58 
EQTJISETACEiE. 
In barren stems the apical joints appear to be invariably 
branchless and very much attenuated, w^hile the median and 
lower joints are generally more or less branched : the inferior 
branches, especially when their insertion is submerged, are 
much stouter than the superior ones, and are often furnished 
with whorls of branches, like the main stems. 
In the vignette below I have attempted to represent the natu- 
ral appearance of the unbranched form of this species, which 
has already been alluded to as the E. limosum of Linneus, and 
the E. nudum Icdvius nostras of Ray. 
