OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
433 
Order CERAMIALES Oltmanns 1904. 
Plants generally slenderly filamentous and branched, sometimes coarse, 
strap shaped, or membranous; naked or corticated, with the central fila- 
ment type of structure developing from an apical cell; asexual reproduc- 
tion by tetraspores formed after meiosis in sporangia external or more or 
less covered by the cortex of ordinary branches, or grouped in special 
sporiferous branches or stiehidia; sexual reproduction by spermatangia 
borne on the axial filaments, often in masses or covering areas of the flat 
blade-like plants, or covering special colourless brancklets (“antheridia”) ; 
and by carpogonia on carpogenie branches borne on the axial or the peri- 
central cells; typical auxiliary cells present, formed after fertilization from 
the cell supporting the carpogenie branch; gonimoblast filaments developed 
from the auxiliary to form a mass of carposporangia, which may be naked, 
partly enveloped by branchlets, or covered by a pericarp. 
This order is the highest of the Red Algae. 
Family CERAMIACEAE Oltmanns 190-4. 
Plants usually bushy, rarely sparingly branched; branches in some 
species uniseriate, in others corticated, usually cylindrical, infrequently flat; 
growth from the tip producing an axial row of cells, the apical cell divid- 
ing transversely or obliquely; unbranched colourless unsegmented hairs 
often present, also segmented or unsegmented hyaline filiform extensions 
from the tips of branches, and tufts of hyaline filaments with tri- to poly- 
chotomous branching; cortication if present usually developed first about 
the nodes, consisting of a single ring of cells, remaining thus limited or 
spreading over the internodes in more or less filamentous fashion, later 
appearing parenchymatous, or else consisting of an investment of rhizoidal 
filaments; sporangia normally formed upon sporophytic (diploid) plants, 
superficial or stalked on the branches, single or whorled at the nodes, or 
in corticated species emergent from or immersed in the cortex, ultimately 
dividing meiotically in tetrapartite or tetrahedral fashion; spermatangia 
developed on special determinate branchlets, forming small colourless 
clusters, or covering the cortex of portions of larger species; procarps 
developed on the axial cells of branchlets or on lateral or pericentral cells 
as supporting cells which sometimes also develop into determinate branch- 
lets; carpogenie branch of four cells, borne on the supporting cell which 
may also give rise to a few sterile cells and which cuts off one or two 
auxiliaries near the carpogonium; cystocarp composed of groups of goni- 
moblast filaments, depending on the presence of one or two fertile auxiliaries 
with the outer cells of the short gonimoblast filament producing the carpo- 
hvTui earpos P° ran ^ ial mass naked or enveloped in jelly or partly enclosed 
‘ oodmg filaments from below. The Ceramiaceae of the old and new 
classification appear to be identical, consisting of the same genera in each 
