94 SEA MOSSES. 



would not be chosen for their beauty in the herbarium, 

 they are certainly in the water, extremely graceful and 

 interesting forms. They are all perennial. The method 

 of drying, pressing and mounting them, has already 

 been given in the Introductory Chapter. 



Laminaria saccarhina. Lam. V 



This species is so named for the supposed 

 sweet taste of the frond, a quality which I 

 confess has thus far quite eluded my powers of 

 detection. It is distinguished from the next species 

 to be named, by its short stem, and its narrower 

 frond. The stem is not more than four to eight inches 

 long, and from one-third to one-half an inch thick. The 

 stem terminates below in a conical mass of stout, root- 

 like prongs, which constitute the hold-fast. These 

 are firmly glued to whatever the plant grows upon, 

 as shells, rocks, stones, etc., at the bottom of the sea. 

 If you try to remove one of these large plants from 

 its native anchorage, you will find that it holds very 

 fast. The short stem expands upward abruptly, into 

 a wide, thick, leathery, smooth, dark olive colored 

 blade, eight to twelve inches wide, and six to eight 

 feet long. It is usually wavy or ruffled at the edges. 

 A narrow and very beautiful variety of this species grows 

 along the shore at Newport, over by the beaches. It 



