Plants → Caulerpaceae → Caulerpa
Caulerpa scalpelliformis (Turner) C.Agardh
Species algarum 437 (1820)
Conservation Status:
Not threatened
Name Status:
Current
Brief Description
Amanda Spooner,
Friday 3 February 2006
Green marine alga, epilithic, to 20 cm tall; base stoloniferous, terete, naked; upright fronds to 3 cm broad, terete below, otherwise flattened; lateral ramuli alternate-distichous, to 1.5 cm long, upwardly curved, tapering to a spinous tip. Distribution: SW: SWA, WAR.
Scientific Description
John Huisman,
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Thallus: Epilithic, medium to dark green, with extensive stoloniferous prostrate axes bearing upright fronds to 20 cm in height and 3 cm broad. Stolons terete, naked, 1–3 mm in diameter, attached to the substratum by fine rhizoidal branches. Upright branches terete near the base, but otherwise flattened, bearing closely set, determinate lateral ramuli in an alternate-distichous pattern. Ramuli from a few mm to 1.5 cm long, flattened, upwardly curved, broadest at the base and distally tapering to a spinous tip.
Structure: Coenocytic (composed of a single cell), mostly hollow but with internal ingrowths from the wall.
