This plant is dispersed almost over the whole explored ocean, 
having been brought from nearly every shore, except those few 
antarctic coasts where nothing marine vegetates, save Diatomacee. 
I have never seen a collection of Algse, of any extent, from any 
part of the world, which did not contain specimens of Hateromor- 
pha compressa. hough always recognizable by the character of 
its branches tapering toward the base, it puts on a multitude of 
aspects according to the situation in which it grows. Near high- 
water mark it forms a short, shagey pile, of slender fronds, 
spreading over rocks and stones, and most treacherous to the 
stepping of unwary feet, being pre-eminently slippery. A little 
lower down, in the rock-pools, it has the appearance of the va- 
rieties figured in our plate; and where fresh-water streams flow 
into the sea, it becomes broader, with inflated tubes, and often 
of great length. Such forms closely resemble 7. zxfestinalis, 
which, however, is never branched. Other varieties occur on 
floating timber, on piles exposed to the tide, and on the vertical 
walls of quays in tidal rivers; in fact, in nie cases out of ten, 
when such objects are seen clad in green, the appearance is 
caused by the presence of this species. 
Fig. 1. Sundry varieties of ENrzERomoRPHA compressa :—0f the natural size. 
2. A small portion of a branch magnified, to show the cellular structure. 
