236 SEA MOSSES. 



Order.— CERAMIE^. 



Genus.— MICRO CLADIA* Grcv. 



MlCROCLADIA COULTERI, HARV. 



Probably very few people collect "Sea Mosses" 

 on the Pacific coast, who do not get plenty of this 

 species with every gathering. No package of dried 

 Algae, or fasciculus of mounted specimens, comes 

 from that coast, to the botanists or lovers of Algae 

 in the east, which does not contain some of these 

 interesting and beautiful plants. 



It has a cylindrical or slightly flattened stem, twice 

 as thick as a bristle which runs fully through the 

 plant, and sends out branches from its two edges, 

 in one or the other, or both of the following ways, 

 viz. : The regularly alternate branches are set on the 

 two sides, at an almost perfectly uniform distance, 

 and rise at the same angle from the main stem, so 

 that they "lay out" quite parallel. Near the base, 

 the branches are short, but gradually become longer 

 towards the middle of the frond, then shorten again, 

 towards the apex, so as to give the whole plant a 

 quite perfect "lanceolate" outline. Or, again, the 

 plant will throw out several long branches from each 



* Microcladia — Minule branches. 



