Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Ceramiales

Family Delesseriaceae

Papenfussia laciniata (Harvey) Kylin 1956: 444

Plants dark red, often with pale spots near apices, up to 15 cm tall, when fresh often strikingly marked with patterns of pale bluish to silvery iridescence; thallus comprising small prostrate basal part bearing irregularly branched fan-shaped blades; blades up to 1 cm wide, without veins or midrib, apical margins dentate. Growth by transverse divisions from an apical cell; primary cell rows with intercalary divisions that become obscured. Thallus polystromatic except near apices; in cross-section showing regular horizontal rows of uniform cells up to about 50 µm long; outer layer of smaller (to 35 µm long) vertically-orientated cells. Tetrasporangia in elongated sori along margins of blades. Cystocarps scattered over surface of blades.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Recorded from the southern Cape Peninsula to the Kei Mouth area (16-43). Epilithic in the lower eulittoral.

World distribution: South African endemic.

Type locality: Muizenberg, False Bay, South Africa (Silva et al. 1996).

Note: According to Stegenga et al. (1997) (as Pollexfenia laciniata), and from our observations, this species is often very similar to P. minuta, and they may be conspecific.

 

Papenfussia laciniata, Natures Valley.

Papenfussia laciniata, frond shape.

Papenfussia laciniata, cystocarps (round, dark areas).

Papenfussia laciniata, tetrasporangial sori (dark spotted areas around some blade edges).

Papenfussia laciniata. Habit, tetrasporangial. 2. Thallus margin near apex. 3. Cross section. Reproduced from Stegenga et al. (1997)(as Pollexfenia laciniata).

 

References Papenfussia laciniata

Kylin, H. 1956. Die Gattungen der Rhodophyceen. pp. i-xv, 1-673, 458 figs. Lund: C.W.K. Gleerups.

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. & 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 December 2024.