106 THE MARINE BOTANIST. 



RHODOMELA. 



Name meaning red black, in allusion to the change of colour 

 in these plants when dry. 



Frond filiform^ solid, much branched, inarticu- 

 late, reticulated ; outer surface of the frond consist- 

 ing- of minute, irregular, coloured cellules. Fructi- 

 Jication twofold, on distinct plants. 1. Ceramidia, 

 containing" pear-shaped spores. 2. TetrasporeSy con- 

 tained in lanceolate pods, stichidia, or in swollen 

 branchlets. 



RHODOMELA LYCOPODIODES. — WOLFS- 

 CLAW RHODOMELA. 



Fronds in summer densely set with slender ra- 

 muli. In the winter state of the plant these are 

 short, rigid, half-an-inch to an inch in length. The 

 fructification is produced in summer on the ramuli. 

 Substance cartilaginous, colour purplish, changing 

 to black in drying. Grows on the stems of L, digi- 



