algal

& 8. [ALGA.] A. As adj.: Pertaining to sea-weeds, or to the botanical order of Algæ. "By clearing off the algal growth."- Tate: British Mollusks, iv. 185. B As subst.: Any individual of the Algales (q.v.). "In many algals the cellular spores are surrounded by cilia." Encyc . Brit . (9th ed.), v. 69. IMG:content-0355.jpg:[blocks in formation] Bot. An alliance of plants, belonging to the cla Thallogens, and consisting of Seaweeds and their allies. The species are flowerle , without proper leaves, but the higher species have lobed fronds formed of uniform cellular ti ue, and the sporules contained in there. The alliance contains five orders: Diatom aceæ, Confervaceæ, Fucaceæ (the typical one), Ceramiaceæ, and Characeæ (q.v.). Another division given of them is into Melanos per meæ, or olive-spored; Rhodospermeæ, or rose-spored; and Chlorospermeæ, or green-spored. In 1827, Lindley estimated the known species at 1,994. The most highly organised and typical of the Algales inhabit the ocean, their geographical distribution in it being marked, like that of plants on land;