LAMINA i:iA( I. S. 26 



T his is one <>r the rarest of the British seaweeds, and in- 

 teresting from its being one of those Bpecies thai conned 

 our Flora with thai of the Spanish Peninsula. Fora I ine 

 time the only evidence of its occurrence on the British 

 b Bolitary Bpecimen picked up on the Bhore at 

 Youghal by M iss Ball, and by her presented to the I Dublin 

 University Museum. From thai Bpecimen our figure has 

 been taken. More recently C. Cabrera was discovered at 

 Plymouth by the Rev. \\\ 8. Bore, by whom, and also by 

 Dr. Cocks and others, it has been repeatedly dredged ; and 

 thus the doubts we formerly expressed of its being Dative 

 to our Bhores have been satisfactorily removed. It is in- 

 deed a widely-distributed plant, recenl observations having 

 shown it to be also a native of New Holland, Van Diemen's 

 Land, and Zealand. 



Oedek 3. LAMINARIACSM 



XT. ALAK1A. 



23. esculenta {The edible Alarid) •. frond elongated, Ian • 



entire; rib narrow, cylindrical ; Leaflets linear-oblong or cu- 

 neate, Grev.Alg. B. p. 25.*. !. (Atlas, PI. VI. Fi. 

 Laminaria esculenta, Lyngb. Agarum esculentum, lion/. Fucus 

 dentus, Linn. F. fimbriatus, Ghn. P. tetragonns, Good, 

 and Woodw. F. teres, Good, and Woodw. F. pinnatus, 

 Fl. Norv. 

 Hah. Abundant on the shores of Scotland, and of the north 

 and wesi of Ireland. Fringing precipitous rocks, at low- 

 water mark. Perennial. Winter and spring. 

 Thi< beautiful plant, which is scarcely known on the 

 southern coasts of England, abounds on all the Atlantic 

 shore- of the British Islands. The roughesl water Beems 

 to be most favourable to its existence, and 1 observe that 

 it reaches its greatest size and most luxuriant growth on 



some *A' the most exposed parts of our western C 



the delicate membrane of its leaf is easily torn, and in Largo 

 specimens is very rarely found i'ver from laceration. It 

 appears to be perennial, the new growth being produced 

 at the base ^\' the Leafy frond. The fructification 

 monly to ho net with on full-grown specimen.-, i 

 innumerable slender Bpores, closely packed together, 

 pounded of four Bporules. Alana esculenta is eaten in 



some par;- of Scotland and Ireland, as well a< in Iceland 



and the Ferroe [slands. For this purpose the midrib, 



