ramuli borne by the winter branchlets.  Sudstance cartilaginous, in its 
winter state not adhering to paper; much more tender in summer. Colour 
a purplish brown, becoming very black in drying. 
unlike each other that I have thought it necessary to represent 
both, which I could only accomplish withm the limits of an 
octavo plate by figurmg very small, but characteristic specimens 
of each. The summer plant (fig. 1) is one of the first year’s 
growth. Those of the second year have the stems clothed with 
the remains of old ramuli, besides being feathered with young 
ones. In some magnificent specimens, collected by my friend 
Mr. Thompson on the Downshire coast, the frond is twenty 
mches in length, and the lateral branches from six to fourteen 
inches long; and Dr. Greville informs me that some of his speci- 
mens are of equal size. Nothing can well exceed the beauty of 
such plants, as they wave freely in the water. 
Though the common forms of 2. /ycopodioides seem to be very 
different from R. subfusca, specimens are sometimes found which 
have an mtermediate character. The latter is usually a much 
more branching plant, and is generally found attached to rocks, 
and its ramuli are much less dense. The microscopic structure 
in both is very similar. 
I must enter a protest against the unnecessary substitution by 
Kiitzing of his name Lophura, for the old established and uni- 
versally received Rhodomela. Such alterations of established 
names are most mischievous, leading to no good result, and 
burdening the science with a number of useless synonymes ; and 
I regret, the more so because his great merits are thereby ob- 
scured, that this is not a solitary instance in which this author 
has needlessly altered the nomenclature. 
Fig. 1. RHoDOMELA LYCOPODIOIDES, a young summer plant. 2. The same ; 
a winter plant :—loth of the natural size. 3. A cluster of pods, with tetras- 
pores. 4. A pod separated. 5. Ramulus with capsules. 6. A capsule, 
separated. 7. Longitudinal section of the stem. 8. Transverse section of 
one half of the same :—all more or less magnified. 
