IV. LAMINARIACEiE.— Laminaeia. 91 



stipe. This flattened portion gradually lengthens, assuming the normal form of the 

 species, and carries at its apex the old leaf, which is about to be changed. The 

 point of cohesion of this leaf becomes less firm, and gradually the now decayed 

 lamina falls oiF, leaving the young frond to crown the stipe in its place. 



1. Laminaria Fascia^ Ag. ; stipe very short, slender, flattened, expanding gradu- 

 ally into a membranaceous, broadly oblong, wedge-shaped, lanceolate, or linear 

 frond. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. 45. Lam. Fascia., ccespitosa et debilis, J. Ag, Sp. Alg. 

 vol. l,p. 129-130. Phyllitis Fascia et debilis, KUtz. Sp. Alg. p. 566. 



Hab. On rocks and stones, near low-water mark. Fort Hamilton, N. Y. Capt. 

 Pike and Mr. Hooper. Halifax, W. H. H. (v. v.) 



Root, a small disc. Stipe as thick as hog's bristle, half an inch long, filiform at 

 base, compressed upwards and gradually widening into the cuneate base of the 

 frond. Xa??u'«a very variable in form, 2 — 12 inches long, from a quarter inch to two 

 inches broad, sometimes abruptly cuneate at the base, sometimes much attenuated, 

 either lanceolate, oblong, or linear, or oblong-ovate ; in some specimens remarkably 

 obtuse, in others tapering more or less to the point. Margin waved or flat. 

 Colour when growing a clear chestnut brown, changing to greenish olive in drying. 



I can by no means distinguish from one another the three species of Prof 

 Agardh, above referred to this. The form of the frond is most variable, even in 

 the same tuft, and the gradations between the several forms so complete, that if you 

 examine a sufiicient number of specimens not specially selected as typical, there can 

 be no difficulty in tracing the narrowest and most cuneate into the widest and most 

 ovate. L. Fascia is widely distributed, being found also on the Atlantic and Me- 

 diterranean shores of Europe ; and at the Falkland Islands in the Southern Atlantic. 



2. Laminaria lorea, Bory ; stipes rising from a branching root, flat, winged 

 above, dilating into a linear-ensiform, membranaceous, very long frond, entire or 

 cleft at the apex. J. Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. 1, p. 130. L. tamiata, Post, and Rupr. 

 t. 38, f. (fide Ag.). L. saccharina, var. Kiltz. Sp>. Alg. p. 574. 



Hab. Shores of Newfoundland, Despreaux. 



Stipe 3 — 4 inches long, flat from its origin, dilated above, and winged with a thin- 

 ner margin. The wing of the stipe is expanded into the lamina of the frond, the 

 stipe itself (or its thickened portion) being continued in furrows through the lower 

 part of the lamina. Lamina several feet long, an inch and a half wide, at each end 

 much attenuated. J. Ag. I. c. 



I am not acquainted with this plant, said to be a very distinct species by Agardh, 

 from whom I copy the above description. 



