Phycodrys rubens is a red marine alga of up to 30 cm long.
| Phycodrys rubens | |
|---|---|
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| dried specimen | |
Scientific classification 
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| Clade: | Archaeplastida |
| Division: | Rhodophyta |
| Class: | Florideophyceae |
| Order: | Ceramiales |
| Family: | Delesseriaceae |
| Genus: | Phycodrys |
| Species: | P. rubens
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| Binomial name | |
| Phycodrys rubens (Linnaeus) Batters
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Description
editPhycodrys rubens is seaweed which is perennial and can grow to 30 cm long and is strongly red in colour.[1] It grows with flat leaf-like blades which are monostromatic, that is composed of a single flat layer of cells and can grow 3 cm wide. These blades can become 3 cm wide and show a clear mid-rib. The blades have a ruffled margin with veins growing out from the central mid-rib with paired lateral veins. The plants grow from a small disk holdfast with an axis to the blades.[2][3] The algae are somewhat similar to Delesseria sanguinea which is also strongly red but has a smooth, not dentate, margin.[2] The shape of the frond is similar to the leaf of an oak tree.[3]
Reproduction
editThe gametophytes are dioecious, that is the male and female phases are on separate plants.[2] The reproductive structures are found at the margins of the blades, the cystocarps as branches attached to the veins[4] and the tetrasporangial sori occur near the apices of the larger bladelets.[2]
Habitat
editCommonly found in the littoral, sub-littoral in low rock pools and attached to the stipes of large algae such a Laminaria. Found to a depth 30 m.[2]
Distribution
editCommon on the shores of Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, Scotland including the Shetland Islands and the north-east and south-east of England. It is not found in the south-east of England.[5] The species is found in the North Atlantic from Spitzbergen to Portugal and Canada.[2]
Note
editThe fronds adhere well to paper and can be dried to make fine specimens.[3]
References
edit- ^ Bunker, F,.StP.D., Brodie, J.A., Maggs, C.A. and Bunker, .R.2017. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. Second Edition. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth, UK ISBN 978-09955673-3-7
- ^ a b c d e f Maggs, C.A. and Hommersand, M.H. 1993. Seaweeds of the British Isles. Volume 1 Rhodophyta Part 3A Ceramiales. The Natural History Museum London. ISBN 0-11-310045-0
- ^ a b c Dickinson, C.I. 1963. British Seaweeds. The Kew Series. Eyre & Spottiswoode
- ^ Pound, F.E. 1965. The Biology of the Algae Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd
- ^ Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland British Phycological SocietyISBN 0-9527115-16
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