166 BRITISH MARINE ALG. 
rounded, each division terminating either in a lengthened branchiet or a 
fork, the tips of all being obtuse or rounded, the whole plant being of 
nearly uniform thickness throughout. This species is perennial, and fruits 
in the autumn. It is found in various situations from the Orkneys to 
the South of England and in Ireland. 
The companion species to Gymnogongrus Grifithsie, G. Norvegicus, 
Fig. 153 (formerly Chondrus Norvegicus) is very frequently mistaken for 
narrow forms of Chondrus crispus (Fig. 162), from which it may be dis- 
tinguished by its thinner substance and by the axils of the forked divisions, 
which are less rounded than in Chondrus, and, also, the segments of its 
fronds seldom vary much in length and breadth; the stem also is more 
cylindrical and the fronds are more regularly dichotomous. Our illustra- 
tion, like that of the foregoing species, was drawn from the plant the 
natural size. The fronds in each are about 2in. or 3in. high, and more 
or less tufted. Favellidia of small size are sometimes found, imbedded in 
the frond, but nemathecia are more frequent. These are scattered over 
the frond, and, like those of G. Grifithsie, are composed of beautiful 
filaments like strings of minute jewels. The colour of this plantis a full 
rich red. Though originally found in Norway, and specifically named 
** Norvegicus,”’ it is abundant during the spring and summer at Brighton 
and all along the coast to Devon and Cornwall. It occurs also in Ireland 
and in some parts of Scctland. Both of these species are troublesome in 
displaying and mounting, but directions for manipulation in such cases 
have already been copiously given. Ahnfeltia (formerly Gymnogongrus) 
plicata, Fig. 154, is probably one of the least attractive of the Rhodo- 
sperms to the ordinary collector. The fronds, which are from 3in. to 10in. 
ong, are very slender, wiry, and excessively entangled, often infested with 
parasites, which, although disfiguring the specimen, assist somewhat in 
attaching the rigid branches of this species to paper. Once having 
mounted a specimen of this uninviting plant, the student will never fail to 
distinguish it, even by the touch, for there is no other seaweed with fronds 
so stiff, wire-like, and horny. I have found it in various parts of England 
and in Scotland, but its characters are the same everywhere. The 
fructification consists of wart-like masses encircling the stems ; and once 
only I have met with a specimen which bore capsular fruit, the little spore 
vessels being sessile or stalkless, attached to the side of the branches 
somewhat like the tubercles on Gracilaria confervoides (Fig. 127). The 
colour is a brownish purple, but owing to the extreme tenuity of the 
fronds, which are hardly thicker than a hog’s bristles, this plant appears 
almost black when freshly gathered, but it turns a yellowish or waxy 
white in decay or by exposure to sunlight. 
Fig. 155 represents the terminal portion of a branch of Cystoclonium 
purpurascens, better known by its former generic name of Hypnea. This 
is a very common plant on most of the British shores. The fronds vary 
from Gin. to 2ft. in length ; the main stem, which rises from a fibrous root, 
is bare for an inch or two, and then it is thickly set on each side with 
