Udotea cyathiformis Decne.

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UDOTEA CYATHIFORMIS Decaisne
Plate 3. Udotea cyathifo) ‘mis
1.	The more or less Pemcillus-\\\it (fluid-preserved) plants photographed in the
three upper rows are from Cockburn Harbor, South Caicos (Howe 5347). Natural
size.
2.	The five or six (fluid-preserved) plants of the lowest row (Bernini Harbor,
Bahamas, Hmoe3240b) represent the typical form of the species. The middle plant is
almost perfectly cyathiform, with, however, a slit down one side of the cup-like flabel-
lum ; the plant at the extreme left has a merely concavo-convex or slightly spoon-shaped
flabellum and approaches in form certain conditions of U. conglutinata. Natural size.
8-io. UDOTEA CYATHIFORMIS Decaisne
8-10. Ultimate ramifications of the corticating filaments of the stipe.
Figure 8 is drawn from no. ¿¿47 (Cockburn Harbor, South Caicos, — see Plate 3,
Figure I); 9, from 110.3976 (Cave Cays, Exuma Chain, Bahamas); 10, from no.
32406 (lie mini 11 arbor, Bahamas — see Plate 3, Figure 2 — filament taken from the
lower plant of the two at the left). All the figures are enlarged 150 diameters.
Udotea cyathiforsviis Decaisne, Ann. Sci. Nat. II. 18: 106.
Udotea conglutinata Vickers, Phyc. Barbad. i : pi.
12.
1842
1908 ;
probably also Harvey, Ner. Bor.-Am. 3: pi. 40C. 1858.
Plants 2-17 cm. high, from a bulbous, subfusiform, or fascicu-
late-funicular rhizoidal base, usually dark- or yellowish-green when
living, becoming more or less albescent on drying, moderately cal-
cified and often remaining flexible, or more encrusted with age;
stipe simple, mostly subterete, sometimes a little expanded and flat-
tened above, 0.2-5.o cm. long, 1-6 mm. wide, corticated, its sur-
face compact and smooth : transition in structure from stipe to
flabellum abrupt, the flabellum uncorticated, cyathiform, now and
then 1-5 cleft nearly or quite to the base, or more often early div-
ided to base on one side and becoming almost plane, but usually
remaining more or less concavo-convex at extreme base, then
mostly triangular-obovate, subcuneate-obovate, semiorbicular, spat-
ulate, or spoon-shaped, 1-11 cm. long, 1—9 cm. wide, subentire,
often becoming irregularly laciniate-fimbriate, rather faintly or oc-
casionally not at all zonate, the surface longitudinally strigose :
filaments of the flabellum in several or many layers, nearly straight,
parallel and rigid, somewhat flexuous and interwoven, distinct,
often suggesting those of Penicillus, each enclosed in a porose cal-
careous sheath, destitute of lateral branches or appendages, con-
stricted just above the dichotomies, 40-135 ¡1 (mostly 60-100 //)
in diameter (decalcified ; often larger under a dichotomy), pits of
the calcareous sheath rounded or angular, mostly 5-18 tx in diam-
eter ; branches forming the stipe-cortex in compact cymose-fasti-
giate clusters, the ultimate divisions scarcely longer than broad,
truncate, truncate-obtuse, or very commonly with expanded trun-
cate-capitate apices, 8—50 p. in diameter. fPLATE 3 ; plate 8,
FIGURES 8-10.]
Type locality : lies des Saintes, near Guadeloupe, West
Indies.
Distribution: Southern Florida and West Indies.
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