Algal factsheet: Cladophora glomerata (Cladophoraceae)
Diagnostic features
Branched filamentous chlorophyte with large cylindrical cells forming long, regularly branched growths. Cells contain many parietal round chloroplasts, which usually join into a net-like structure. Pyrenoids in the chloroplasts are composed of two halves (bilenticular). Although cross-walls occur at regular intervals, the large cells are always multinucleate. Branches originate by a sideways protrusion of a cell end below the apex, and branching frequency is influenced by the strength of the current.Typical habitats
Common in unshaded waters especially during summer low flow. May be found under a variety of conditions, but reaches problem levels in lakes with a combination of rocky shorelines and high phosphate, and seems more common in warmer streams further north in New Zealand.Notes
Blooms have prompted many pollution complaintsClassification
Kingdom | Plantae |
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Phylum | Chlorophyta |
Class | Ulvophyceae |
Order | Cladophorales |
Family | Cladophoraceae |
Common name | Green algae |