Domain Eukaryota Class Florideophyceae Family Lemaneaceae Rank Genus | Division Rhodophyta Order Batrachospermales Scientific name Lemanea | |
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Similar Batrachospermum, Batrachospermales, Chantransia, Audouinella, Hildenbrandia | ||
Lemanea is the generic name for an alga of which occurs in the British Isles.
Contents
There are two species in the British Isles:-
Lemanea is a genus of freshwater algae, in the Phylum Rhodophyta (Red Algae) of the Order Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (Red algae) it in fact is green in colour.
Description
Lemanea is a stiff bristle-like branched or unbranched plant similar to a coarse horsehair. Close inspection show it to have small swellings at more or less regular intervals along its length. It grows to 40 cm in length, in bunches in freshwater. It is blue-green to olive in colour when young. The asexual stage is a row of single-celled branched filaments.
Distribution
The genus is considered to be cosmopolitan in the northern hemisphere.
Irish records
The records of this genus in Ireland are few with only three historic records from the north of Ireland in the Ulster Museum Herbarium (BEL). One collected by William Thompson in 1839; one collected by W. Sawers in 1856 and one collected in 1884 by H.W.Lett. These seem to be the earliest records from the north of Ireland. A more recent specimen collected in 1959 by Miss M.P.H. Kertland near Dungiven, Co. Londonderry is also preserved. A further 16 specimens collected recently, that is within the last 50 years, have been added to the collection - all from Northern Ireland. We have one foreign specimen collected recently from the Faroes. Recently Lemanea fucina has been reported from Clare Island.
In North America four species in this genus are listed.
World-wide 10 species are listed in algaebase:- [1]
