Flora Medica

GRACILARIA.dull red colour. Fructification ; 1, capsules containing a mass ofminute roundish seeds ; 2, roundish or oblong simple granulesimbedded in the frond of distinct plants. Greville.1346. G. lichenoides Greville. Sphaerococcus lichenoidesAgardh. syst. alg. 233. Fucus lichenoides Turner Fuc. t. 113.a.f.Plocaria Candida Nees hor. berol. t. 6. In the Indian Sea.Frond cartilaginous, filiform, dichotomous ;branches spreading,acute, somewhat fastigiate. Capsules hemispherical, scattered. Agdh.Highly valued for food in Ceylon and other islands of the East.1347. G. compressa Grev. alg. britt. 125. Sphaerococcuscompressus Agdh. syst. alg. 233. Spheerococcus lichenoidesGrev. scott. vi.crypt, fl.t. 341. Devonshire.Frond cartilaginous, brittle, between cylindrical and compressed,dichotomous ;branches subdistichous, spreading, lax, gradually attenuatedto a subulate point. Grev. Very like the last ; according toMrs. Griffiths it makes an excellent pickle and preserve, when fresh.1348. G. tenax Greville. Sphaerococcus tenax Agdh. syst.alg. 238. Fucus tenax Turner Ann. Hot. ii. t. 15. hist. fuc.t. 125. Chinese seas.Frond somewhat gelatinous, slippery, filiform, dichotomous. Branchesspreading; the upper reflexed and acute. Capsules hemispherical,sessile, scattered Agdh. Used very extensively by the Chinese for thesame purposes as glue or gum arabic.CHONDRUS.Frond cartilaginous, dilating upwards into a flat, nerveless,dichotomously divided frond, of a purplish or livid red colour.Fructification, subspherical capsules in the substance of the frond,(rarely supported on littlestalks) and containing a mass of minutefree seeds. Greville.1349. C. crispus Lyngb. hydroph. dan. p. 15. t. 4. Grevillealg. britt. 129. t. 15. Sphaerococcus crispus Agdh. syst. alg.219. Fucus crispus Linn. syst. nat. ii. 718. Turner hist, fucor.t. 216, 217 Rocks and stones in the sea, very common.(Carrageen, Irish Moss.)Root a disk throwing up tufts of many fronds. Fronds 2 to 12 incheshigh, very narrow and subcylindrical at the base, but immediately becomingflat, generally dilating from the base till it becomes 3 or 4 lines wide,and then dividing repeatedly and dichotomously, each division spreading,becoming narrower than the preceding one, and taking place at shorterand shorter intervals ;the summits are bifid, the segments varyinggreatly in length, rounded or acute, straight or curved, and oftentwisted in such a manner as to give the curled appearance denoted inthe specific name. Fructification roundish or roundish-oval, subhemispherical.Capsules imbedded in the disk of the frond, prominent onone side, and producing a concavity on the other, containing a mass ofminute roundish red seeds. Substance cartilaginous, in some varietiesapproaching to horny, flexible and tough. Colour a deep purple-brown,often tinged with purplish-red and paler at the summit, becoming greenish,and at length white in decay. When dry it is considerably darker,631 s s 4