UNIVERSITY OF' CALIFORN IA PUBLI CATIONS IN BOTANY Vol. 6 , No. 14, pp. 377-41 6, plates 31-35 June 30, 1917 NEW PACIFIC COAST ALGAE I ~IARINE BY NATHANIEL LYON GARDNER Arthrospir a maxima Setchell et Gardner sp. nov. Plate 33, fig. 3 Natans, aeruginea, in algis aliis intermixta; trichomatibu.s 7-9p. cliam., laxe et aperte spiralibu , 3-8 fiexubus compo iti , ±0-601-' cliam., anfractibus 70- OIL inter se distantibus, non torulosi ; celluli 5-71-' longis, di sepimentis clistinctis; granulis numerosis, era sis, angulatis, refringentibusque et in dis epimenti frequenter dense aggregatis; cellula apicalibu rotundati , membrana leviter incrassatis. Trichomes 7- 9/J- cliam., forming an open regular spiral of 3- turns 40-60,u diam., 70-80,u between the turns, slightly tapering at the ends; cells 5-7, u long, not constricted, with numerous, coarse, angular, r e fringent granule frequently crowded at the partitions; end walls of the terminal cells rounded, slightly thickened; color verdigri . Floating in abundance among other species of Cyanophyceae in warm salt water. Key Route P ower-house, Oakland, California. July, 1916. The habitat of Arthrospira maxima is rather unu. ual. The alt water is pumped from San Francisco Bay into a erie of pond. of considerable size. It i. then pumped through the electric pow·er-hon e for conden. ing . team; it there becomes heated to about 60° C, and is then allowed to run out where it i cooled again to the temperature of the air before being pumped back into the power-bou e. It thu appears that the plant is subjected to the. e rather unu ual extremes of heat seYeral time. a clay and yet thrive. ahundantl~-. The genus pirulina was el'tablisbcd 'l'urpin in 1 27 (Turpin, h)' 1 27, p . 309) . H e did not mention the tran vrr. c cell wall.. The. e cell walL are quite oh. cure in the small form. of the gt>nu., ancl this fact lecl later algologi. ts to regard them a. nniccllular plant. . In 1 52, tizcnberger (1 52, p. 32) folmclecl the genu Arthrospira to 378 Universt:ty of California in Botany [VOL. 6 P~"blications receive a spirally twisted filamentous form whose transverse cell walls are plainly visible. Thus the only apparent morphological difference between the two genera is the stated difference regarding the trans verse walls. This distinction is made use of by Gomont (1892, pp. 95-96), by Forti (1907, p. 145), and by Kirchner (1900, p. 63) . By vV. employing methods of differential staining, Professor A. Setchell and I have determined repeatedly that this distinction can no longer maintain. 1'he small, tightly coiled forms are really multicellular, and hence no fundamental difference exists between the two genera. However, since the described species are few and there is not likely to be a very large number of new species added in the future, and since the forms thus far discovered fall rather naturally into two groups, those very small tightly coiled species with obscure cross walls, and those rather loosely but regularly coiled species with con spicuous cross-walls, all of which are fairly well known, it seems wise, for the sake of convenience, to retain both genera, and emend the diagnosis of Spirulina. Certain species of Phorrnidium and OsciUa. tor£a can scarcely be distinguished as to the principal generic char acter, the presence or absence of a sheath. All species of Phorrnidi'll?n are at times of active growth after formation of hormogonia without a sheath, and some well-recognized species of Oscz:llatoria may, under certain conditions, develop a sheath. I have observed this in 0. sctncta. The two genera are thus not absolutely distinct, but for convenience they are botb kept up. Again, some of the small species of both genera have very obscure In this respect they cl~oss-walls. bear the same relation to the larger species with definite cross-walls that Spintlina bears to Arthrospiraj but in neither nor Phorrnidi~"m Oscillatm·ia has this been considered sufficient to warrant generic distinction. The genus At·th1··ospira would doubtless never have been established if the real character of Sp·ind.ina had been known at the time. A very close relationship exists between Spintlina and Arthr·o Sp1'ra) on one hand, and a group of species of Lyngbya on the other, as regards the spirally twisting character. Moebius (1889, p. 312) described a new genus from Brazil which he called Spirocoleus LageT concerning which he say Diesc Alge, fiir welchc ich eine neue he1:rni~·, <' Gattung aufstellen mw::;s, steht