few, distant, and little divided. All the young branches and ramuli are 
transversely striate, as if jointed, owing to a peculiar. arrangement of the 
cells of the axis. Lructification ; ovate capsules or ceramidia, sessile on the 
smaller branches, contaiming a tuft of pear-shaped spores; 2, ¢tetraspores 
immersed in the ramuli. Swdstance cartilaginous, soon decomposing and 
becoming gelatinous, and closely adhering to paper in drying. Colour 
varying from a dark purple to a pale pink, or even yellowish, according to 
exposure. 
Laurencia dasyphylla belongs to a section of the genus distin- 
guished by having a jointed axis, composed of four or five large 
cells surrounding a central cavity, exactly as in Rytiphiea; and 
as these cells are all of equal length, the upper and lower ex- 
tremities form transverse lines, which, seen through the mimute 
cells of the surface, have the appearance of strize. In the present 
species these strize are at very short intervals. ‘They are much 
more apparent in the younger parts of the frond, but the structure 
on which they depend is equally obvious, on dissection, 1n all parts. 
Our variety @., from its long, almost naked, arching stems, 
recurved branches, and ramuli lengthened out into a fine, or 
almost cirrhose pomt, with the occasional interspersion of 
setaceous processes, has a very peculiar aspect, and may appear, 
on a hasty mspection, to be a distinct species; or to a person 
unacquainted with Z. tenwissima, it may possibly be mistaken 
for that plant. But a more careful examination shows it to be 
perfectly analogous to the squarrose variety of Chylocladia kalifor- 
mis, and as both plants are found in similar situations, their 
peculiar characters probably depend on local causes acting similarly 
upon them. In the variety now under review, it rarely, if ever, 
happens that a// the ramuli are drawn into long points, or a// the 
branches arched and recurved; but the majority are in these 
conditions. 
It will be seen that the geographical distribution of this species 
is very extensive. I have received it from many distant quarters, 
both of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but have not 
gathered it at the Cape of Good Hope, whence it appears to 
have been sent to Prof. Mertens. There is, however, a Cape 
species figured in my Nerris Ausrrauis (t.31.), which some- 
what resembles it, but is truly distinct. 
Fig. 1. LAURENCIA DASYPHYLLA :—of the natural size. 2. Apex of a branch, 
with tetraspores. 3. Tetraspores. 4. Apex with capsules. 5. A capsule. 
6. Tult of spores from the same. 7. Transverse seition of the frond. 8. 
Longitudinal section :—al/ inore or less magnified. 
