| Halymeniaceae () |
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sessile; marine; depth range 30 - 51 m |
| Indo-West Pacific. |
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Thalli large and bushy, red-orange or purple in colour, soft cartilaginous and slimy when fresh, attached to rocky substrates by a discoid holdfast. Stipe short, supporting 2 to 4 main axes which are 5 to 15 mm wide, branching pinnately-alternately 4 to 5 times. Branches flattened, their diameter decreases with the increasing degree of branching. Ultimate branchlets slender and linear with acuminate tips, sometimes forcipate. Margins of the fronds serrate, surfaces of the axis provided with few spine-like projections. Cross-section of frond shows ganglion-like cells in the medulla connecting the other cells. Cortex consisting of more than 5 layers of very small ovoid or elongated pigmented cells. Thalli to about 35 cm in height (Ref. 80758). |
| Used for human consumption; source of carrageenan (Ref. 80758). |
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Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
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| harmless |
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