zu Sp'ir·ttlina in demselben Verhbi.ltniss wie Lyngbya Ag. zn Oscillaria, Bose., inclem die schraubenformig gedrehten Faden mit cin er deutlichen Scheide versehen sind." Gomont transferred 1\Ioebius' species to Lyngbya, and Forti (1907, 1917] Gardnu· : A'rw Pacific Coast Jiarinc ... llyar I :ri9 p. 2 7) retains it as but al o retains Moebius' Npirocolcus as a Slt<.:lt convenient subgenus or scdion of the g-t•nus Lynubya, into which he a. ·embles, along with L. Laycrhci111 ii, six otlwr of small ~1weies dimen ,ion. , all of -which arc more or less spirally twist eel Arth ro- spira Hta.rima is not mw.:h unlike Ly11ybya spirulinoides Gomont, differing generically in tht• absence of a s lwath. IIowt•ver, the slwat h of L . spirulinoides i said to be inconspicuous. I n another instance Forti (1907, p. 207 ) has r etained Raht•Hhorst 's form vagi nata with Arthrospira. "filis subdistincte Yaginatis'' a. belonging to the genus Spirulina Turp. cm0nd. 'rrichomata multicellaria, cylinclrica, (;>vaginata, laxe aut dPnsP . piralia :pi ram laxam aut clan. am efficientia; trichomati. apex vulgo aequalis. ellula apicalis r otnndata, calyptra nulla; en<.loehroma homo genea aut cum granuli. instructa. Trichouw. multicellular, cylindrical, eYaginate, loosrly or tightly coiled into a more or less r cgnlar spiral; apex of tricl10me usually not tapering; terminal cell rounded, without calyptra; cdl contents homo gcneou or granular. Chlorochytrium Porphyrae 8etrhell et GanlnPr sp. noY. Plate 32, fig. 6 Yiride; ccllulis sphcl'icis, -±0-60/-t diam., in gel ina exteriori hos pitis ub superficies geminas positis; ehlorophoris singuli., prime parYi" clemum per plun•s ramos racliaut<>s emittt>nt1·s augescentihu: et fine pariE>tem cellularum tegentihn. : pyrenoiclr singulo. magno, in chlorophora ad partem snperiorem Ct'llnlae posito ; parietibus C!'lln larum 2-3/-t cliam., hyalin is, non laminatis; propag-atione sexuali a gametibu. biciliatis, 3--!J-t diam., fusiformilms aut f1' 1'P sphericis, per foram en ovatum in pari etc externo (gam etangii) evadcntibus; propa ga tione ascxuali a zoo:poris ant a aki1wt ibn. ignota. Cell . pherical, -±0-60/-t cliam., embrclclcd within the ho. t on hoth sides; chromatophore singlP, at first small, con'l'ing tlw upper part of the young plant, th en inerea ing· in siz0 s<'nding out . evercll h~' racliabng anus and finally covering tlw cl'1l wall; p)Tcnoid single, large, en1hcdclrcl within the chromatophor0 toward the upper part of the cdl; C<'ll wall 2-:3 diam., hyalin<', not laminatl'd; color gras - 1..c. green; sexual r eproduction hy biciliate g-ametes. :3--Jp <limn., fusiform to almost spht>rical, rsenping through the m·al OJWning in the outer wall; asexual reprodnction h;\' zoosporrs and by akinctes unknown. Growing completely c>mhedded within i.hr ouft'l' membranr of Porpl!yra prrforata f. sryrrr;ata Netl'llrll ancl IIus, Lan cls End, ~an Franci. co. California, ..April. 1916. \\.hile collecting algar in the ahoYr-mcntioued lnl'alit)·, I notit·Pcl groups of l)lcmts of Pvrph yra on rol'ks near hig-h-t itlP limit wh1l'h " 'ere considerably chnnfcd and almost as grPcu a" thL' small [ '!1•a Cniversity of Califontia Publications in Botany [VOL. 6 gro\\"ing in the arne habitat. I su pected the color to be due to the death of the plant on account of their exposed condition, but a ca nal glance with a hand lens revealed the pre ence of myriads of small pherical cells of an endophytic unicellular green alga. Material was taken to the laboratory, sectioned and studied. It was found that myriads of these plants in all stage of development were inhab iting the thick gelatinous walls of the Pm·phy-ra cell.. I began at once to ::;earch through th'e literature to determine first to what genus it seemed most closely allied, and second to determine whether it had previously been characterized specifically. rr he first task has proven to be by no means a simple one. rrhe second one was fairly readily decided. Nothing, so far as I have been ahl(' to determine, has yet been discovered that is just like it. It seems certainly to belong to the Protococcaceae, and seem mo. t closely related to the two genera Chlo'rochytriwn Cohn and ChlOt·ocystis Rt•inhardt. The limits of these two genera are not well defined, which makes it more or less presumptuous on the part of any one who attempts to ally, with much degree of certainty, a new . pecies with either. Recently West (1916, p. 212) has gone so far as to reduce C'ltlorocystis, along