The Sporochnaceæ have inarticulate, thread-like fronds, and the spores are contained in oblong, stalked receptacles, each of which is crowned with a tuft of slender jointed filaments. The typical genus contains only one British species—Sporochnus pedunculatus—and even that is by no means common. It is, however, a very pretty weed of a delicate texture and pale olive-green colour. Its stem is long and slender, pinnately branched, and the branches bear numerous small thread-like tufts.
The same order contains the genus Desmarestia, in which the frond is long and narrow, thread-like or flattened, with a tubular jointed thread running through it. Young specimens have marginal tufts of branching filaments. The species decay very rapidly after removal from the water, and should therefore be dried and mounted as quickly as possible. D. ligulata, so named from the flat, strap-like frond, is common on all our coasts. It is pinnately branched, and all the branches and branchlets taper towards both ends. D. viridis has a cylindrical, thread-like and freely-divided frond, with opposite branches and branchlets. It occurs more commonly on the northern shores.
Fig. 272.—Desmarestia ligulata
The last order of olive-spored weeds is the Fucaceæ, some species of which are so abundant between the tide-marks, from high-water to low-water levels, that they form a very important characteristic of our shores. They are mostly large, tough, and leathery weeds, without joints, and the spores are contained in spherical receptacles embedded in the substance of the frond.
In the typical genus—Fucus—the root is a conical disc, and the frond flat or compressed and forked. Most of the species are furnished with one-celled air-vessels in the substance of the frond, and these serve to buoy up the plants and keep them more or less erect when submerged. The spore-receptacles are usually embedded near the tips of the branches, but are sometimes borne on special branches or shoots. They are filled with a slimy mucus and contain a network of jointed filaments. The weeds are very hardy, capable of withstanding long exposures to air and sun, and are sometimes to be found above high-water mark, where they are watered only by the spray of the waves for a brief period at intervals of about twelve hours. Although they are not usually looked upon as ornaments in the collector’s herbarium, they will repay examination for the tufts of smaller and more beautiful weeds to which they often give attachment and shelter.
Four species are common on our coasts, and these may be readily distinguished by the most cursory examination. The Serrated Wrack (F. serratus) has a flat, forked frond with toothed edges and a strong midrib, ranging from one to four feet long, and no air-vessels. The Knotted Wrack (F. nodosus—Plate VII.) may be known by its flattened, thick and narrow frond, without a distinct rib, from one to five feet long. The branches are narrow at the base, pointed at the tip, and are jointed to short projections on the main stem; and both these and the main stem have very large oval air-vessels. The spore-receptacles are mounted on slender stalks which arise from projections on the branches, and are of a bright yellow colour when mature. This species does not grow so near to high-water mark as do the others. Another species, the Twin-Bladder Wrack (F. vesiculosus—Plate VIII.)—is abundant everywhere along the coast, and is largely used by agriculturists both as manure and as fodder for cattle. The frond is flat, with a distinct midrib, and a non-serrated edge. Air-vessels are not always present, but when they are they usually occur in pairs, one on each side of the midrib, and are globular in form. The spore-receptacles are situated at the tips of the branches, are full of mucus, and are frequently forked. The last of the common species is the Channelled Wrack (F. canaliculatus—Plate VIII.), distinguished by a narrow frond, rounded on one side and channelled on the other. It has no midrib or air-vessels, and the fruit is contained in forked receptacles at the tips of the branches. This is the smallest of the genus, and may be found at all levels between the tide-marks. Stunted specimens may also be seen in situations where they are never submerged, but watered only by the spray of the highest tides.
