| Description: |
Fucus spiralis can be easily recognizable by the twisted, flattened, dichotomously branched thallus (that lack bladders), and the oval, large receptacles at the frond tips, each receptacle being bounded by a narrow edge of vegetative frond. F. spiralis is an intertidal brown seaweed and can be found on the high shore. It can grows up to 40 cm long, and lives for up to 4 years. The species can tolerate a high level of dehydration. They are gametophytic diploids, missing any separate haploid generation. Possibly the gametophyte itself is purely a transient cellular stage within the tissues of the receptacle. Depths in the receptacle are the conceptacles, which release egg cells (female gametes) and spermatozoids (motile male gametes) into the sea (expelled by the secretion of mucilage). |
Species:
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Fucus spiralis Linnaeus |
