i9o8] SETCHELL—NEKEOCYSTIS AND PELAGOPHYCUS 133 



. Later on, when giving instructions as to approaching the west 

 coast of North America from the Pacific Ocean, he says (p. 56) : 



"Wlien the coast is 80 or 90 leagues to the E., those sea-plants appear which I 

 have before called "orange heads;" but I must now add, that from the state of 

 them as they floatj one may sometimes infer that the land is not so far distant. 

 Its figure much resembles the fistular stalk of garlick; and from the top of its 

 head hang some verj^ long leaves, by which the plant is fixed to the rocks. Now 

 if these leaves are tolerably perfect, they afford a strong presumption that they 

 have not floated far from the coast. On the contran*, those which have been 

 wafted to a considerable distance have generally lost this head, and the stalk 

 becomes more rough, when you may suppose that you are 50 leagues from land- 

 [He further says (p. 57)] When you are 30 or 40 leagues from the coast, .... you 

 will perceive birds, .... togetherwith the plant Zaca/e (if/ J/ar before mentioned, 



t 



which has long and narrow leaves. 



It is ver}' evident that both species of the west-coast kelp with the 

 large bulbs were kno\TO to the navigators, and it is of interest that the 

 southern species Nereocystis gigantea Aresch. or Pelagophycus gigan- 

 ioiMc- A^^c-^u T»-oc- i'T-.,-iTTTi cn Irmn- Vvfnrp it ws*; cTf'nf'ndlv rero2TUzed 



by botanists. 



fiimished 



is reasonably explicit, but, when taken into account in connection with 

 the plate referred to above, leaves no doubt as to the identity of the 

 plant with that of Areschoug. The first botanical description, how- 

 ever, was given by Leman (Diet, des sciences naturelles 2$ : 189. Paris. 

 1S22) under the article Laminaria. It reads as follows: 



Laminaria porra nob. Stipe tres-Iong, tannine par un renSement fusiforme, 

 portant une grosse vessie sph^rique, couronn^ de frondes lanceolees, tifes- 

 elongees et profondement dentees. Cette espece a et^ observe dans le mer du 

 Sud par LeGextil. Les marins espagnols la nomment porta, Elle se^ fait 

 remarquer par sa longueur qui excede de quarante brasees ou de deux cent pieds. 

 (Voyez LeGentil, Voyage Ind., p. 2. $1. 3.) 



From this it becomes evident that the earHest specific name for 



the southern species is Porra, 



AsESCHOUG first referred the southern or elk-kelp to the genus 

 Nereocystis, but later created the genus Pelagophycus for its recep- 

 tion. The close resemblance between it and Nereoc}'stis,^ however, 

 has led most writers to retain both in the same genus. This was my 

 o™ opinion in the paper entitled ^'^The elk-kelp"(Erythea 4: 17^^84- 

 pi. 7. 1896), but at the same time I called attentfen (/. c, 184) to the 

 uneaual spUttinir and the consequent close relation to :Macrocystfe. 



