BIPHON L( : K>1 



LXXXIX. BRYOPSIS. 



plumosa I T B frond hai 



gular outline, naked below, branched above, branches spread' 

 .. their upper half pectinato-pinnated, pinnules Bubdistieh- 

 ou8 s I /. v. 1. p. l is. (Atlas, PL IAI. Pig. 286 



,l>\.i-i. /•'/. Dan, [Jlva plumosa, Huds. 

 Hob. In the Bea, on rocks and small Btones. Annua]. Summer 

 and autumn. 



Though having nil the softness <>i' texture and brilliant 

 green colouring <>l' t lu i Conferva . the Bryopsides musl be 

 regarded as holding a still Lower rank in the Vegetable 

 Kingdom, and approaching very nearly t<> those organisms 



that seem uncertain under which banner to arrange them- 

 selves, whether animal or vegetable. Viewed by itself, 

 indeed, Bryopsis i>l>i>n<>s(i appears as perfect a vegetable 



as any, hut taken in connection with neighbouring nearly 

 allied structures. Dasycladus, Caulerpa, Polyphysa, Halt- 



. Struvea, etc., it is found to approach much more 

 closely t" the confines than would at first sighl 1>« 



L It is a very widely distributed plant, found plenti- 

 fully throughout both the temperate zones, and even in 

 some of the warmer seas. 



285. hypnoides (The Hypnum-like Bryopsis)] frond slender, 

 very much branched ; branches long, repeatedly compound, 

 densely clothed with capillary, elongate ramuli ran. 

 toward- their tip.-: ultimate ramelli irregularly inserted, 

 ere urn. Bot. 1809. p. 135. t. 1. /. 2. (AtlaSj 



PL LXI. Fig. 2 

 Bryopsis Arbuscula, .1//. 



Jl'ib. On rocks, or parasitical on the Bmaller Alga in submarine 

 tide-pools, in shaded Bituations : also on Laminaria sa 

 rina beyond tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Particularly 

 abundanl in part- of the west of [reland. 

 This is a more Blender plant than B. plumosa, and i 

 branched; with more abundant, less regular, and 

 r ramuli ; but specimens sometimes occur which show 



a very close connection between them. On the Wi 

 [reland B. hypnoides is the most abundant, and re;;. 

 size much greater than it attains i^\ the English 

 sh-dtered hay-, where the broad-leaved variety of 1 

 naria s<t<u-!,<tri,ni delights i<> grov . that plant is ofte 

 ii thick hunches of this Bryopsis, of an i 



M 



