Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 91 



Stems erect, not opake, pale green, densely crowded ; spines 

 usually scattered, often very short, or irregularly collected in 

 whorls (when it much resembles C. ainita, Wallr.) ; whorls of 

 6-9 branchlets of six nodes and a whorl of 4-5 bracts at each 

 node ; bracts as long as the internode or shorter than it. Nucules 

 solitary, with twelve or thirteen stria? and a prominent crown. 



Distinguished from C. crinita, as is well remarked by Prof. 

 A. Braun in his letter to Prof. Henslow, " by the more slender 

 outer tubes of the stems." I am doubtful concerning the plant 

 figured by Greville (Scott. Crypt. Fl. t. 339), for he places nucules 

 and granules upon the same plant. 



In stagnant water. Orkney, Mr. Clauston. Prestwich Car, 

 Northumberland, Mr. Robertson ; Greville. Irthing, Durham, 

 Mr. Bowman ; Hooker. Cleifiog Farm, four miles from Holy- 

 head, Anglesea, Mr. Wilson. Carlton, Notts, Mr.Borrer. Bur- 

 dock Pool near Falmouth, Cornwall, in company with C. crinita, 

 Rev. W. L. P. Garnons. Loch of Skaill, Orkney, Miss Watt. 

 In the river Shannon near Portumna, Galway, Mr. D. Moore ; 

 Prof. Balfour. 



16. C.fragilis (Desv.) ; monoecious, stems slender finely striated 

 smooth not spinous, last 1 -3 joints of the branchlets without 

 external tubes, bracts on the inner side of the branchlets about 

 as long or longer than the oblong nucules. 



C. fragilis, "Desv. ap. Lois. Not. Fl. Franc. 137 ;" A. Braun in Flora, 

 xviii. 68; Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2. i. 356 ; Reich. ! Fl. exsic. 94; Mutel 

 Fl. Franc, iv. 164 ; Coss. et Germ. Fl. Paris. 680 ; Atl. t. 38 C. 



C. pulchella, Wallr. Ann. Bot. 184. t. 2 ; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2824 ; 

 Ag. Syst. Alg. 129. 



C. Hedwigii, Ag. Syst. Alg. 129 ; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2762. 



Slender, green, not incrusted. Main stem and branches 

 usually with equally long branchlets. Nucule with thirteen or 

 fourteen stria? and a long crown, accompanied by the globule. 

 Bracts usually shorter than the nucules, but one equaling them 

 in length ; sometimes {C.fragilis longibracteata, A. Braun !, C. de- 

 licatula, Ag. ?) longer than them. 



The C. Hedwigii scarcely differs except in being very brittle 

 when dry, the bracts shorter, and the branchlets of the main stem 

 usually much longer than those of the branches. 



Ponds. Sussex, Rev. M. J. Berkeley. Derwentwatcr, Rev. E. 

 A. Holmes. Serk, Rev. T. Salwey. Paradi, Guernsey. — Var. lon- 

 gibracteata ; West Chiltington Common, Sussex ; Berrington 

 Pool, Shropshire. — C. Hedwigii; East Grinstead, Sussex; Sand- 

 wich, Kent, Rev. M. J. Berkeley. 



Annual. June to August. 



