228 ELOBA OE NEW ZEALAND. 



superioribus angustissimis, ramis minoribusque erectis fere appressis, apicibus insequilongis (nee fastigiatis), 

 articulis inferioribus brevibus vel diametro subduplo longioribus, mediis diametro 6-8-plo, superioribus 

 5-plo longioribus, ultimis sesqui- triplove longioribus.- — Lond. J. JBot. v. 4. p. 538. Han. Ner. Austr. p. 42. 



Hab. New Zealand, Baoul. Port Underwood, Lyall. 



Dr. Lyall's specimens enable us to amend the specific character originally drawn up from badly-preserved spe- 

 cimens. The lower part of the frond is as thick as a hog's bristle, and cartilaginous ; upwards it is much attenuated, 

 flaccid, very soft, and of a brighter colour. The lower forks are patent, the upper extremely narrow. It is allied 

 to our P. variabilis, but the articulations are greatly longer than in any state of that species we have seen. 



3. Polysiphonia variabilis, Harv.; fusco-rubescens, gregaria, flaccida, fronde ultra-setacea articulata basi 

 irregulariter dichotoma, ramis majoribus furcatis vel alterne vel secunde decompositis patentibus, minoribus 

 alterne divisis ramosissimis, ramulis erectis apice multifidis, axillis inferioribus latis, superioribus angustis- 

 simis, articulis omnibus brevibus, inferioribus diametro brevioribus, mediis subduplo longioribus, superio- 

 ribus sequalibus v. sesquilongioribus, sipbonibus quatuor latis ssepe spiraliter tortis, ceramidiis lato-ovatis 

 subsessilibus. 



Var. /3. longiarticwlata ; articulis longioribus, mediis diametro triplo, superioribus dnplo longioribus. 



Hab. On shells, etc., in deep water, Blind Bay, Port Nicholson, and Otago, Lyall. Tauranga, Davies. 

 Var. /3. Akaroa, and Bluff Plarbour, Poveaux Straits, Lyall. 



fronds 2-4 inches high, as thick as a hog's bristle, flaccid, closely adhering to paper, irregularly dichotomous 

 below, alternately or secundly branched above; very variable in the amount of ramification. Branches sometimes 

 nearly naked, with but a few multifid ramuli; sometimes virgate, set with regularly alternate, multifid branchlets ; 

 sometimes inordinately divided and decompound. Colour a brownish-red. Articulations sometimes uniformly 

 short ; in other specimens the medial ones are three to four times as long as their diameter. 



A common and very variable species, much resembling some forms of the northern P. elongella. The basal 

 articulations only have secondary cells. 



4. Polysiphonia nana, Harv. ; fronde vix unciali crassa (setaceo-capillari) flabelliformi irregulariter di- 

 chotome ramosa, ramis patentibus, ramulis alternis subulatis acutis subfastigiatis, articulis omnibus diametro 

 brevioribus, siphonibus quatuor amplis, ceramidiis numerosis ovatis subsessilibus. 



Hab. On corallines, Auckland, New Zealand, Lyall. 



Possibly only a dwarf state of the preceding. Our specimens, however, though crowded with fruit, are only 

 half an inch in height. 



5. Polysiphonia hrachygona, Harv.; purpurea, rigidiuscula, fronde setacea alterne divisa vel furcata, 

 ramis primariis pluries alterne decompositis sensim maxime attenuatis, minoribus subdichotome divisis et in 

 ramulos capillares multifidos abeuntibus, articulis infimis brevissimis cellulis parvis corticatis, mediis bive- 

 nosis diametro sesqui- duplo (raro triplo) longioribus, superioribus fere diametrum Eequantibus, ultimis bre- 

 vissimis, siphonibus quatuor. 



Hab. East side of Stewart's Island, Lyall. 



Fronds 3-4 inches high, divided from the base into several principal branches, each of the thickness of a hog's 

 bristle. These are alternately decompound, each successive series more and more slender. The secondary and other 

 divisions are very irregular, either alternate, secund, or subdichotomous. Axils patent. Substance rigid, very im- 

 perfectly adhering to paper. — Allied to P. Griffithsiana, Harv. 



6. Polysiphonia rhododactyla, Harv. ; caule articulato basi vix subcorticato robusto elato dichotome 

 ramoso cartilagineo apicem versus sensim gelatino-membranaceo et in ramulos flaccidos roseos desinente, 

 ramis pluries furcatis, axillis patentibus, ramulis dichotome multifidis ultimis subsecundis vel fasciculatis 



