Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Sporochnales

Family Sporochnaceae

Carpomitra Kützing

Plants usually up to about 25 cm tall, profusely branched, with slightly to very compressed narrow branches with faint midrib. Holdfast of compressed mass of rhizoids. Growth apical; apices terminated by tuft of trichothallic filaments. Structure pseudoparenchymatous, medulla of elongate axial cells surrounded by cortex of small, pigmented cells. Life history heteromorphic, sporophytes with unilocular sporangia borne laterally on branched paraphyses in conical or cup-shaped apical structures at apices of branches. Gametophytes filamentous, branched, monoecious.

There are 12 described species, of which 3 currently recognized (Guiry & Guiry 2012). Two are currently recorded on the south coast, although one should apparently be placed in a new genus (see later).

Key to species

1a. Branches compressed, with faint midrib; sporangial sori in cup-shaped terminal structures	C. costata
1b. Branches cylindrical, without midrib; sporangia in cylindrical sori borne laterally on branches	C. longicarpa

 

References Carpomitra

Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2012. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched February 2012.

 

Cite this record as:

Anderson RJ, Stegenga H, Bolton JJ. 2016. Seaweeds of the South African South Coast.
World Wide Web electronic publication, University of Cape Town, http://southafrseaweeds.uct.ac.za; Accessed on 18 November 2024.