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Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

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SEAWEEDS<br />

is paler <strong>and</strong> thinner than that of the widest ulva.<br />

When young the sea lettuce is said to form an in-<br />

flated bag, somewhat like a small toy balloon. Later,<br />

this splits along the side <strong>and</strong> floats out, making a thin<br />

leaf of but one layer of cells. This plant is not quite<br />

so common as the larger one.<br />

The ulva is one of the <strong>seaweeds</strong> that lives but a<br />

year. It is often found on the beach in the winter,<br />

but it is most abundant during the spring <strong>and</strong> summer<br />

months.<br />

FUCUS, OR ROCKWEED<br />

The rockweeds are said to make up about one-half<br />

of our <strong>seaweeds</strong>. They are of different kinds. Three<br />

are found on our Atlantic coast, <strong>and</strong> one is common<br />

on the Pacific coast.<br />

The <strong>plants</strong> are large, tough, <strong>and</strong> leathery. When<br />

fresh, they have a distinct olive-green color, but they<br />

become almost black when dry. They grow in thick<br />

bunches, attached to the rocks by cone-shaped disks<br />

or holdfasts. When the tide goes out they hang from<br />

the rocks like long fringe. When it rises again, they<br />

float <strong>and</strong> sway in the water like huge bouquets. Some-<br />

times the spore cases are scattered over the entire<br />

frond. In other <strong>plants</strong> they are found at the ends<br />

of the branches.<br />

The rockweed that is the most common is called<br />

136

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