Dasya frutescens Harv.

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus bushy, dark red to pink (often darker when dried), to 10 cm tall, with ocellate apices irregularly and profusely branched, the individual axes sometimes appearing pyramidal. Primary axes with 5 pericentral cells, corticated almost to the apices, also bearing dense pseudolaterals, near branch apices these often appearing tufted and darker; lower axes often without pseudolaterals. Pseudolaterals arising in a radial pattern, singly on each axial segment, with a short basal cell, then dichotomously branched 4–6 times from the suprabasal cell, mostly every cell, before tapering to long unbranched filaments. Adventitious lateral branches arising occasionally from axils of pseudolaterals. Cystocarps adaxial near base of lateral branches, spherical, 480–680 µm diam.; ostiole with an extended neck.

Reproduction. Tetrasporangial stichidia borne on pseudolaterals, initially intercalary, with a 1–3-celled stalk and apically a 3- or 4-celled filament with 4 (–5) tetrasporangia per segment, each with 3 cover cells that cover only the lower half of the sporangium.

Distribution. Known from Safety Bay (near Perth) and north to the Maret Islands, Western Australia.

Habitat. Epilithic in the intertidal to shallow subtidal.

[After J.M. Huisman in Algae of Australia: Marine Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 2. Red Algae: 432 (2018)]