Mr. Woodward, whose paper was read December 2nd, 1794. In 

 1797 a figure of it appeared in the "English Botany," notwith- 

 standing which in 1804 in the list of Spanish Algae appended to 

 Clemente's " Essai sur les varietes de la vigne, " &c, and again 

 in 1805, in De Candolle's 'Elore Erancaise' we find two new 

 names bestowed upon it. Since then, as will be seen from the 

 above synonymes, (and we have not quoted all) authors have suffi- 

 ciently exercised their fancy and invention in re -naming it. Of 

 the newer names, Bory's "pJiasiana " is the most appropriate, the 

 brown bars on the frond reminding us of the plumage of a phea- 

 sant, and could we with propriety adopt any, it would be this one. 

 But in justice to the original describer, and following Agardli and 

 most recent authors we adhere to the specific name under which 

 it was first made known. 



Though widely distributed along the shores of the Northern 

 Atlantic from the tropics to lat. 56° north, it is nowhere very 

 common. Specimens from Dominica, given to me by Dr. Greville, 

 are of a darker colour than British ones, and much more regularly 

 banded, the broken bars, which generally cover the spaces be- 

 tween the perfect bands, being very few. In England it is com- 

 pletely a smnmer plant, reaching its perfection in July and decay- 

 ing before the end of September, at which season it has lost its 

 glossy surface, rich colours, and much of its delicacy. Its re- 

 mains are then coarse, almost coriaceous, dirty brown and ragged, 

 and would scarcely be taken by a stranger to be the same species. 



While it agrees with others of the genus Dictyota in the struc- 

 ture of the frond and in the fructification, it exhibits in general 

 habit an approach to Padina, or perhaps more nearly to the re- 

 stricted genus Zonaria, J. Ag., and has been referred by Mon- 

 tagne as well as by Bory to the former genus. I admit that it 

 is a transition species, especially resembling Padina in the banded 

 arrangement of its seeds, but notwithstanding minor differences, 

 the aggregate of its characters, in my opinion, compel us to refer 

 it to Dictyota, unless with Kiitzing, we cut the knot by construct- 

 ing a new genus for its home. 



Fig. 1. Dictyota atomaria : — natural size. 2. Portion of sorus. 3. Seeds 

 in situ. 4. Seeds removed :- 



