CHAPTER XX. 



THE GREEN FELT: VAUCHERIA. 



204. Description of vaucheria. — The plant vaucheria usually 

 occurs in dense mats floating on the water or lying on the damp 

 soil. The texture and feeling of one of these mats reminds one 

 of" felt," and the species are sometimes called the " green felts. " 

 The threads are quite jSHHk coarse and are 



branched. Upon exami- i|?w$*| nation with the mi- 



croscope we find that the isBllHlr threads are contin- 



uous, that is, there are MW'W'm no cross-walls as in 



spirogyra dividing the m/$PW& thread up into short 



cells. The chlorophyll is JkM in small oval bodies 



scattered over the inside BSmB °* tne wa ^ °f tne 



tube. These are the char- §?$*$& acters of the vegeta- 



tive threads. A portion of m%^m a vegetative thread 



is shown m fig. 95. Cross- fp|&OT|# walls are formed 



only where reproductive fflMxM cells or organs are 



formed, which cut their gM&klji off from the re- 



Fig. 95. 



Portion of branched thread of vaucheria. 



mainder of the vegetative thread. This plant multiplies in 

 several ways which would be too tedious to detail here. The 

 sexual reproduction,* however, should be studied if possible, 



* Oedogonium may be studied in place of vaucheria if preferred and if 

 material is more easily obtained. Vaucheria is usually more abundant and 



120 



