484 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Port Royal formed tangled, irregularly branched, apparently sterile masses, with their bases embedded 

 in mud. Their appearance was quite different from that of the more regular, typical forms growing 

 under favorable conditions at Beaufort. 



This species, after being thoroughly washed and bleached, has been successfully used at Beaufort 

 for the making of jellies in a way similar to the use of the " Irish moss, " Chondrus crispus, of our northern 



a. Gracilaria multipartita (Clemente) J. Agardh. PI. XCIX, fig. 2. 



Fucus multipartitus, Clemente, 1807, p. 3- 

 Gracilaria multipartita. J. Agardh, 1842, p. 151. 

 Gracilaria multipartita, Harvey, 1853, p. 107. 

 Gracilaria multipartita, Farlow, 1882, p. 164. 

 Gracilaria multipartita, De Toni, 1900, p. 447. 

 P. B.-A. No. 885. 



Fronds from flat to slightly flattened or rather terete , irregularly dichotomously or polychotomously 

 and laterally branched, i to 10 mm. wide, 6 to 36 cm. long, branches short or long, sometimes almost 

 simple; tetrasporangia immersed among the cortical cells of the upper segments or over the greater 

 part of the frond ; cystocarps veiy prominent, scattered over the greater part of the frond ; texture coarse, 

 substance cartilaginous, color rose red to purple to olive green to light green. 



American and European shores of temperate North Atlantic. 



Abundant on Fort Macon and Shackleford jetties, Beaufort, N. C., throughout the year from low 

 water to 1.3 m. below low water, less abundant attached to shells in harbor, abundant on Bogue Beach, 

 fairly abundant in North River; abundant in Core Sound at Lecklys Island and Davis Island, fruiting 

 throughout year; very abundant, Ocracoke, N. C.; abundant in sound, Wrightsville Beach, N. C.; 

 abundant in bay, New Inlet, Southport, N. C. ; fairly abundant on jetty exposed to sea, Norris Island, 

 Charleston, S. C., from top of rocks washed by waves to depth of 15 cm. 



Var. angustissima Harvey. 



Gracilaria multipartita var. angustissima, Harvey, ,1853, p. 107. 

 Gracilaria multipartita var. angustissima, Farlow, 1882, p. 164. 

 P. B.-A. Nos. 240, 634. 



Fronds rather slender and terete, slightly flattened, especially at the axils, 0.5 to 3 mm. wide, 8 to 

 32 cm. tall, branching more or less regularly dichotomous, often irregular, usually palmatifid at the tips. 



Extremely abundant rooted in mud in mouth of one creek in sound, Port Royal, S. C. 



This species is exceedingly various in habit, size, diameter, amount of flattening, and manner and 

 amount of branching, varying from plants up to 4 mm. wide and 12.5 cm. tall, greatly flattened 

 throughout, to plants i to 1.5 mm. wide and 36.5 cm. tall, nearly terete over most of thallus. Some of 

 the specimens closely resemble specimens referred to G. compressa (Ag.) Grev. and other species, but 

 all so overlap that it is impossible to separate them into more than one species, and all are accordingly 

 referred to G. multipartita. The variety is not separable from the species and many of the Beaufort 

 specimens might properly be called var. angustissima. The specimens from Port Royal referred to 

 the variety are slender, i mm. in diameter, 10 to 13 cm. tall, fairly regularly dichotomous. 



Three specimens (two cystocarpic and one antheridial) collected on Bogue Beach, Beaufort, N. C., 

 August, 1908, several fragments found on the beach at different times, and one specimen dredged from 

 the coral reef offshore May, 1907, differ decidedly in appearance from all other specimens of the species 

 from this region being thinner and more delicate and membranaceous when dry and being rosy pink 

 instead of green or purple, as are the other specimens; they have the appearance of species of Haly- 

 menia. The structure of the antheridia and the cystocarps, however, certainly refers them to this 

 genus, and the structure of the frond is like that of undoubted specimens of G. multipartita. 



Specimens of G. confervoides and G. multipartita have frequently been wrongly determined by col- 

 lectors and are confused in herbaria. In this region, however, they are fairly distinct, although G. mul- 

 tipartita var. angustissima approaches some of the coarser forms of G. confervoides. They may be dis- 

 tinguished as follows: G. confervoides is terete throughout, branching fairly regular, branches usually 

 long and tapering at each end, substance usually less cartilaginous and habit finer than in other species, 

 color some shade of red. G. multipartita is flattened in some of its extent, if mostly terete is flattened in 

 axils, in such cases is often palmately divided at. flattened apices of branches, branching irregular, 

 substance more cartilaginous and habit coarser than in other species, color from light green to dark green 

 to dark reddish purple. 



