RED ALGJE. 153 



at first nearly round, more than twice as thick as a 

 bristle, soon flattened and then immediately and 

 irregularly much branched. All the branches spring 

 from the edges of the flattened stem, and the branches 

 themselves being flattened in the same plane with the 

 stem, and, giving out branchlets along their edges, the 

 whole plant is built up in one plane. The main 

 branches spread widely, and are irregularly placed. 

 But the secondary branches are very regularly alternate, 

 the one-tenth of an inch or so apart. Toward the 

 base of the branches, in all the old or full grown 

 plants, these branchlets will be found broken off, 

 leaving nothing but short stumps. The branchlets 

 themselves consist of a short stem, one-eighth to one- 

 half an inch long, clothed on each side and at the 

 top all around with very short, alternate simple or 

 compound awl-shaped, incurved ramuli. These branch- 

 lets are generally about the same length along the 

 sides of the branches, but here and there one will 

 shoot out beyond the others, and somxCtimes it will 

 put out branchlets like a primary branch. 



Dr. Anderson reports it scarce at Santa Cruz, on 

 rocky beaches, all the year around. Mrs. Bingham, 

 and Dr. Dimmick, find it very common, thrown up 

 on the beach, and growing on small rocks, in all 

 seasons, at Santa Barbara. Mr. Cleveland reports it 



