Division | Rhodophyta |
Class | Florideophyceae |
Order | Gigartinales |
Family | Rhizophyllidaceae |
Basionym | Desmia hornemannii Lyngbye |
Thalli 3- 7 cm high, dark red, consisting of several flattened axes, 0.6–2 mm wide and 0.4-0.5 mm in diameter. Thalli attached by means of discoid holdfast, 1-4 mm diameter. Branching alternate to subdichotomous or pinnate, in a single plane up to 7 orders; ultimate branches slightly tapered with strongly incurved apices. Simple dentations scarce on laterals. Internal structure shows ovoid, thick-walled, single axial cell and conspicuous, up to 165 in diameter; medullary cells globose, decreasing in diameter toward the periphery, 40-67 μm in diameter, quickly grading into a pigmented cortex; cortical cells rounded, often elongate, small, arranged in anticlinal filaments, 5-23 µm long and 8-14 μm broad.
Ecology
Lithophytic
Distribution in India
Cape Comorin, Krusadai Island, Pamban, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) (Boergesen, 1933, 1937; Chacko et al., 1955; Krishnamurthy 1985)); Nicobar Islands (De Toni, 1905), Andaman Islands.