with three other genera of \Ville's group Enclosphacr cae to synonomy, retaining Chlm·ochytriwn, it being the olde!:it, as sufficient to include the other three, which were founded npon cl1aracters which in his judgment arc of minor importance, not cardim1l cnought to be ranked as generic. A brief resume of some of t he more important writings concerning these two genera may be of some value at this juncture. It is not intended to be complete by any means. l\1any other valuable papers b<'aring on the subject have been 'rhe chief points eon~ulted. at variance between the two genera are, the method of formation of ''gametes'' and ''zoospores,'' the matter of their conjugation, the number of their cilia, the shape of the chromatophore. and the num lH'r of pyrrnoicls. Chlorochytri is the older of the two genera, and w·as established um by Cohn in 1 72 (1 72, p. 87), ba.rd upon a form endophytic in the fronds of Lrm na trisulca, which he namNl C. Lcmuae. H e says of th<• zoo!:lpore formation : '' plasmate viric1P primum in segmenta majora cliviso, dein secedente in zoosponts innumeras pyriformes vi rides proccssihus tu extm; rmissas. '' 'rhis method of zoo bu1osi~ spor e formation docs not conform to that occurring in the plant under considcl'ation in Porphyra. Wright ( 1879, p. 355) published a n ew species of Chlorocltytn·wn which he dcd icatr>cl to Professor Cohn. 1917] New Pacific Coast Marine Algae I 381 Ga~rdner : The most essential differrnce, he says, between it and Cohn's C. Lenmae is the production of two kinds of zoospores, each kind having but a single cilium (concerning which he was very much in doubt), and in the method of their formation, of which he says, ''On the cell arriving at an adult stage the whole of the green protoplasmic con tents divides into a number of from ten to thirty, nearly circular, zoospores, which escape through the neck-shaped portion.'' H e was not wholly satisfied tl1at the form should be placed in the genus Chlm·ochyt1·ium as diagnosed by Cohn, but placed it there more or less provisionally. One infers that these ''zoo pores'' escape singly, and not . imultaneously within a gelatinous utricle in the manner reported by later workers as occurring in the genus Chlm·ochytrium. Kjellman (1 83, p. 320) described Chlorochytn.um 1:ncluswn stating that it has a , ingle chromatophore covering the entire wall. H e states that a large number of ''zoospores'' are produced, but did not state the manner of their formation, the number of their cilia, nor their method of escape. De Toni (1889, vol. 1, p. 635 ) in diag nosing the genus says of the chromatophore '' discif orme, '' and of the reproduction ''zoospores sexualia vel neutra, '' that these reproduc tive bodies have two cilia and are formed by repeated cell division. Wille (1 97, p. 65) diagnosed the genus as having a single parietal chromatophore with many pyrcnoids, zoospores with four cilia, and gametes, both reproductive bodies formed by successive cell clivi ion, and that the gametes escape in a mass a membrane ~urroundecl b~~ in which they conjugate. H e did not add an)' new features to the diagnosis in theNa chtriige which he published in 1911. The diagno is given by Collins (1909, p . 146 ) is very similar to that of Wille, but he states that each kind of reproductive body ha two cilia. The genus ChloTOC.lJstis was e tablished by R einhardt in 1 5 based upon material collected near Odes a on the Black • ea, which he con. idered to be the same a that found by '\Vright on the coa t of Ireland upon which he founded his species Cltlorochytriwn Colznii. Chlorocystis was publi. heel in Russian and 1 have not acces. to the original paper, but I J1ave and have made traciDgs of the draw s~:cn ings. J11dging from the drawings and the reviews of Reinhardt ·s text, as compared with the drawing. and description. of Wright, I find myself in accord with West (1916, p. 212 ). It to me that ~ecms the difference between Chlorochytriwn Lem nae. of Cohn and the two collections of plants of V\rright and Reinhardt, a. suming that they are the same species hardly ·warrant the e. tablishm<'nt of a new 382 Unive'rsity of Californ·ia P'l(,blicat1.ons in B otany [VOL. 6 genus ; that "\Vright 's species, though perhaps incompletely diagnosed, should r emain in the genus Chlorochytrium of Cohn, as pointed out by W est, and that Reinhardt 's species from the Black Sea should also be placed in the same genus but given different specific rank, and re named. I therefore propose