Home / Rhodophyta / Florideophyceae / Gigartinales / Furcellariaceae
Rhodophyta · Red Seaweed

Turnerella mertensiana

(Postels & Ruprecht) F.Schmitz
Phylum
Rhodophyta
Class
Florideophyceae
Order
Gigartinales
Family
Furcellariaceae

Turnerella mertensiana

Red sea-cabbage

Authority
(Postels & Ruprecht) F.Schmitz
Thallus is a dark red blade. It lacks a stipe and attaches to the substrate by a small discoidal holdfast. Young blades are frequently undivided (entire) and nearly round, reaching at least 30 cm (12 in) in diameter, but older blades split and become tattered, irregular in shape, and very thick. The large, white “gland cells” in the cortex can be seen with the aid of a hand lens.

Habitat

This perennial occurs on rock in the low intertidal to subtidal of semi-protected to semi-exposed shores.

North Pacific Distribution

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska to northern Washington; Japan; Russia

Former scientific names

Iridaea mertensiana, Schizymenia mertensiana, Iridaea punicea

Similar taxa

Opuntiella

Comments

The occurrence of this species in northern Washington needs to be verified.

References

Last updated December 26, 2010

Photos