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Rhodophyta · Red Seaweed

Polysiphonia pacifica var. pacifica

Hollenberg
Phylum
Rhodophyta
Class
Florideophyceae
Order
Ceramiales
Family
Rhodomelaceae

Polysiphonia pacifica var. pacifica

Pretty polly

Authority
Hollenberg
Thallus is delicate, radially branched, light to dark red, and growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall. This species requires a microscope for accurate identification of polysiphonous branches (4 pericentral cells surrounding the axial cell) and lack of trichoblasts. Tip of each branch is capped with a rounded cell.

Habitat

This perennial is found on rock or on other organisms in the low intertidal to subtidal of protected to semi-exposed habitats.

North Pacific Distribution

Aleutian Islands, Alaska to Baja California, Mexico

Similar taxa

Antithamnionella spp., Polysiphonia spp., Savoiea hamata

References

Last updated December 26, 2010

Photos