the name ChlorochytriU?n R e·inhardh.i. l\1oore (1900, p. 100) wrote concerning a plant found by him at Lynn, Massachusetts, growing on Enteromorpha, which he reluctantly re f en·ed to Chlorocystis Cohnii. The plant is well figured and care fully described. If compared with that which seems now to be the general concensus of latest opinions as to what ar e the most important characters that should constitute the genus Chlorochytriurn, lVIoore 's plant should be allied with that genus, but is unlike any described species of the genus. I propose the name Chlorochytr-ium M ooreii for the form. It has been distributed in Collins, Holden and Setchell, Phycotheca B oreali-Arnericana (Exsicc. ), no. 565, as Chlorocystis Cohnii (\Vright) Reinh. There still remain several phases in the life-history of Chlorochy tri'lint Porphyrae to be worked out. At the time of collecting the plant, the host, Porphyra, was nearing the end of its life-history, that is, the majority of the plants were in the fruiting condition. There are, however, a few plants of this species to be found at all seasons of the year, and the basal parts of the old plants r emain for some time after the plant f ruits. Probably the endophytic C. P m· phyrae remains in these older parts over the season unfavorable for growth and infects the newer generations as they appear. rrhe plants become complet ely embedded within the host and no tube is left behind through which the gametes escape. There is but a single chromatophore, at first covering only the posterior, outer part of the cell. This incr eases in size, at times thrusting out projections some times becoming a network but finally practically always covering the cell wall. In this earlier stage it resembles the chromatophore figured by Reinhardt, the principal charact er upon which he founded his genus Chlorocyst·is. C. Porphyrae differs radically in the method of gamet e formation from that described by Reinhardt in his account of the Black Sea plant. The cell divides first into two equal parts, then successively into four, eight, sixteen, etc., up to five hundred or mor e, depending upon the size of the plant, which may be ex ceedingly variable ; whereas in Reinhardt 's plant the ''zoospore'' formation is by free cell division. Miss Whitting 's Chlorocystis Sarcophyci seems to follow the 1917] Gardner: New Pac·ific Coast :Marine Algae I 3 3 method outlined by Reinhardt in zoospore formation. She states, however, that the cells at times divide into several large sections prior to spore formation, bnt is unable to interpret the function of such division. It may pas ibly be that these are the earlier . uccessive divisions which usually result in spore or gamete formation, but which for some reason have been arre ted in development. l\Ioorc 's plant follows the same method as that of C. P m·ph y1·ae in the matter of the formation of reproductive bodies. Wille and Moore report ''zoospores'' with four cilia. Concerning this point my observations are incomplete with reference to C. Porphyrac. The reproductive bodies formed in this species, so far as I have observed, are gametes. '"fhey have two cilia. I have observed them in great abundance) and have observed their conjugation. The gametes escape singly through the surface aperture, instead of the entire mass intact within a utricle as reported for certain species, e.g. that found by Moore. There is but a single large pyrenoid in C. Pm·phyrae, agreeing in this respect with C. lVIooreii and C. Reinhardti:i. Wille characterizes the genus Chlorochyt?·i,urn as having many pyrenoids, but West looks upon that character more as specific than as generic. West (1916, p. 212) i, of the opinion that the shape of a chromato phore can not ordinarily be considered of sufficient stability to be used as a primary basis of generic distinction. I am inclined to agree with him on this point. Both lVIoore and I have shown that in the forms upon which we have worked the shape of the chromatophore is extremely variable, at times pas essing radiating, flattened lobes, only partly covering the cell wall, but usualJy at maturity covering the entire wall. The four genera which We t has merged into Chlo1·ochytrillln Cohn ( '72) are Endosphae'ra Klebs (' 1), Scotinosphaera Klebs (' 1), Chlorocystis Reinhardt (' 5), and tomatochytrium Cun ningham ( '88). 