ceramiacbjE. 207 



the upper branches of this species cannot, unfortunately, 

 be relied on as a distinctive character, for in some spe- 

 cimens they are altogether absent ; and, moreover, they 

 are occasionally found on C. rubrum and other species. 

 C. strictum must, therefore, be identified by the position 

 of its tetraspores, its acute axils, and the general habit 

 of the frond. It adheres closely to paper in drying, and 

 its silky, silvery appearance renders it one of the most 

 beautiful plants of the genus. It grows on shells, in tide- 

 pools, near low-water mark. 



Ceramium fastigiatum. The level-topped 

 Ceramitun. 



Pronds from four to five inches high, very slender through- 

 out, regularly forked, level at the top ; axils acute ; tips of 

 the branches forcipate, slightly incurved; nodes coated 

 with a definite band of small red cellules ; internodes trans- 

 parent, of a pale pink colour, those in the lower part 

 of the frond very pale, and about six times as long as 

 broad. Spore-clusters small, on the sides of the ultimate 

 branches, supported by short, involucral branchlets ; tetra- 

 spores on the outer edge of the branchlets, projecting from 

 the nodes. 



The dense, soft tufts of this exquisite little plant grow 

 on rocks, etc., near low-water mark. They are annual, 

 and in perfection late in autumn and winter. This latter 

 fact, and their small size, which renders them likely to 

 be overlooked, may account in part for the reputed rarity 

 of the species. 



Ceramium echionotum. The prickly Ceramium. 



Prond three to six inches long, harsh and rigid to the 



