Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Dictyotales

Family Dictyotaceae

Dictyopteris J. V. Lamouroux

Plants prostrate or erect, blades flat to ligulate, with conspicuous midrib, branching subdichotomous. Blades distomatic to multi-layered, depending on species. Attachment by matted rhizoidal holdfast. Reproductive organs embedded in or on surface of blades. Members of the genus are widely distributed in temperate to tropical seas worldwide and 36 species are currently recognized (Guiry & Guiry 2012). Three species are currently recognized on the south coast. Of these, only D. ligulata is recorded from the west coast (Stegenga et al. 1997).

 

Key to species

1a. Blade margins with regular small teeth, side veins arising from midrib	D. serrata
1b. Blade margins entire or lacerate, without teeth, side veins absent	2
2a. Blades with hair tufts and sori forming conspicuous horizontal rows of light-coloured spots	D. macrocarpa
2b. Hair tufts in oblique lines from midrib towards margins, not very conspicuous; sori in lines parallel to and on both sides of midrib	D. ligulata

 

References Dictyopteris

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

Stegenga, H., Bolton, J.J. and R. J. Anderson. 1997. Seaweeds of the South African west coast. Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium 18: 655 pp.

 

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 19 April 2024.