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Caulerpa cactoides (Turner) C.Agardh

Reference
Syn.Alg.Scand. XXXIII (1817)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Stolon very coarse, (2–)3–5 mm in diameter, naked, epilithic or in a sandy mud substrate. Erect fronds medium to dark green, with simple or occasionally branched axes, usually 10–25(–40) cm high and 1–3(–5) cm across, with the axis 2–5(–7) mm in diameter bearing opposite (occasionally alternate) distichously arranged vesiculate ramuli; lower part of axes usually bare and constricted in rough-water plants but not in calm-water plants, upper axis usually constricted above the pairs of ramuli. Ramuli usually clavate, sometimes sub-pyriform, (0.7–)1–2(–3) cm long and 3–8(–10) mm in diameter, thick walled (especially in rough-water plants).

Distribution. From Champion Bay, W. Aust., around southern Australia and Tas., to the Richmond River mouth, N.S.W.

Habitat. Common in rock pools on rough-water coasts and in the upper sublittoral on both rough-water and sheltered coasts where it may cover extensive areas in a sandy mud substratum.

[After Womersley, Mar. Benthic Fl. Southern Australia I: 269 (1984)]

John Huisman & Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain, Warren.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Geraldton Hills, Perth, Recherche, Southern Jarrah Forest, Warren.
IMCRA Regions
Abrolhos Islands, Central West Coast, Leeuwin-Naturaliste, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore), WA South Coast.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Albany, Ashburton, Augusta Margaret River, Busselton, Cockburn, Cottesloe, Dandaragan, Esperance, Exmouth, Greater Geraldton, Irwin, Jerramungup, Northampton, Rockingham.