Fig. 23. ALARIA ESCULENTA. 
Colour. A fine, bright olive when young ; olive-brown when old. 
Substance. Thin and tender, all but the midrib, which is gristly. 
Character of Frond. A long, flat, ribbon-like, midribbed leaf. It grows on a stem, which at 
a certain age puts forth several small, flat, ribless leaflets on each side. Margins 
entire, except when torn. Eoot fibrous. 
Measurement. From 2 to 12 feet or more, long. 
Fructification. Minute seeds (spores) imbedded in the leaflets wMch fringe the stem, thickening 
and darkening them. 
Habitat. Our northern shores generally. On rocks at low water-mark. 
Plentiful in the lower ledges of rocks on the north side of Filey Bridge. The midrib is 
said to be eaten in many places. 
Fig. 24. LAMINARIA DIGITATA. 
Colour. From green to brownish olive ; varying according to age. 
Substance. Very tough ; leathery. 
Character of Frond. A flat, leafy expansion ; ribless ; growing from a stem. Stem, when 
full-grown, solid ; woody ; as thick as a walking-stick ; from 1 to 6 feet long. Ex- 
pansion, rounded below ; above, cut (except in extreme infancy) into several narrow 
slips (segments). Eoot, woody fibres. 
Measurement. Stem, from 1 to 6 feet long. Expansion, from 1 to 5 feet long ; from 1 to 3 
feet wide. 
Fructification. Minute seeds (spores) imbedded here and there in the surface of the frond, 
thickening it, and forming cloudy patches. 
Habitat. Our coasts generally. On rocks at low-water mark ; common. 
Popularly known as “ The Great Tangle,” “ Oar-weed,” or “ Sea Girdles.” The figure 
represents a plant which has just changed its coat ; having grown a new one and thrust the 
old out of house and home ! A sort of moulting in fact, on the principle of a deciduous tree, 
changing its leaves. The stem should have been coloured darker, being the older growth. 
The process is characteristic of the Laminarias. 
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