oscillatokiacej:. loi 



III. LYNGBYA, Ag. 



Filaments destitute of mucous layer, free, flexible, unbranched, elongated, not oscil- 

 lating. Tube continuous, cylindrical, membranaceous ; endochrome green or purple, 

 densely annulated, at length separating into lenticular sporidia. (Marine or in fresh 

 water.) 



A genus consisting of many species, most of which are found in the sea ; several 

 occur in estuaries of rivers and in brackish ditches, and a few are found in fresh water 

 or in thermal springs. From Oscillator ia they are known by the absence of a gelatinous 

 matrix and of oscillating movements, and by the greater flexibility of the filaments. 

 From Calothrix, to which they are more nearly related, they difier chiefly in habit ; 

 especially in the great length of the filaments, and in being rarely fasciculate. The 

 generic name is given in honour of H. C. Lyngbye, a Danish Algologist, and author of 

 an excellent work on the Algae of Denmark. 



1. Ltngbya m-ajuscula, Harv. ; filaments thick, very long and tenacious, twisted, 

 issuing in long, crisped bundles from a blackish green stratum. Barv. Fhyc. 

 Brit. t. f32. Kiitz. Sp. Alg. p. 283. Lynghya crispa, Ag. Syst. p. 74 fin part.). 

 Conf. majuscula, Dillw.! Supp. t. A. L. maxima, Mont. L. Facijica, Kiitz. Sp. Alg. 

 p. 284. (Tab. XLVII. A.) 



Hab. Long Island Sound, Frofessor Bailey. Peconic Bay, Mr. Hooper. Key West, 

 W. H. H. and Mr. Ashmead. (v. v.) 



Tufts often several inches in diameter, the central portion densely interwoven or 

 stratified, the margins throwing off" long bundles or fascicles of free, crisped, or variously 

 twisted filaments, one to two inches in length, and floating freely in the water. The 

 strata at first are attached to the bottom, but with age float to the surface and are cast 

 ashore in large masses. The diameter of the filament is greater than in any other 

 species, being commonly rather more than -05 of an inch. The Key West specimens are 

 rather less broad than usual. The sheath or tube of the filament is thick, and forms a 

 wide, hyaline margin to the dark-coloured, closely but not strongly annulated endochrome. 



The L. maxima, Mont. (L. paci/ica, Kutz.J which I have gathered in great abundance 

 on the shores of the Friendly Islands, appears to me to be merely a luxuriant state of 

 this common species. Excej^t in the greater diameter of the filaments, and this varies 

 in difierent specimens, I see no character by which it may be distinguished. The species 

 (as understood in England) has a peculiar external habit, and its microscopic characters 

 — however difiicult to describe — are easily remembered after having once been seen. 

 It was first found at Ban try, South of Ireland, by the late Miss Hutchins. 



Plate XLVII. A. Fig. 1 . A tuft of Lynghya majuscula, the natural size. Fig. 2. 

 Portion of a filament, magnified. 



