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Click on images for larger format |
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Name derivation: |
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caulis (L) – plant stem or stalk; erpo (L) = to creep |
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Classification: |
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Caulerpa J.V. Lamouroux 1809; 97 of 382 species descriptions are
currently accepted taxonomically (Guiry and Guiry 2016).
Order Bryopsidales; Family Caulerpaceae
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Morphology: |
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Siphonous unicell with a horizontal segment bearing erect fronds of diverse morphology that are either radial symmetry (low light intensity) or bilateral (high light intensity). Morphology is plastic; many variations are likely ecads (Dawes and Mathieson 2008). Organism can be up to 1 m long. More primitive species have a few large chloroplasts, more advanced have many small discoid chloroplasts. Sexual reproduction is anisogamous. Asexual is by fragmentation. Some species are monoecious, others dioescious. Wound healing includes formation of plugs from a yellowish carbohydrate that hardens in minutes (Ibid.). |
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Edibility:
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Highly desired as a sea vegetable.
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Habitat:
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Marine benthos, tropical to subtropical. |
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References: |
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Dawes, C.J. and A.C. Mathieson 2008. The Seaweeds of Fliorida. University Press of Florida (591 pp). Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2016. AlgaeBase.
World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway.
http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 30 May 2014. |
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