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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.

Halimeda distorta (Yamada) Hillis-Col.

Reference
J.Phycol. 4:33 (1968)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus green to pale green (drying grey to cream), forming sprawling irregularly shaped decumbent clumps spreading laterally for some distance over firm substrata, attached at several points. Branching dichotomous or trichotomous, with successive segments mostly not aligned. Segments heavily calcified, reniform to subcircular, occasionally trilobed or with scalloped margins, 8–12 mm long and 9–15 mm wide, often prominently curved, with central and radiating ribs often conspicuous in dried material. Cortex with utricles in 2 or 3 layers; peripheral utricles obconical in side view, slightly constricted at the base, 30–50 μm diam. and polygonal in surface view, remaining laterally attached after decalcification. Secondary and tertiary utricles cylindrical and occasionally without constrictions, 25–36 μm diam. Medullary siphons 80–120 μm diam., fusing at nodes in groups of 3 or 4 for c. 110 μm.

Distribution. Tropical Indo-west Pacific.

Habitat. Usually growing on rock.

[After Huisman & Verbruggen, Algae of Australia: Mar. Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 1. Green and Brown Algae 128 (2015)]

John Huisman and Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IMCRA Regions
Kimberley, Ningaloo.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Broome, Derby-West Kimberley, Exmouth, Wyndham-East Kimberley.