Plocamium is a genus of red algae in the family Plocamiaceae. It contains around 40 species and has a cosmopolitan distribution in temperate seas, although it is most diverse in the Southern Hemisphere. It is widely distributed in tropical and also warm-temperate and cold-temperate seas, such as northern Europe, the northern Arabian Sea and western Australia. They are also found in the Antarctic regions of Admiralty Bay (maritime Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula) and Terra Nova Bay (in the Ross Sea).
Description Plocamium has erect elliptical thalli that grow up to in length. They are bright red in color with strongly flattened delicately branching fronds that further divide into two to five smaller branchlets. Cystocarps (fruiting parts) are either scattered along the frond margins or found on special short fertile branches, and lack a specialized pore for carpospore release. Tetrasporangia are borne in specialized stichidia (branches of the thallus) of various morphologies.
Accepted species Species classified under the genus include the following: Plocamium affine Kützing, 1849 Plocamium angustum (J.Agardh) J.D.Hooker & Harvey, 1847 Plocamium beckeri F.Schmitz ex Simons, 1964 Plocamium brachiocarpum Kützing, 1849 Plocamium brasiliense (Greville) M.A.Howe & W.R.Taylor, 1931 Plocamium cartilagineum (Linnaeus) P.S.Dixon, 1967 Plocamium cirrhosum (Turner) M.J.Wynne, 2002 Plocamium corallorhiza (Turner) J.D.Hooker & Harvey, 1845 Plocamium cornutum (Turner) Harvey, 1849 Plocamium cruciferum Harvey, 1855 Plocamium delicatulum Baardseth, 1941 Plocamium dilatatum J.Agardh, 1876 Plocamium fimbriatum M.J.Wynne, 2002 Plocamium fuscorubrum Baardseth, 1941 Plocamium glomeratum J.Agardh, 1851 Plocamium hamatum J.Agardh, 1876 Plocamium hookeri Harvey, 1845 Plocamium leptophyllum Kützing, 1849 Plocamium maggsiae G.W.Saunders & K.V.Lehmkuhl, 2005 Plocamium maxillosum (Poiret) J.V.Lamouroux, 1813 Plocamium mertensii (Greville) Harvey, 1847 Plocamium microcladioides G.R.South & N.M.Adams, 1979 Plocamium minutum Levring, 1944 Plocamium nanum G.W.Saunders & K.V.Lehmkuhl, 2005 Plocamium oregonum Doty, 1947 Plocamium ovicornis Okamura, 1896 Plocamium patagiatum J.Agardh, 1894 Plocamium patens G.Martens, 1868 Plocamium preissianum Sonder, 1845 Plocamium raphelisianum P.J.L.Dangeard, 1949 Plocamium recurvatum Okamura, 1913 Plocamium rigidum Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1834 Plocamium sandvicense J.Agardh, 1892 Plocamium secundatum(Kützing) Kützing, 1866 Plocamium serratulum Okamura Plocamium serrulatumOkamura, 1932 Plocamium suhrii Kützing, 1849 Plocamium telfairiae (W.J.Hooker & Harvey) Harvey ex Kützing, 1849 Plocamium violaceum Farlow, 1877
Nomina dubia: Plocamium concinnum Areschoug Plocamium froelichianum Kützing Plocamium subtile Kützing, 1866
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