RED ALG^. 149 



towards the top of the plant. 3. The secondary and 

 remaining branches, which are short, alternately much 

 divided and subdivided again and again, until they 

 terminate in very slender ramuli, which form feathery 

 brown and sometimes violet tufts at the ends, constituting 

 the chief beauty of the plant. 4. Consequent upon 

 this method of branching, the plant has a marked 

 tendency to assume perfect arborescent forms. I have 

 plenty of plants a foot or more high, which almost 

 exactly resemble the great oaks and maples of the 

 forest, and others which are perfect miniature images 

 of the firs and pines, with their regular, tapering, cone- 

 like outline. Our figure in Plate VI., which is a very 

 perfect copy of a plant in my herbarium, could easily 

 be mistaken for a good picture of a forest tree. 5. 

 The stem and main branches are inarticulate. 6. The 

 universal distribution and great plentifuhiess of the 

 species along our whole eastern coast. 



It is an extremely variable plant, and yet the type 

 seems to be as well adhered to as in most Algae. Many 

 plants, especially those growing in deep water, are 

 very robust and bushy. On the whole it is our most 

 interesting and beautiful Atlantic Polysiphonia. 



POLYSIPHONIA FIBRILLOSA, GREV. 



This is by far the rarest of this group of Poly- 



