the upper side of the outer branches, and 

 are then sub-parallel and erect. In other specimens the branches all 

 rise directly, spreading but little even at base. More commonly the 

 branches spread outward at their origin in a broad curve, or even 

 nearly at right angles, and then bent u])ward and are usually more 

 or less crooked and slightly enlarged toward the tips, though some- 

 times of uniform size or even slightly tapering. The verrucse are 

 rather large and prominent, crowded, usually appressed and loosely 

 imbricated, yet on some of the branches they are often erect, spread- 

 ino- sometimes even at right angles. The upper side is rudimentary, 

 the verrucse consisting almost entirely of the broad, elongated, more 

 or less flattened and incurved lower lip. The cells are large, occupy- 

 in<T nearly the whole of the upper side of the verruca^, when fresh 

 surmounted by a large cluster of white polyp-spicula from the bases 

 of the tentacles. The surface is somewhat rough with rather small 

 imbricated spicula, many of which project a little at the summit. The 

 coenenchyma is thick and compact, covered with stout, thick spicula. 

 The axis is a little compressed at the axils ; clear black in the larger 

 branches ; brown, slender, and rigid in the branchlets. Color uniform 

 yellowish white. In life, " the color, both of branches and polyps, is 

 pure white,"— F. H. B. 



Height of the largest specimen 1 1 inches ; breadth 5 ; diameter of 

 trunk '37; of bi-anchlets *30 to "40 ; length of verrucse '08 to "10; 

 breadth -oe to 'OS. Another specimen is 6-5 inches high ; 4 broad; 

 diameter of trunk •45 ; of branchlets at base "38 to '40 ; near tips "45 

 to '48 ; length of longest verrucse '12. A third specimen is 5*5 inches 

 hio-h- 8 inches broad ; diameter of branchlets "30 to 37. 



The spicula are white, larger than in the other species of this sub- 

 section and more regular. The larger ones are mostly rather blunt 

 oblono- spindles, covered with small, very rough, crowded warts on 

 the convex outer side, and with large, prominent, sharp spinules on 

 the inner surface, which is often straight or concave. The longer 



