Plate XIV. 
Fig. 55. MESOGLOIA VERMICULARIS. 
Colour. Brownish olive. 
Substance. Soft ; thick ; gelatinous ; slipping from the hand. 
Character of Frond. Cylindrical ; unequally distended ; branched. Branches long, worm- 
like, clumsy, attenuated at each end ; irregularly set on a stem which is occasionally 
forked. Branchlets long, wavy ; like the branches. 
Measurement. From 1 to 2 feet long. 
Fructification. Minute seeds (spores) concealed in the substance of the frond. 
Habitat. Our shores generally. On rocks and stones between tide-marks. Pretty common. 
The slippery, worm-like feel of the Mesogloias renders the family easy of recognition ; and 
M. vermicularis is much darker-coloured, thicker, and more clumsily formed than the others. 
Fig. 56. MESOGLOIA GRIFFITHSIANA. 
Coloxir. Bather pale olive-green, becoming greener in fresh water. 
Substance. Soft ; gelatinous ; slimy ; slipping from the hand. 
Character of Frond. Cylindrical, slender, equal throughout ; branched. Branches long, nearly 
simple, on each side a stem ; mostly alternate ; a few branchlets here and there. 
Surface covered with colourless, cobweb-like hairs which only show under water. 
Measurement. From 8 to 16 inches long. About the thickness of a crow’s quill. 
Fructification. Minute seeds (spores) concealed in the substance of the frond. 
Habitat. South of England. West of Ireland. In rock-pools between tide-marks. Bare. 
Very like Ghordaria ftayelliformis in general growth, hut differing in structure. 
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