'J:'hey all agree in being holophytic, unicellular, spherical or nearly so, wholly or partially endophytic plants with a single chromatophore, covering the wall more or les. completely and containing one or more pyrenoids. Reprodnction is by· gametes or by zoosphores or by both. The plant which l have eli. covered and described above, growing in PorphyHc. pos esscs these characters and I have consequently allied it with the genus Chloroclzytn·um in the larger sense of West. ChloTochytn'wn P orphyraC' differ principally from Chlorochy lll ooreii in having on]y biciliate gametes, as far a kno"rn, in- t?·i'um 3 -! Vniversity of California Publications in Botany [VoL. 6 tead of quadriciliate zoo pore. of two size , as stated by ·l\Ioore; in being completely embedded within the ho. t, making entrance without the formation of a tubelike projection characteri tic of C. 11l ooreii in tho. e instance in which it partially embed. itself; and in size, being 40- 60JL diam. as compared with 16-26JL in C. JJi ooreii. It differs from Chloroclzytrium R rinhardtii in size and in the hape of the chromato phore; C. Reinlwrcltii differs from C. Colznii Wright in hape, size, characters of chromatophore, and reprocluctiYe bodies. Gayella constricta etchell et Gardner sp. noY. Plate 33, fig . 3-9, and Plate 32, .fig. 5 Filamenti , atro-viridibu., nanis, fa culati , 1-4 mm. altis, ba i 1 -20JL, apice ad diam., cylindrico-clavatis, uncinatis, frequenter 175,~-t intervallisque constrictis, basi parce ramosi ; cellulis discoideis, 10-15,~-t cliam., primo et infero totaliter serie singulari, superne longitudinaliter u in glomerulis et in duobus aut multioribu planitiebus clivi et diam etron filarn entorum augescentibu ; filamenti. plerumque cylindrici longe ad basem attenuatis, apice crassi . imi ·, maturis pa im (glomeru lis aliquibus cellularum non dividentibus) lC'nte constrictis; parietibu cellularum hyalinis, non strato:i., transverRi. valde tenuibus; chloro phora singula, celluJam totam fere occupantibu. ; pyreuoide obscura. Filaments small, dark green, some""'"hat tufted, 1-:1: mm. high, 1 - 20JL diam. at the base, up to 175JL at the apex, cylindrical-clavate, uncinate, con. tricted at frequent interval. , paringly branched at the base; cells di k-shaped, 10-15JL diam., at first in a single serie throughout, remaining so for some distance at the base, hnt dividing in groups longitudinally in two or more p1ane. above, increasing the diameter of the filament and pre. erving it. cylindrical form in general though gradually becoming larger, the terminal group of cel1s having the greatest diameter; at frequent interval groups of 2-6 cells remain undivided vertically, giving a constricted appearance to the mature plants; cell walls hyaline, homogeneous; cross-walls very thin; chromatophore single, occup)·jng nearly the entire cell; pyrenoid ob. cure. Growing in dt>prr. ion. and crevice. in rock, above high-tide level, kept moist by claRhing salt spray. Tomalr. P oint, at the mouth of Tomales Bay, l\Iarin County, alifornia. This plant "·as found growing on exposed rock in company with a . 1wcies of Prrtsiolrt. It is a rather unusnal c0incidence that the only other known srwc·irs of Gayclla, viz. G. polyrhiza, is al. o frequentl~· f ound a. sociatt·d with a spccit>s of Prasiola. T his has led to the belief that Gay ella is mrre1y a :tagr in the life-history of Prasiola, and in dN·d Bprge. (1902, p. -1 2) states that he has found the transition l'll stages between Oayrlla polyrhi:a and Prasiola crispa. Collin (1909, • 1917] Ga rdner : New Pacific Coast 11larin.e Algae I 3 5 p. 222) has retained the two genera separate, however, tating that it is difficult to e tablish eli -tinctions among Gayella, chizogo 11 i H m and P rasiola. I have had Ga.yella constricta under ob ervation for over eighteen months, having the material of it and the accompanying Prasiola growing in the laboratory for over eight month . In some areas on the rock the two plants ar e intermingled, but in others they arc entirely separate, and the two can be distinguished by size and color, the Prasiola being larger and the Gayrlla much deeper green. There has not yet appeared the slightest indications of a metamorpho is of one into the other, though many new plants have started. The evi dence thus far at hand is that the. e two forms should be kept as distinct genera. I have compared Gayella const't£cta with the material of Gayella polyrhiza Rosenvinge, as distributed in Collins, H olden and Setchell, Phycotheca Boreali-Am e'ricana, no. 914. This distribution, though to a large degr ee comparatively young, seems to be quite typical, agreeing