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Name derivation:
From the Greek stichos, a row of things, and siphon, a tube, referring to the joined exospores inside the sheath
Classification:
Stichosiphon Geitler 1931; 11 of 13 species descriptions are currently accepted taxonomically (Guiry and Guiry 2014) Order Chroococcales; Family Stichosiphonaceae
Morphology:
Cells occur singly or in groups, attached to substrata at their narrow base. Cells produce endospores (sometimes called exospores or exocytes), asexual reproductive cells that bud from the parent cell. The endospores remain joined inside the sheath, giving the appearance of a uniseriate filament. The sheath is open at the unattached end, through which exospores will eventually exit.
Similar genera:
Chamaesiphon, Clastidium, Endonema (Fritsch 1965).
Habitat:
Epiphyte. Mostly found in wetlands of warm regions, such as Florida and Mexico in North America (Smith 1950). The most common type species, S. sansibaricus, has pantropical distribution, but it was found also in basins with thermal water and tropical water plants in temperate zone. One species is known from the Himalayas, another one grows on stones in Alpine creeks in the European high mountain areas (Komárek 1992).
References:
Fritsch, F.E. 1965. The Structure and Reproduction of the Algae. Cambridge. [In Volume 2 (939 pp) of two volumes.] Geitler, L. 1931 . Cyanophyceae. In: Kryptogamen-Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Ed. 2. (Rabenhorst, L. Eds) Vol. 14, pp. 289-672. Leipzig: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft. Geitler, L. 1932. Cyanophyceae of Europe. Johnson Reprint Corporation, NY, London. [A major contribution to Rabenhorst’s Krytptogamen-Flora, considered by microbiologists to be the primary source for taxonomic description of the cyanobacteria.] Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 04 September 2013. Komarek, J. 1992. Diversita a moderní klasifikace sinic (Cyanoprocaryota) [Diversity and modern classification of Cyanobacteria (Cyanoprokaryota). - inaugural dissertation, not published] Smith, G.M. 1950 The Fresh-water Algae of the United States. (2^nd edition). McGraw-Hill (719 pp).