80 BANGIACEAE 
the Peruvian. His description of the erect filaments attributed 
to this species is so brief and his two figures of these filaments so 
incomplete that one can infer little as to their form and structure, 
and his two figures of the discs, even with some allowances for 
evidently diagrammatic drawing, hardly suggest the discs of the 
Peruvian plant. Professor Berthold writes us that he has only 
microscopic preparations of his Bangiaceae of the Bay of Naples 
and we have thus far been unable to obtain from Naples or else- 
where authentic material for comparisons. Schmitz, in proposing 
the new generic name Erythropeltis* for Erythrotrichia discigera 
Berthold (which he cites as the monotype of his new genus without 
any pro parte reservations), omits any reference to the erect fila- 
ments described and figured by Berthold. Batters (loc. cit.) in dis- 
cussing this point has expressed the opinion that Erythropeltis 
discigera Berthold is without doubt the true Bangia ciliaris Carm. 
and that Schmitz had before him a different plant that is perma- 
nently discoid and produces no vertical filaments. Yet Berthold, 
who studied the plants in the field, believed (loc. cit. 4) that his ` 
species might take the form of large discs without erect filaments or ` 
of smaller discs with numerous and manifest erect filaments and our ` 
own experience in studying Dr. Coker's plants convinces us that с 
this Peruvian species, though doubtfully identical, exhibits а 
similar and probably parallel polymorphism. We are indebted | 
to Mr. A. Серр of the British Museum for the information that | 
the only preparation in the Schmitz collection that seems to have ` 
anything to do with “ Erythropeltis" bears the label, "Erythro- ` 
trichia discigera Berth. Berthold ded. 10/9/79" and that this 
specimen appears to show no erect filaments. 
The erect filaments in Erythrotrichia polymorpha often resemble | 
_ closely Kützing's figurest of his Porphyra bangiaeformis originally 
described as growing on Chondrus crispus near Biarritz, but | 
Kützing shows no basal disc and makes no mention of such a disc 
in his description. The type material of this Porphyra bangiae- | 
formis in the Kützing herbarium consists of a few detach 
plants or fragments on mica, showing little or nothing as to the | 
nature of the basal disc, although the cespitose habit of the e 
* In Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. £": 313. f. 105. 1806. 
1 Tab. Phyc. I9: pl. 70. 7. а-а. 