very closely with the descriptions and figures by Rosenvinge (1 93, pp. 936- 939) . It possesses abundance of rbizoids, which in this instance are mere prolongations of single cells remaining undi vided. G. consttticta differs from G. polyrhiza in having fevver rhizoids and these u ually much longer and mnlticellular; in having deep constrictions in the mature filaments caused failure of certain b~T cells to divide vertically; and in the filaments being· uncinate. Myelophycus intestinalis f . tenuis Setchell et Gardner forma noY. Caespito us, incon picue tortus, 1.5-2.5 em. altus, 0.25- 0.75 mm. cliam.; . porangii. unilocnlaribus late ellipticis, .J:0---±5,u longi , 30-35,u latis; singulis aliis ut in specie. Plants caespito e, inconspicuously 1.5-2.5 em. high, .25- t~risted, .75 mm. cliam.; uuilocular sporangia broadly elliptical, -±0-45,u long, 30-35,u wide; otherwise as the species. GrmYing on rocks, usually in shf:'ltered localitie at high tide lc.~vPl or even above, where the spray da ·J1 es. Common on the central 1ali forilla coast, and known as far north as Coos Bay, Oregon. The type locality is F ort P oint, San Francisco, California. rrhis form from the species chiefly in size and in habitat. differ.~ When the coast between Coos Ba)' and Pngrt i. more thor ~onnd oughly investigated forma t rnuis will doubtle:s he found growing lower and lower down in the littoral belt a " rell as becoming larger and larger northward , merging into the Puget ound form. 386 ·c niversity of Californz:a Pttbliaati:ons in Botany (VoL. 6 Pelvetia fastigiata f. gracilis Setchell et Gardner forma nov. Profuse dichotomo-ramosa; ramis centralibus longioribus, externis curtioribus, plant am totam plus minusve sphericam efficientibus; ramellis curtis densisque ad basem frequenter orientibus; frondibus gracilibus, ramis terminalibus 1- 3 mm. diam. Plants profusely dichotomously branched, central branches becom ing much longer than those on the outside of the mass, giving to the whole plant a m01·e or less spherical outline; frequently branches arise from near the base and develop a mass of short branchlets ; fronds slender, the terminal branchlets 1-3 mm. diam.; fruiting in the sum mer and autumn. Growing in the middle of the littoral belt. Carmel Bay, Pacific Grove and Santa Catalina Island, California. In these localities plants grow in groups quite separate from the typical P. fastigiata . The type locality is Carmel Bay, California. This form, though morphologically connected with the species by plants intermediate in size, seems to be sufficiently distinct to warrant a form name on account of its profuse and delicate branches, and different fruiting season. Plants of forma gracilis begin fruiting early in the summer and r each their climax in the late fall, whereas those of P. fastigiata r each their maturity two or three months later. Sargassum dissectifolium Setchell et Gardner sp. nov. Sargassum, p·il'Ltlifentrn (Turn .) Ag., F arlow, Anderson and Eaton, Alg. Exsicc. Amer .-Bor., no. 102; Collins, Holden and Setchell, Phyc. Bor.-Am. (Exsicc.), no. 537 a, not b. Not C. Ag., Sp. Alg., 1823, p. 27. Not Yendo, Fucaceae Japan, 1907, p. 54. Not F1wus pil'Ltlif e-r Turn ., I-Iist. Fus., vol. I, 1808, p. 145, pl. 65. P er enne, dioicum; radice salida, rugosa, plus minusve discoidea; stipite tereti, usque ad 18 em. longa, apice 2-5 ramos teretes alter n osque post fru ctificationem dissolutos fcrentibus; ramis primariis ramellos steriles (folia ), alternos, frequenter dense congestos, den droidc et dichotomo in 15-25 segmentis parce complanatis, 2-3 em. longis, costatis, dissectos, gerentibus; ramis vetustis oribus projectis curtis spinosis plus minusve ramosis inclutis; ramis secondariis numerosis ex axillis superne curtioribus, inferne longioribuR ori entibus, folia depauperata eornrn frondium principalium similia gerentibus vesiculas et receptacula in axillis producentibus ; vesiculis vuJgo solitariis, levibus sphaericis, 3.5-6 mm. diam., in apicibus peclicellorum diametron vesiculorum aequantorum ; r eceptaculis in axillis segmentorum stirilium dense dendroide congestis, multo vesi cula aut folio depauperate ornatis; frondibus fructiferis saepe nudis, foliis disintegrantibus; conceptaculis conspicuis; cryptostomatibus . nnmeros1s. Frond arising from a solid, rugose, more or less disk-shaped hold fast, 4.5- 7 dm. high; stipe t erete, up to 18 em. long, bearing 2- 5 tcrete, alternate branches at its summit, distintegrating after fruiting;