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Name derivation:
Ascophyllum : L. ascus: a fungal fruiting body with linear spores + phylum: blade, blades; pod- bladed
Classification:
Ascophyllum Stackhouse, 1809; There are 18 species of which 1 has been taxonomically accepted. Order Fucales; Family Fucaceae
Morphology:
A fucoid brown alga with pronounced apical growth; it typically has dichotomously branching, except if injured, and conspicuous bladders that are produced annually.
Similar genera:
Fucus, Halidrys, Sargassum
Habitat:
Most abundant in sheltered open coastal and estuarine sites; growing on outcrops or large stable boulders, primarily in the mid-littoral zone. Often heavily damaged and covered with the hemiparasite Polysiphonia lanosa at exposed habitats.
References:
Guiry, M.D., and G.M. Guiry 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 16 January 2013. Stackhouse, J. 1809. Tentamen marino-cryptogamicum, ordinem novum; in genera et species distributum, in Classe XXIVta Linnaei sistens. Mémoires de la Société Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou 2: [50]-97. Taylor, W. R. 1957. Marine Algae of the Northeastern Coast of North America. Revised edition. Univ. Michigan Press., Ann Arbor, ix + 509 pp