The English flora - SeaweedAfrica

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222 LICHENES. [Borrera.
greyish-brown bearing powdery warts, apothecia flat almost
black and pruinose with a scarcely prominent border.
Lichen Boccella, Linn.—E. Bot. t. 211.
Ach.
Dill.
Syn. p. 2 43.
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Muse. t. 17. f. 39.
Maritime rocks, in the extreme south of England. Guernsey, M.
Gosselin. Portland island, Lord Viscount Lewisham. Abundant on the
steep rocks of the Scilly islands, Hooker.—This interesting Lichen is the
famous Archill or Orchill ; Orseille of the French : which yields the most
valuable dye of all this tribe. Its several names are derived from a
Florentine family of the Oricellarii, Rucellarii, or Rucellai, one of whom,
fn the year 1300, carried on a considerable trade in the Levant, and, returning
with great wealth to Florence, first made known in Europe the
art of dyeing with this plant. Far more abundantly than with us, it is
a product of warm climates, on maritime rocks in almost every part of the
world and always growing mixed with the following species, which might
almost lead to the suspicion that they were varieties of each other. The
Canary islands formerly yielded this Lichen in abundance, whence it has
been called Canary weed ; but so great has been its consumption of late
years, that the best quality of it, whose average price is .£200 the ton,
has become extremely scarce : and what is commonly imported from
other countries is not worth £30 the ton. The English blue broadcloths
me first dyed with Archill, which gives their peculiar lustre and
purple tint when viewed in a certain light.
2. R. fuciformis, Be Cand. {flat-leaved ArchilT); thallus flat
branched nearly upright greyish-white bearing powdery warts,
apothecia pruinose bordered. Ach. Syn. p. 244 Lichen fuciformis,
Linn E. Bot. t. 728.—Dill. Muse. t. 23. /. 61.
On maritime rocks, with the preceding :—from which it is distinguished
by its much larger size, broader flat fronds, and paler colour.
Its quality too, as a dye, is greatly inferior to the preceding, as Mr.
Mackintosh assures me— The R. f)hycopsis of Ach. seems to be only a
variety of this, and almost intermediate between it and the preceding
species.
28. Borrera. Ach. Borrera.
Thallus cartilaginous, branched and laciniated, the segments
free, generally grooved beneath, the margins frequently ciliated.
Apothecia orbicular, peltate, beneath formed of the thallus ; the
disk coloured and surrounded by the elevated inflexed border
formed also of the thallus.—Named in compliment to W. Borrer,
Esq. by Acharius, who with great truth terms him " Lichenologus
eximius." The species of which it is composed are
generally plants of a southern latitude.
1. B. cilidris, Ach. (larger ciliated Borrera) ; thallus spreading
greyish-green minutely downy, the segments linear branched
ciliated especially towards the extremity, white and grooved beneath,
apothecia elevated brownish-black and pruinose concave
at length plane with a jagged border.
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Ach. Syn.p. 22 Lichen
ciliaris, Linn.—E. Bot. t. 1352 Dill. Muse. t. 20. /. 45.
Trunks of trees, frequent.
2. B. tenella, Ach. (lesser ciliated Borrera); thallus spreading
whitish-grey smooth, the segments linear subpinnatifid as-