Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 91 
Stems erect, not opake, pale green, densely crowded ; spines 
usually scattered, often very short, or irregularly collected in 
whorls (when it much resembles C. crinita, Wallr.) ; whorls of 
6-9 branchlets of six nodes and a whorl of 4—5 bracts at each 
node ; bracts as long as the internode or shorter than it. Nucules 
solitary, with twelve or thirteen striz and a prominent crown. 
Distinguished from C. crinita, as is well remarked by Prof. 
A. Braun in his letter to Prof. Henslow, “by the more slender 
outer tubes of the stems.” I am doubtful concerning the plant 
figured by Greville (Scott. Crypt. Fl. t. 339), for he places nucules 
and granules upon the same plant. 
In stagnant water. Orkney, Mr. Clauston. Prestwich Car, 
Northumberland, Mr. Robertson; Greville. Irthing, Durham, 
Mr. Bowman; Hooker. Cleifiog Farm, four miles from Holy- 
head, Anglesea, Mr. Wilson. Carlton, Notts, Mr. Borrer. Bur- 
dock Pool near Falmouth, Cornwall, in company with C. crinita, 
Rev. W. L. P. Garnons. Loch of Skaill, Orkney, Miss Watt. 
In the river Shannon near Portumna, Galway, Mr. D. Moore ; 
Prof. Balfour. 
16. C. fragilis (Desv.) ; moncecious, stems slender finely striated 
smooth not spinous, last 1-3 joints of the branchlets without 
external tubes, bracts on the inner side of the branchlets about 
as long or longer than the oblong nucules. 
C. fragilis, “Desv. ap. Lois. Not. Fl. Prane.137;? A. Braun in Flora, 
xvi. 68; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 356; Reich.! Fl. exsic. 94; Mutel 
Fl. Franc. tv. 164 ; Coss. et Germ. Fl. Paris. 680; Atl. t. 38 C. 
C. pulchella, Wallr. Ann. Bot. 184. t.2; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2824 ; 
Ag. Syst. Alg. 129. 
C. Hedwigi, dg. Syst. Alg. 129; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2762. 
Slender, green, not incrusted. Main stem and branches 
usually with equally long branchlets. Nucule with thirteen or 
fourteen striz and a long crown, accompanied by the globule. 
Bracts usually shorter than the nucules, but one equaling them 
in length ; sometimes (C. fragilis longibracteata, A. Braun!, C. de- 
licatula, Ag.?) longer than them. 
The C. Hedwigit scarcely differs except in being very brittle 
when dry, the bracts shorter, and the branchlets of the main stem 
usually much longer than those of the branches. 
Ponds. Sussex, Rev. M. J. Berkeley. Derwentwater, Rev. E. 
A. Holmes. Serk, Rev. T. Salwey. Paradi, Guernsey.—Var. lon- 
gibracteata ; West Chiltington Common, Sussex; Berrington 
Pool, Shropshire.—C. Hedwigit ; Kast Gristead, Sussex ; Sand- 
wich, Kent, Rev. M. J. Berkeley. 
Annual. June to August. 
