Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Caulerpales

Family Caulerpaceae

Caulerpa holmesiana G. Murray 1891: 208-210

Plants dark green, sometimes with slight bluish iridescence. Stolons long, cylindrical and with annular contrictions. Distinctive feather-shaped assimilators comprising a cylindrical axis with annular constrictions and opposite rows of curved, tapering ramuli. Ramuli up to 7mm long, 0.5 mm diameter, slightly constricted at the base and rounded or pointed at the tip.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Characteristically a south coast species, but found from Cape Point to the Kei Mouth Area (17-43).Sublittoral (seldom exposed at low tide), often covering large areas of rock in monospecific stands and accumulating sand.

World distribution: South African endemic.

Type locality: Algoa Bay (Silva et al. 1996).

 

Caulerpa holmesiana

Caulerpa holmesiana individual feather-like thalli showing annulated rachis

Caulerpa holmesiana drawing reproduced from Stegenga et al. (1997).

 

 

References Caulerpa holmesiana

Murray, G. (1891). On new species of Caulerpa, with observations on the position of the genus. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, Second Series, Botany 3: 207-213, pls 52, 53.

Silva, P.C., Basson, P.W. & Moe, R.L. (1996). Catalogue of the benthic marine algae of the Indian Ocean. University of California Publications in Botany 79: 1-1259.

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 27 July 2024.