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Show 2 The Hijlory of .P , L A N T S. .S U B M A- R I N E S. Clafs the Firjl. Genus the Firfl. MYCEDIUM. M. Y C E DJT)"M is a geilUil of SubJllarines of a 1¥r4 and fiony-fubfr.ance, not branched, ,egularly .cavermofe and 1amella~ed; for~~~ of gyn, or. n~ges very hard, and folid, furroundmg the furface, or r-unmng over l!t m vanous.. wmdmgs and meanders, and leaving oblong, winding or undul~ted, cavities. between th~m, which cavities are filled up ~ith a matter of tf1e fapte kmd, formed mto very thm plates or lamellre of various firuCl:ure. · No part of fruCtification has ever qeen difcovered in any fpecies of this genus. Thefe plants, from the\r refemblance to the Fungi in their ~rutture and lamell::e, have been called by authors in general Fungi marini; to prevent confufion from fimilar founds we have called them Mycedia, from the. Greek f.J.Vx.~, fungus. . 1 • Mycedium conv_~xum gyris j'ulcat!~~ __ __ -- ~~tnft-attt. ~ The convex Mycedium with Julcated gyri. This is one of the ' largefl of this genus. It is affixed to a rock, or other folid b'Ody~a -cnrrfiderably·broad bafe ;- fronrthis-it ·extend~-1tfdf.mto-Ml -in~gu{m-ly-·eonvex figure, fometimes globular, fometimes gibbofe, and [ometimes more flat. It grows very fi-equently to ten inches dr a foot in diameter; : fometimes to two feet -or more. It is rompofed .of. a multitude of .gfri or ridges, running in undulated figures, and di~ varicating into a multitude of others, which in many places grow to one another again. . Thefe ridges are of a very folid matter, and of a white colour; they ar.e broader than a large packthread, and are {ulcated or marked 'Yith a depreffion all the way along their middle. The interfiices between thefe gyri are furniilied with lamellre, or thin plates of the fame hard matter, difpofed in a double row in each interftice. Thefe leave a multitude of fmall unequal cavities between them. The great irregularity of the difpofition of the gyri renders thefe interfiices of various figures ; they are ufually oblong, but fometimes a few round ones are formed here and there: thefe form perfeCt refemblanccs of the Afiroites or fiarry coral. The interftices between the gyri are large. T his fpecies is extreamly common on the iliores of America, and on thofe of the Eaft Indies ; we . know it in England under the name of the Brainftone, a name given it from its refembling in fame degree the appearance of the brain. Boerhaave calls it Fungus maritimus coralloides undulatus; and Ray, Lapis fungites cerebriformis. 2. M;·cedium convexum gyris integris. Tbe co11,vex Mycedium .with undivided gyri. This is a lefs common, but a much more beautiful fpecies than the former. It grows from a large bale affixed to a rock, to a very confiderable fize: a foot in diameter is not uncommon with it. It is fome~imes highly convex on the furface, but it more ufually dfes lefs, and that in an irregular manner, fome parts of its furface being much higher than others. I t is all over undulated with gyri, which run in a beautiful ~rregularity over it, and join and divaricate again fo frequently, that the configuration IS firangely confufed. Thefe gyri are very ilender, and the interftices, from their great number in the mafs, . are very fmall between them. The gyri are not fulcated as in the former fpecj es, but rife up in ridges, when perfeCt, though they are generally worn down to a flatnefs by the motion · of the water. The lamell::e between thefe are very fine, and arranged in a double row, forming very fmall cavities between them. This grows on the {bores of Barbadoes, and in many other parts of the Weft Indies. It is fometih1es met with in the !hops with us, confounded with the other under the common name of Brainfione. Beiler defcribes it under the name of Maffa coralloides tnaris fluCl:uationem repr<:efentans. 