MABTNE EOTANY. 41 



bare of ramuli, while the upper is pinnated and spreads like 

 the rays of a fan. 



And yet, though bearing no greater name than its own 

 simple and appropriate designation, the small-footed Calli- 

 thamnion (C. pedicellatum) speaks to the passer-by con- 

 cerning that singular distribution of oceanic plants, whicli 

 seems irrespective either of rock or flood. Nestling ofttimes 

 in deep rock basins of clear water, or else dredged in from 

 four to seven fathoms, and widely distributed around our 

 western coasts, it is vainly sought for in places equally con- 

 genial to its growth and habits on the eastern coasts. 

 Scotland regards it as one of her rarest plants, and scarcely 

 may the botanist discover it in the north of England. 



Scattered throughout the seas of all temperate climates, 

 and reaching even to the troubled waters of Cape Horn, the 

 genius Grriffithsia, including thirty species, commemorates 

 the indefatigable researches and accurate knowledge of the 

 algologist of Devonshire. Among these, one species alone is 

 tropical, several of great beauty are found on the shores of 

 the Mediterranean and Australia; and the Cape of Good 

 Hope and "Western Africa contribute many others ; but 

 wherever located, they uniformly possess one common pro- 

 perty, that of being exceedingly impatient when coming in 

 contact with fresh water. In order, therefore, to secure 

 well-preserved specimens, they should be brought home in 

 their native element, and laid immediately on paper. A 

 brief exposure to the air occasions their decomposition, and 

 even salt water, after a few hours' immersion, causes the 

 cellular membrane to divide, and the coloured matter to be 

 discharged with violence. 



Among this numerous tribe, the Griffithsia Deuoniensis, 

 which differs from every other species, was discovered about 

 fifteen years since at Plymouth, and added to the flora of 

 Devonshire by Mrs. Wyatt. Harvey records its favourite 

 habitat in the specific name, well pleased that while the 

 generic appellation recalls to mind the obligations of algology, 



