| Family: |
Halimedaceae () |
| Max. size: |
|
| Environment: |
sessile; marine; depth range 0 - 25 m |
| Distribution: |
Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. |
| Diagnosis: |
Thalli form greenish to cream amorphous clumps, attached by rhizoids at various points where segments get in contact with the substrate. Branches composed of moderately calcified flat segments with a distinct central rib, generally reniform to flabellate with the upper margin entire, sinuate to deeply lobed, 3 to 8 mm high, 4 to 10 mm wide, and 0.5 to 7 mm thick. Cortex consisting of 5 layers of utricles formed by repeated dichotomies from the medullary filaments; outermost utricles adhere slightly after decalcification, hexagonal in surface view, 23 by 40 to 50 μm in transverse section; secondary utricles about 17 μm wide. Central medullary filaments extend along the segments, terete and trichotomously branched, with evident constrictions at a short distance above the point of branching. Amorphous clumps up to 15 cm in diameter (Ref. 80758). |
| Biology: |
Not utilized commercially, although found to be a source of growth regulators such as auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin; has antibacterial and antifungal properties (Ref. 80758). Grows in the lower intertidal zone of coral reefs or on dead corals below the low-tide mark in calm shallow waters (Ref. 80758). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
|
| Threat to humans: |
|
| Country info: |
|
Source and more info: www.sealifebase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.
Warning: Unknown: open(e:\temp\sess_fpgpk4f1q7k0ene5f2qn4ajdq6, O_RDWR) failed: Permission denied (13) in Unknown on line 0
Warning: Unknown: Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct (e:\temp) in Unknown on line 0