Fig. 73. SPHACELARIA SCOPARIA. 



Colour. Olive-green when young; wlien old^ rusty and dark -brown. 

 Substance. Rigid; robust. 



Character of Frond. Busliy. Stem and branches jointed throughout; thread- 

 like {filiforni). Stem shaggy at base; robust; irregularly branched; 

 the main divisions spreading at their summit into dense tufts of 

 branchlets. Branches alternate; re-branched twice or even three 

 times. 



Measurement. From 2 to 4 inches long. 



Fructification. Globose seeds {spores) borne on the branchlets in winter. 



Habitat. Southern coasts of England^ common. Frith of Forth. Irish 

 coast in several places, but not common. 



This plant is prettiest in winter, when so many of its crowded branches 

 have died off, that it looks a much more suitable brother of 8. filicina than in 

 its shaggy summer state. 



Fig. 74. SPHACELARIA PLUMOSA. 



Colour. Olive-green. 

 St(bsta?ice. Rigid, but delicate. 



Character of Fro?id. Delicately bushy. Stem and branches partially jointed; 

 thread-like {filiform). Stem not jointed; many from one base; 

 smooth, longish, irregularly branched. Branches exactly opposite; 

 re-branched with short simple branchlets, like a feather (pinnate); 

 tufted or scattered; from | to Ij inch long; resembling feathers. 



Measurement. From 2 to 6 inches long. 



Fructification. Oval seeds (spores) borne on the branches in winter. 



Habitat. Several places from Orkney to the Land^s End; but much more 

 luxuriant in the north, and nowhere common. 



The branching is so irregular that specimens have often quite a ragged 

 appearance. But it is a beautiful plant, and the resemblance to a tuft of 

 feathers is striking. 



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