CRYPTOGAMIA. ALGA3. Byssus. 
141 
but every night it subsides towards the bottom. Bergius in Linn. Suec. n. 
1182. Weis says it is only a matter formed of the particles of aquatic 
plants dissolved by putrefaction, which being light rise to the surface. 
But I have reason to believe that it will prove to be a Conferva, perhaps 
C. bullosa. Observing a pond in the state of flowering , as the country 
people term it, I examined some of the water, but the particles floating 
in it were so minute that even with the assistance of a very good micros¬ 
cope, I could not satisfy myself as to their figure or structure. Later 
in the spring I found threads , not jointed, not branched, either straight 
or coiled up like a cork-screw. Some of this water kept in a glass 
jar two or three weeks longer let its contents subside, and then it 
began to appear like a Conferva. The threads soon became much 
larger, and assumed a jointed appearance. 
(Flowering or the Water. E.) Stagnant waters. A. May— Aug. 
B. phosfho'rea. Downy, violet coloured, growing on wood: (joints 
rather long. 
Sowerby 350 — Dillw. 88. E.)— Mich. 90. 3— Dill . 1. 6— Mich. 90. 8. 
Colour vivid; the plant very beautiful and delicate, much finer than the 
finest wool. 
(Violet-coloured Byssus. Conferva phosphorea. Dillwyn. Auricidaria 
phosphorea. Sowerby. Dematium violaceiim. Pers. Hook. E.) On the 
bark of trees and decaying wood. On the stump of an ash tree which 
had been cut down. Mr. Gregor. Oct.—May. 
B. ^erugino'sa. Threads very simple, of a verdigris colour. 
(jE. Dot. 2182. E.) — Dill. 1. 7. 
Consists of a woolly substance cohering together, but so fine that it is not 
easy to detect the fibres. Dill. Its colour distinguishes it. It forms an 
extremely thin crust, consisting of very minute powdery filaments col¬ 
lected into little heaps. Weis. 
(Verdigiuse Woolly Byssus. Lepraria aeruginosa. E. Bot. Achar. Hook. 
E.) On the stems of dead fern. Cole in Dill, and rotten wood. Huds. 
On the pillars of Roslin chapel, near Edinburgh. It has not been found 
elsewhere since the time of Dillenius. Dr. J. E. Smith. A. Aug.—April. 
B. purpurea. Filaments simple or branched, very short, upright; 
(joints rather long. 
Dillw. 43.— E. Bot. 192. E.) 
Very like a piece of crimson plush or velvet. 
(Crimson Plush Byssus. Conferva purpurea. Dillw. E.) B. rubra. Huds. 
Stones and rocks, especially on such as are near the sea. 
P. Jan.—Dec. 
B. ful'va. Threads upright, finely feathered; tawny, fructifications 
terminating. 
Plate XVIII. f 5. a. b — {E. Bot. 701. E.)— Dill. 1. 17. 
Of a rich tawny yellow, which colour if retains when dried. When fully 
grown about two inches high, forming tufts. Each fibre is divisible 
into other fibres, but they are all finely feathered from the base upwards. 
The ends appear more solid, of a chesnut colour, and not unlike anthers. 
When examined in the microscope, these chesnut coloured tips re¬ 
semble each other, and appear very different from the rest of the plant. 
