46 COMMON SEAWEEDS. 



CEKAMITJJVl. 



(Name from a Greek word, signifying " little pitcher," in allusion to 

 the shape of the fruit — which it never does resemble.) 



Probably the first weed that attracts the eye will 

 be a Ceramium, and these are the marks by which you 

 will recognize it. 



Generic character. — Thread-like, jointed, branched, 

 with repeated forkings. The tips of the filaments are 

 always forked, and often curl towards each other, 

 which is a striking peculiarity, and seldom absent, 

 except in some very old rigid plants of Ceramium 

 JRuhrum. "When examined with a lens, the sub- 

 stance of the filaments appears like net-work, pink 

 and white, the joints more or less transparent, and the 

 intermediate portions are opaque. 



Fructification. — This is of two kinds : — 1. Berries 

 or capsules containing seeds, and called favellce. 2. 

 Tetraspores, or groups of four seeds, immersed in the 

 substance of the branch, and surrounding it in a 

 whorl. 



Ceeamittm Rttbrttm (common Eed Ceramium). — 

 As I said before, a most puzzling plant : sometimes 

 delicate rosy red, a very prize for the album ; some- 

 times so coarse as to be flung aside as a worthless 

 weed. Nevertheless do not throw any away, because 

 on large coarse tufts we often find very pretty para- 

 sitic plants. 



The tips of the filaments are forked, but do not 

 curve inwards — rather curve outward ; and the fruit 

 is a berry, surrounded by four short branches, or a 

 number of tetraspores (little red dots, each containing 



