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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 9:45 am on Friday, 12 December 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Monday, 2 March 2026 +08:00.

Caulerpa verticillata J.Agardh

Reference
Öfvers.Kongl.Vetensk.-Akad.Förh. 4:6 (1847)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus green, spreading laterally to 9 cm, forming dense low turfs or mats, with smooth terete stolons 250–300 μm diam., attached to the substratum by rhizoids 20–30 μm diam. Rachis 1–5 cm tall, 140–180 μm diam., bearing loosely whorled terete ramuli 2.5–3.0 mm long and 5–6 times dichotomously branched. Ramuli 75–90 μm diam. near the base, tapering gradually to 25–30 μm near the obtuse or pointed and often closely forked apices.

Distribution. Widely distributed in warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea.

Habitat. Epilithic on sand-covered rock in the shallow subtidal.

[After Belton, Huisman & Gurgel, Algae of Australia: Mar. Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 1. Green and Brown Algae 100 (2015)]

John Huisman and Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Dampierland, Indian Tropical Islands, Pilbara.
IBRA Subregions
Pindanland, Roebourne.
IMCRA Regions
Canning, Kimberley, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore).
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Broome, Karratha, Wyndham-East Kimberley.