CONFERTA, a genus of plants of the natural order alga!, sub-order confercacete (or order confervacecc). The plants of this genus consist of simple or branching jointed fila ments, which are filled with green—seldom purple or red—matter, and are found in abundance in water—sonie of them in fresh, and some in salt water—and on moist earth. C. ricularis, a species common in brooks, is sometimes 2 to 4 yards in length, and was formerly used as an application to wounds and slight burns. This and other species are sometimes called crow silk, and are used in some places for stuffing mat tresses. C. rupestris often covers whole rocks on the sea-coast. a crispa sometimes forms a close entangled layer on inundated land, and has received the name of water flannel. C. ergagropila, sometimes called moor ball, is found in lakes and ponds, where it floats about freely in the water, its filaments forming an entangled ball, capable of being employed as a pen-wiper.—The name C. is not always strictly limited to the genus, but is extended to many of its near allies. Among the conferracew—or confervals- however, are included many plants, as the different kinds of laver, which have a flat and not a thread-like frond. Many also consist of cells immersed in a slimy matter. The conferracew grow by the division and sometimes by the branching of cells; repro duction takes place by spores, formed in the interior of the cells, and which at last arc discharged through the walls of the mother-cell. The very interesting phenomenon of
the conjugation (q.v.) of cells has been observed in them. The spores assume the char acter of zoospores (q.v.), exhibiting movements which resemble those of animals, before leaving the mother-cell, and retain this character for some time after escaping from it. Confercacea' are found plentifully even in mineral waters. Their great abundance often gives a color to the whole water of tanks, marshes, etc. The Red sea is said to derive its name from the color sometimes given to the surface of its waters, for distances as great as the eye can reach, by small conferracew. The yeast-plant has been ranked among confercacca, but is more generally regarded as one of the fungi. Other vegetable organisms which appear in liquids of the most various kinds, and which have also been ranked among confervaear, are more probably the mycelium of imperfectly developed fungi. The plants noticed in the article ALG.E as appearing in diseased conditions of animals, are regarded as confereaceee. —The lavers are almost the only confcmcccee ever used for human food.