The dichotomous species of Codium in Britain

Abstract

The nameCodium tomentosum(or its nomenclatural synonymC. dichotomum) has been applied to dichotomous representatives of the genus in the British Isles ever since the genus was established by Stackhouse in 1797. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to show that three distinct species are involved; and to clarify the nomenclature.I am grateful to the directors and curators of the following herbaria for the loan of specimens: British Museum (BM); Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (E); Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University (FH); University of Glasgow (GL); Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K); Rijksherbarium, Leiden (L); Linnean Society of London (LINN); University of Michigan (MICH); New York Botanical Garden (NY); University of Oxford (OXF); Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire de Cryptogamie, Paris (PC); Marine Bio-logical Association, Plymouth (PL); Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm (S); Trinity College, Dublin (TCD); University of California, Berkeley (UC); United States National Museum (US). Liquid-preserved and dried material, which has been placed in the Herbarium of the University of California, was kindly provided by Dr Sheila Lodge, Dr Betty Moss, Dr Mary Parke, Dr Mairfn de Valera, and Dr M. A. Wilson. Special thanks are due to Dr Mary Parke for her sustained interest, encouragement, and help in this study