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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.

Codium galeatum J.Agardh

Reference
Acta Univ.Lund. 42-43, pl. 1, fig. 1 (1887)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus medium green, firm, erect, regularly and frequently dichotomously branched, to 1 m high, with branches uniformly terete, not tapering, 4–7 mm in diameter. Utricles stout, irregularly cylindrical to clavate, (130–)200–500(–700) µm in maximum diameter (below apex), (650–)750–1300(–1500) µm long; utricle apical wall rounded to truncate, moderately to (usually) markedly thickened forming a laminate galeate cap up to 125 µm thick; hairs (or scars) occasional, one to few per utricle. Medullary filaments usually 30–80 µm in diameter, with a prominent plug adjacent to origin from utricle.

Reproduction. Gametangia elongate-ovoid to cylindrical, 55–185 µm in diameter, 275–530 µm long.

Distribution. From Champion Bay, W. Aust., around southern Australia and Tas., to Ballina, N.S.W.

Habitat. C. galeatum is a common species on rough-water coasts along southern Australia, from low tide level down to 37 m.

[After Womersley, Mar. Benthic Fl. Southern Australia I: 235 (1984)]

John Huisman & Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Hampton, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain, Warren.
IBRA Subregions
Geraldton Hills, Hampton, Perth, Recherche, Southern Jarrah Forest, Warren.
IMCRA Regions
Central West Coast, Eucla, Leeuwin-Naturaliste, WA South Coast.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Augusta Margaret River, Busselton, Cambridge, Cockburn, Coorow, Cottesloe, Dandaragan, Dundas, Esperance, Fremantle, Irwin, Northampton, Rockingham, Wanneroo.