3· Mycedium The Hij}ory of P LAN 1' s. 3. Mycedium cavatunt undulatum. The Hollowed undulated Mycediunt. This is a· very elegant body. It's general ftrutture is the fame with that of the con..: vex kinds, but it differs extreamly from them in figure. It grows to the rocks by a {mall bafe, not ~bicker than a wheat-firaw; from this it expands itfelf every way, till at an inch height it is often two inches in diameter, and from this it expands to three fou r, or more inches. From the bafe to within half an inch of the top, it is ufually fmooth; from this part to the edge it is firiated ; and it's top is very beautifully undulated . It's circumference is a deeply finu ated line, and the two fides come every-where {o ncar one another, as to leave but about half an inch for the lamellre. The margin terminates every-where in a thin edge. The lamell::e £11 up the intermediate fpace in a double feries, joined as in the others by an opake white line of a fpungy texture in the middle; the lamell::e are very fin~ly ferrated, and, as they do not ftand very clofe to one another, they make a beauttful appearance. The whole plant is white as fnow, and of th.e hardnefs of marble. It grows on the Chores of the Baltic in great abundance, and IS found alfo on thofe of the Eafl and W efl Indies. Beiler defc ribes it under the name of Fungus faxeus minor, and Sir Hans Sloane under that of Fun-gus lapideus minor undulatus. · 4· Mycedium obverfe conicum. The inverted conic Mycedium. This is ~ ~uch more fi.mple fpecies t~an. ~n~ of the former in its external appearance, b?t It I.s more beautiful th.an moil: m Jt s mternal ftrutture. It grows to an inch or. t\~o. m he1ght, and to th~ th1~knefs of a man's thumb; fometimes much larger, but this IS Its ufual fiandard. It IS affixed to the rocks by a fmall and ilender bafe . from this it .gradually enlarges, and grows into the form of. a~ inverted c~ne, the 'top being w1der than. any other part. The external furface IS Irregularly finated, the limb or verge beautifully u nd~lated, and the whole cavity is filled up with thin, but long and broad lamell::e, nfing from all parts of the mternal furface, and meeting in or near the center; th~fe do n?t fiand very clofe, but leave deep, fimple hollows between them. The .whole IS fomettmes of a pure, fine white, fometimes of a brownilh white colour, an~ ~s of .a hard and fi?nf texture. .This is the ufual appearance of this pl~nt, . but 1t ts fu bJ.eCt to great va~Iatwn.s ;. fomettmes it grows to a much greater length, w1th little. more thtcknefs ; fometimes It IS {horter and broader, and fometimes feveral plants of It grow one out of another, in the manner of the cups in the proliferous cup mo!fes; in this lafl: fiate, it makes a vet y elegant figure. It is found, in all its variety of appearances, about the coafts of the Eafi Indies and not un freq~1en ly o.n thofe of America. Beiler has defcribed this under the name of Fungus corall01des pez1zx forma; others called it Fung~s f.:1xeus vulgaris. 5. Mycedium patulum cancellatum. Open cancellated Mycedium. This is a yet more elegant plant than the conic Mycedium; it rifes like it from a fma~l bafc, and gr~d,ually expands to a c~nfiderably wide mouth. It's ufual height is an Inch an .ha_lf, Its breadth ~bou t an mch: It's external furface is fl:riated pretty deeply, ~nd ts li&htly rnarke? w1th tra~fverfe hnes. It's edge is undulated, and the ex panfion IS. f01~et1mes roun~1ili, fomettmes oblong, and of[en perfeClly irregular. It's / wh?le cavity IS .fill~d up With long and fine lamell::e, which form cavities between them, which are agam Intercepted by regular tranfverfe flakes, of the fame fubfiance with the lamell::e themfelves, and equally thin. This is a very beautiful plant in this it's common J1ate; but nature frequently luxuriates and forms oblong bodies, compofed of ~cveral of thefe placed on one another. It's colour is white, and its texture fiony. It IS fo~nd about the iliores of Italy, on thofe of fame of the iilands of the Archipelago and ~n ~any oth~r places. Some of the old botanical writers have left us imperfect defcnpuons of thts, under the name of the Alcyoicum quintum Diofcoridis. • 6. Mycedium |