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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.

Turbinaria ornata (Turner) J.Agardh

Reference
Spec.Gen.Ord.Alg. 1:266 (1848)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus to 30 cm tall; axes erect simple or branched. Laterals, including stalk, 7–21 mm long, 5–21 mm wide, usually dentate and with a large central vesicle crowned by occasional coarse erect teeth. Stalk terete to angular, 0.5–1.0 mm diam. at the base, thickening towards the apex. Some plants with flattened laterals and stalks; vesicle vestigial and margins entire, resembling the shape of a gingko leaf. Inflorescences 3–9 mm long, arising in the basal third of the vesicle, with racemose receptacles 1–4 mm long, terete with rounded apices.

Distribution. Widespread in tropical seas. In W.A. known from the tropics south to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

Habitat. Epilithic in the intertidal and shallow subtidal.

[After Dixon & Huisman, Algae of Australia: Mar. Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 1. Green and Brown Algae 273 (2015)]

John Huisman and Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Dampierland, Northern Kimberley, Pilbara.
IBRA Subregions
Mitchell, Pindanland, Roebourne.
IMCRA Regions
Abrolhos Islands, Kimberley, Ningaloo, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore).
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Broome, Carnarvon, Cocos Islands, Derby-West Kimberley, Exmouth, Greater Geraldton, Karratha, Wyndham-East Kimberley.