CRYPTOGAMIA ALG^. loot 



It confifts of extremely fhort filaments, crowded 

 together fo as to form a mat or cruft, extremely 

 like a piece of crimfon plufh or velvet. 



When moiften'd it yields a fweet fcent, fomethino- 

 like violets, which induced me at firfl to think 

 it the BYSSUS Jolithus. Lin. but that is fari- 

 naceous, and the kind jufl defcrib'd is capillary. 

 Linnaus however, (in his Flor, Suec. p. 438.) 

 fays, that he has perceiv'd red filaments in the 

 B. Jolithus^ growing upon a faflron-colour'd 

 farinaceous crull, fo that ours may pofTibly 

 be confidered yet as a variety of the B. Joli- 

 thus. Lin.fp.pl. 1638. 



Haller ranks the B. Jolithus amongft the crufta- 

 ceous Lichens, and fays he could difcover in it 

 no filaments, but only a red cruft flightly 

 farinaceous, turning to a yellowilh-green co- 

 lor in decay. Helvet. hiji. III. p. 103. n. 2090. 

 In the midft of thefe uncertainties, we judged it 

 moft advifeable to defcribe ours as a diftindl 

 fpecies, in order to avoid confufion. 



BYSSUS capillacea viridis, filamentis ramofis. 



Syjl. nat. edit. 13. p. 819. Sp. pi. 1638. n. 3. 



{Michel, gen. 211. n. 7. tak 89. /. 5. Dilk», 



mufc. J, tab. 1. /. 14.) 

 Green velvet ByflTus. Anglis. 



Upon 



