Gracilaria edulis (S.G.Gmelin) P.C.Silva 1952


Division     Rhodophyta
Class     Florideophyceae
Order     Gracilariales
Family    Gracilariaceae
Basionym     Fucus edulis S.G.Gmelin
SynonymFucus lichenoides var. edulis (S.G.Gmelin) Turner, Fucus lichenastrum var. edulis (S.G.Gmelin) Poiret , Hydropuntia edulis (S.G.Gmelin) Gurgel & Fredericq , Fucus lichenoides Turner, Fucus coralloides Poiret, Gigartina lichenoides J.V.Lamouroux, Sphaerococcus lichenoides C.Agardh , Fucus lichenastrum Poiret, Plocaria candida Nees, Sphaerococcus lichenoides var. tenuis C.Agardh, Gracilaria lichenoides (J.V.Lamouroux) Greville, Plocaria lichenoides (J.V.Lamouroux) J.Agardh, Gracilaria taenioides J.Agardh. Sphaerococcus vieillardii Kützing, Sphaerococcus lemania Kützing, Sphaerococcus setaceus Kützing , Sphaerococcus spinescens Kützing, Gracilaria lemania (Kützing) Sonder, Gracilaria spinescens (Kützing) J.Agardh, Ceramianthemum lichenoides (J.V.Lamouroux) Kuntze, Ceramianthemum taenioides (J.Agardh) Kuntze, Ceramianthemum spinescens (Kützing) Kuntze, Gracilaria bifaria J.Agardh, Gracilaria lichenoides f. lemania (Kützing) V.May , Gracilaria lichenoides f. taenioides (J.Agardh) V.May, Polycavernosa fastigiata C.F.Chang & B.M.Xia, Hydropuntia fastigiata (Chang & B.M.Xia) M.J.Wynne

     Thalli erect, cylindrical and highly branched, arising from an irregularly discoid base, 12-15 mm. and about 2 mm. in thickness, thinning to 1.5 mm, at about the middle of the axis and then attenuating to the apex. Branches lateral, occasionally appearing sub-dichotomous, opposite often alternate, highly polymorphic; branches 1.5 mm. at the base, gradually increasing to 9 mm. towards the middle, and then attenuating towards the tip; branching up to the third or even fourth order; ultimate branches short, about 2-5 cm. long, 1.2 mm wide, often curved like tendrils. Cortex of a single row of cells, some cells produced into tubular hairs; cortical cells radially elongated, measuring 15 µm x5 µm. The Medulla of 4-6 layers of cells, the central ovoid, surrounded by broadly oval cells, becoming progressively smaller, and radially compressed in the outer medulla. Cystocarps elevated urn-shaped, scattered over the upper portions of the thallus; 700-925 µm high, 725-825 µm wide at the base, 800-1000 µm at the broadest part.