116 
DICTYOTACEiE — Punctaria. 
IV. 
obovate, much attenuated at the base. Harv. Phyc. Brit. t. 228. J. Ag. Sp. Alg. 
vol. 1, p. 73. Phycolapathum plantagineum , Kiitz. Sp. Alg. p. 483. 
Hab. On stones and Alg® between tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Prince 
Edward’s Island, Dr. Jeans. Boston Harbour, G. B. Emerson , Esq. (v. v.) 
Tufted. Fronds from 6 to 12 inches long, an inch to an inch and half in breadth 
in the widest part, generally blunt, obovate or cuneate, tapering considerably to the 
base from near the middle of the membrane. The substance is thicker and more 
coriaceous than in P. latifolia and the colour always darker. But specimens occur 
which are almost intermediate in character between the two. There is also danger 
of confounding P. plantaginea with Laminaria Fascia , which has a very similar 
appearance. 
Punctaria latifolia , Grev. ; frond pale olive green, thickish, membranaceous, soft 
and tender, oblong or obovate, suddenly tapering at the base. E[arv. Phyc. Brit., 
t. 8. J. Ag. Sp. Alg. vol. 1, p. 73. Phycolapathum debile, Kiitz. Sp. Alg. 483. 
Hab. On stones and Alga? between tide-marks. Annual. Summer. Halifax, 
W. PI. H. Boston Harbour, G. B. Emerson. Flushing Bay, Long Island, Prof 
J. W. Bailey and Mr. Hooper. Fort Hamilton, N. Y. Mr. Hooper, &c. (v. v.) 
Tufted. Fronds eight to twelve inches long, and from one to three inches wide 
in the broadest part, oblong or obovate, or somewhat ovate, generally obtuse, and 
suddenly tapering at the base into a short cuneate stem, a line or two in length. 
The margin is undulate, sometimes much crisped and curled. The substance is 
thin, membranaceous, soft, and almost gelatinous to the touch when young, at which 
time it is clothed with pellucid hairs ; afterwards it is more rigid, and at length so 
coarse that it will not adhere to paper when drying. The colour, when young, is an 
extremely pale olive, inclining to green, and specimens are often found that retain 
this colour at their full size, but now and then others accompany them in which the 
colour is much darker. These approach P. plantaginea, and are then only to be 
known by the less tapering base. I retain the three species as published by Greville? 
though I admit that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them in every case. 
There are three principal typical forms, and a number of intermediate links. The 
present is much the commonest on the American shore, and after it that called P. 
tenuissima. I shall not be surprised if future botanists, when the rage for species- 
making has exhausted itself, and the tide sets in an opposite direction, shall re-unite 
these three under the old name plantaginea. 
