NOTES ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME OF 
THE LARGER AQUATIC PLANTS OF LAKE MENDOTA. 
I. CLADOPHORA AND MYRIOPHYLLUM 
Henry A. Schuette and Alice E. Hoffman 
Notes from the Biological Laboratory of the Wisconsin Geological and 
Natural History Survey. XVIII. 
It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of a 
chemical analysis of several of the larger vegetative forms grow¬ 
ing upon the bottom of Lake Mendota. This information sup¬ 
plements, in a measure, similar data obtained by one of us 1 in¬ 
vestigating the biochemical nature of the lesser and unattached 
forms which live at or near the surface of the lake. 
The green material used for this study was hand-picked from 
the rocks along the shore of Lake Mendota. It was spread out 
to dry and frequently aerated in order to prevent fermentation. 
When “cured”, it was cut up into shreds and spread out again 
until thoroughly dry after which it was comminuted in a drug 
mill until it passed through a sixty-mesh sieve. The resulting 
powder was then subjected to analysis. 
Cladophora was selected because of its relative abundance and 
comparatively easy harvest. It grows quite abundantly in Lake 
Mendota, where it may be found along the shores, having been 
washed in by the waves. The plant is attached to rocks in shallow 
water by rhizoids. When undisturbed, its filamentous growth fre¬ 
quently reaches a foot in length. 
It is an alga belonging to the Siphonocladiales, an order which 
includes plants of a filamentous and usually branched growth. 
This plant is made up of large multinuclear cells. Its filaments 
have a typical apical growth. Branching takes place from the 
1 Schuette, H. A. A biochemical study of the plankton of Lake Mendota. 
Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts, and Lett. 19 : 594-613. 1918. 
34—S. A. L. 529 
