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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.

Udotea flabellum (J.Ellis & Sol.) M.Howe

Reference
Bull.Torrey Bot.Club 31:94 (1904)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus upright, green, moderately calcified, above ground portion to 15 cm tall, with a terete stalk and flabellate to cuneate or much divided distal region, arising from a large bulbous holdfast often equal in length to exposed frond, composed of filaments that bind sand particles. Stipe composed of branched filaments bearing lateral appendages similar to those of the blade, but additionally with numerous rhizoidal filaments 25–40 µm in diameter. Blade multistratose, with subparallel terete primary filaments 35–60 µm in diameter, bearing much branched lateral appendages 150–400 µm long, these digitate, slightly constricted 25–30 µm above the base, imbricate and forming a pseudocortex.

Distribution. Widespread in tropical regions. In N W. Aust., south to the Montebello Is.

Habitat. Generally in sand in the shallow subtidal.

John Huisman & Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Dampierland, Northern Kimberley, Pilbara.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Mitchell, Pindanland, Roebourne.
IMCRA Regions
Canning, Kimberley, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore), Shark Bay.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Broome, Carnarvon, Karratha, Wyndham-East Kimberley.