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.[1] It is widely distributed in tropical and also warm-temperate and cold-temperate seas, such as northern Europe,[2] the northern Arabian Sea and western Australia.[3] They are also found in the Antarctic regions of Admiralty Bay (maritime Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula) and Terra Nova Bay (in the Ross Sea).[4]
Plocamium has erect elliptical thalli that grow up to 50 cm (20 in) in length. They are bright red in color with strongly flattened delicately branching fronds that further divide into two to five smaller branchlets.[5][6] 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.[2]
Species classified under the genus include the following:[7][8]
Plocamium sp. from South Africa 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).
