56 BRITISH MARINE ALG&. 
Taonia atomaria, very well represented at Fig. 60, is one of the most 
attractive of the British Melanosperms. In England it is completely a 
summer plant, attaining perfection in July, and perishing by the end of 
September. The outline of the expanded fronds is usually fan-shaped, 
the terminal divisions being cleft and jagged similarly to those of Cutlerit 
multifida (Fig. 56), the tips being truncated, or cut off as it were. The brown 
olive wavy lines on the frond so strongly resemble the transversely marked 
feathers of the pheasant, that a celebrated botanist proposed the name 
of Phasiana, and it is much to be regretted that this name was not adopted, 
for it is certainly more characteristic than that of Taonia, which is a 
name from the Greek signifying ‘‘ Peacock.’’ The spores are contained in 
sori or groups, which form indeed the wavy lines that adorn the fronds of 
this favourite plant. The spaves between these lines of fructification are 
dotted here and there with spores, scattered singly or sometimes in groups. 
Taonia is widely distributed, though it is nowhere abundant. The finest 
specimens are obtained on the south coast of Devon, and especially so 
in rock pools between tide marks east of the Plymouth breakwater. 
Fig. 61 is from a very characteristic plant of Dictyota dichotoma. The 
frond being regularly dichotomous, or branched by repeated forkings 
from the very base, the segments becoming gradually narrower and smaller 
as they approach the terminal divisions. This pretty plant is one of the 
most widely dispersed of its order. In size and colour it differs greatly, 
according to the depth in which it grows. Specimens from deep water are 
broad and of a light brownish tint, and attain a height of a foot or more ; 
while those which grow in rock pools about half-tide level are a few inches 
only in length, very narrow, and of a greenish olive. In these situations, 
too, may frequently be found, growing abundantly, the curious variety 
called Intricata, the very narrow, curled, and entangled fronds of which are 
a puzzle for the most patient manipulator to display properly on paper. 
The fructification of Dictyota is produced on both surfaces of the frond, 
and consists of groups of egg-shaped spores; or, on other plants of 
the same species, spores scattered singly on all parts of the fronds. Both 
forms of fructification are well represented at Fig. 62 (a and b), and here, 
also, may be seen the characteristic structure of the surface membrane 
of the Dictyotacew. The term being from the Greek for a net, in reference 
to the reticulated surface of these plants wher viewed under the micro- 
scope. Both varieties of Dictyota are annuals, and are common all 
round the British coasts. 
The four plants which I shall now describe, belong to that group 
in the Dictyotacew, in which the fronds are cylindrical and branched, the 
roots of all being a minute disk, destitute of fibres. First in this small 
assemblage of plants I must introduce the curious species Stilophora 
rhizodes, the geueric name being from the Greek, signifying point or dot- 
bearer, in reference to the peculiar dot-like form of fructification, which 
is seated on the branches and ramuli of the plant from the base to the 
tips of the ultimate branchlets. ‘he difticulty of giving a characteristic 
