
No. 425.] NOTES AND LITERATURE. 409 
bring, no one can tell, but it is difficult to imagine anything that 
will affect, except in details, so logical and well-grounded a classi- 
fication as this. : 
In 1889 Schmitz published his Systematische Uebersicht der bisher 
bekannten Gattungen der Florideen, and in 1897 “ The Rhodophycez," 
in Engler and Prantl, Die Watiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien, was from the 
manuscript left by Schmitz at his death; in both of these the Rho- 
domelacez were based on Falkenberg's studies, but in both changes 
were made, with Falkenberg's consent, from his original plan, to con- 
form with Schmitz's general system. In the present work no such 
change was needed. 
The nomenclature of the present work, as compared with J. G. 
Agardh's, the former standard, shows considerable change. Few 
new species have been described, and consolidation of existing 
species has, apparently, at least equaled their division; but the 
larger genera have been split up, so that the number of new bino- 
mials is quite considerable. The increased number of genera seems 
the result of a logical employment of certain definite characters 
throughout the family, — monopodial or sympodial growth, radial or 
dorsiventral character of the frond, endogenous or exogenous char- 
acter of the regularly distributed branches, presence or absence of 
“leaves” in addition to the branches, number of pericentral cells, 
their persistence unchanged or ultimate division, etc. The sexual 
organs are practically uniform throughout the family, and where 
the arrangement of the tetraspores appears to offer distinctive char- 
acters, it is probably due to the structure of the branches in which 
they are formed. In conformity with the general algological prac- 
tice, no attempt has been made to substitute dead and forgotten 
generic names for long-established ones of later date, but in some 
cases the older names are given as synonyms; this last may be 
quite a convenience for persons wishing to attach their names to 
new binomials, though not familiar with the plants in question. 
Many American forms are studied and figured, representatives 
occurring of the new genera Brongniartella, Bryocladia, Dasyopsis, 
Falkenbergia, Herposiphonia, Heterosiphonia, Lophocladia, Lopho- 
siphonia, Ophidocladus, Pterosiphonia and Wrightiella; genera, 
that is, that may be considered as new, for although most of them 
appear in Schmitz's papers previously mentioned, they now for the 
first time are given with full characters and list of species included. 
Rhodomela floccosa of our northwest coast is transferred to Odon- 
thalia, a very satisfactory place for the luxuriant, pinnately branched 
