Mr. Hassall's Notices of British Freshivater Conferva. 437 



as broad, but sometimes much longer and slightly inflated ; 

 endochrome at the period of reproduction becoming mould- 

 ed into spherical masses similar to those of Sphceroplea 

 zonata. 



This species may generally be met with throughout the 

 year in boggy pools at High Beech, Epping Forest. 



Genus Meloseira. 



The reproduction of this genus does not hitherto appear to 

 have been at all understood ; I believe, however, from the oc- 

 currence of vesicles on the filaments similar to those of the 

 Vesiculasper7n(B, that it will find its true position with these. 

 In the tapering of the filaments, in the absence of gloss on 

 them, and in the possession of strongly marked points, the 

 Meloseirce likewise resemble the Vesiculasperma.', from which 

 they differ principally in the excessive fragility of their fila- 

 ments, by which they evince an affinity with diatomaceous 

 productions. 



The only species in which I have noticed these vesicles is 

 in the Meloseira varians of Agardh ; a production which I was 

 led, from the presence of the vesicles, to describe as new in the 

 paper upon the Vesiculasperms under the name of V. com- 

 posita. Kutzing however figures them with his Meloseira 

 orichalcea, a species which I was so fortunate as to find in 

 considerable quantity in the vicinity of Cheshunt in the au- 

 tumn of the last year. 



Since these descriptions were written I have had the plea- 

 sure of receiving some of the plants described from Mr. Ralfs 

 and Mr. Jenner, the habitats for which 1 subjoin : — Drapur- 

 iialdia sparsa, Penzance, Mr. Ralfs : Mouyeotia quadrangulata, 

 Penzance, Mr. Ralfs ; Fisher's Castle, Tunbridge Wells, and 

 Broadwater Forest, Mr. Jenner : M. parvula, Penzance, Mr. 

 Ralfs ; near Cross-in-hand, Waldron, Mr. Jenner : Vesiculi- 

 fera vernaUs, near Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner ; Penzance, 

 Mr. Ralfs : Sp. vermiculai'is, Penzance, Mr. Ralfs. 



The following species described in this paper were re- 

 corded on the wrapper of the 'Annals' for August 1842: — 

 Draparnaldia sparsa, D. elongata, D. repetita, and Sp. ver- 

 micularis. 



