90 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 



pale green in colour. On being floated out it 

 is noticeable that the plant is composed of an 

 infinite number of green threads. The same 

 thing is even more plainly to be seen in the 

 case of Spirogyra. an alg£ which always attracts 

 attention on account of its vivid green colour- 

 ing. This species is also very abundant in 

 ditches. 



A group of fresh-water weeds to which 

 attention should be called are the stoneworts, 

 or CharacecB. These plants are of a much more 

 robust habit of growth than the algs, which 

 have been noticed, and in a superficial way bear 

 a resemblance to the horsetails. The stone- 

 worts are generally placed in close proximity to 

 the green algse, although their actual position 

 in the scheme of things has not been very 

 clearly established. One of the most abundant 

 species is the Common Chara (C. vulgaris), a 

 plant which is usually about ten inches in 

 height and is of a delicate green colour. At 

 the joints of the stem are arranged circles of 

 leaf-like processes in a manner which is strangely 

 suggestive of the Horsetail. If these " leaves " 

 are examined it will be found that they, in 

 turn, are producing small leaflets, and it is 



