116 SEA MOSSES. 



Sub-order.— DI.CTYOSIPHON lE^. 

 Genus— DICTYOSIFBON* Grev 



DiCTYOSIPHON FCENICULACEUS, GrEV. 



This is our only species of tiiis genus. It grows 

 in rock pools and below tide, and occurs from L. I. 

 Sound northward, but is more common in our 

 northern waters. Frond filiform, about as thick as 

 a bristle ; harsh to the touch ; from six inches to 

 two feet long ; profusely and irregularly branched 

 on all sides from top to bottom. The primary 

 branches are long, and closely beset with secondary 

 branches which are also long and straight, and often 

 of hair-like tenuity. Color, a brownish olive, dark 

 when dry. It adheres pretty well to paper in dry- 

 ing. Mr. CoUins collected it from March to Sep- 

 tember, at Nahant and Nantasket. I found it not 

 uncommon at Marblehead, all summer, and Miss 

 Booth reports it in Peconic Bay, L. I. Others 

 have found it at Boston and Newport. It certainly 

 may be expected in favorable localities all along the 

 coast. It is not noted for its beauty as a herba- 

 rium specimen. 



* Dictyosiphon = A netted tube. 



