Fig. 247.—Griffithsia corallina
G. barbata, or the Bearded Griffithsia, receives its name from its very delicate fibres, which bear spherical, pink tetraspores. It seems to occur only on the south and south-west coasts, where it grows on stones or attached to other weeds. Our last example of the genus is G. corallina, which is of a deep-crimson colour, and is so jointed as to have the appearance of a coralline. Its fronds are from three to eight inches long, regularly forked, and of a gelatinous nature. The joints are somewhat pear-shaped, and the spore clusters are attached to their upper ends. It soon fades, and even if its colour is satisfactorily preserved, the pressure of the drying press destroys the beautiful rounded form of its bead-like joints. It forms a lovely permanent specimen, however, when preserved in a bottle of salt water, with the addition of a single grain of corrosive sublimate.
Fig. 248.—Halurus equisetifolius
Fig. 249.—Pilota plumosa