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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.

Penicillus nodulosus (J.V.Lamour.) Blainv.

Reference
Dict.Sci.Nat. [F. Cuvier] 60:516 (1830)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus to 6–7 cm in height, gray green, heavily calcified, anchored by a large particle-binding holdfast 2–4 cm long, with a terete stipe topped by a capitulum of dichotomously divided siphons. Stipe 1–3 cm long, 1–8 mm in diameter, composed of siphons 180–200 µm in diameter bearing much-branched cervicorn lateral branches that form a solid cortex; capitulum hemispherical, generally 2–5 cm in diameter and composed of filaments 180–300 µm in diameter, these dichotomously divided and divaricate, typically with deep and shallow constrictions forming short moniliform segments. Filaments lightly calcified externally, the calcification regularly perforated with small round to oval holes 10–30 µm wide.

Reproduction. Not observed.

Distribution. Western, northern and eastern Australia, in warm waters; Indonesia. In W. Aust., recorded from Rottnest I. in the south to the Dampier Archipelago, but most likely occurring further north.

Habitat. Plants grow in sand, generally in shallow water and are often locally common.

John Huisman & Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Pilbara, Swan Coastal Plain, Yalgoo.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Edel, Perth, Roebourne, Wooramel.
IMCRA Regions
Abrolhos Islands, Central West Coast, Ningaloo, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore), Shark Bay.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Carnarvon, Coorow, Dandaragan, Exmouth, Greater Geraldton, Irwin, Karratha, Rockingham, Shark Bay.