CRYPTOGAMIA ALGJE. '8'93 



Upon rocks both in the Highlands and Lowlands 

 not uncommon. 



It refembles a lock of coarfe wool from a black 

 fheep, partly fufcous, but moftly black, and 

 without glofs. The filaments are about an inch, 

 feldom two inches long, crowded together, and 

 entangled one with another, much branched, 

 and cylindrical throughout, the branches di- 

 vided into fhort capillary fegments. But what 

 principally diltinguilhes this from the preceding, 

 is not only the tenuity, fliortnefs, and frequency 

 of ths branches, but that many lliortfine capil- 

 lary fibres, like fpinuk's, grow horizontally out 

 ot the fides of the filaa:ents. 



The plant, when dry, is rigid ; v/hen moift, fofter 

 and flaccid. 



■puhefcens L. fihmentofus ramofiffimus decumbens implexus 

 ^9. nitidus. Sp.pl. 1623. {Billen. mufc. /. 17./. '^z.) 



Black Lace Lichen. Jnglis. 

 Upon the rocks on the Highland mountains not 



unfrequent. 

 This grows in tufts of a black-fufcous, and often 

 an entire black colour. It confifts of fmooth, 

 rigid, glofly fibres, not bigger than a horfc- 

 hair, nearly of equal fize in every part, about 

 half an inch long, dicbotomoufly and widely 

 branched, terminated ar the extremities with 

 faort bifid horns, and fo interwoven with each 



other 



