Type Locality: Ruisseau de Beaufort, France, Europe.
Distribution: Europe: France, Belgium; Asia: China; North America: Canada, U.S.A.
“Plants confined to lower cells of chantransia phase, or in the middle branching. Fertile plants usually 5-30 cm high, irregularly and usually very often simple, frequently branched, branches often fasciculate, arcuate, long, slender-pedicelled, narrowed abruptly towards the base and transformed into a thin, cylindrical stalk; nodes fairly distinct. Terminal hairs usually absent, sometimes abundant. Colour blackish-, brownish- or yellowish olive or blackish violet, usually reddening in the water in which they stand, after drying black. Spermatangial papillae usually 3 or 4 in number, more or less prominent, in mature filaments usually less so, well separated and of about the same shape and size, occasionally more irregular and partly confluent. Spermatangial zone 300-1200(-1600) mm in diameter, the papillae included. Carposporophyte zone cylindrical, slightly thinner initially that spermatangial zones, at maturity slightly broader at the middle, 250-750(-1100) mm in diameter at the middle. Internodes 1000-3000(-4000) mm long, 3.3-8 times longer than the diameter at the middle portion. Carpogonium-bearing branches developed all along the generative filaments from the first cell as well as from the cells in the spermatangial zone.
Chantransia stage composed of irregularly branched threads interweaving to a disc and upright filaments of limited resistance. Upright filaments in dense tuft, more or less sparsely and irregularly branched, alternate, final branching sometimes opposite or fasciculate, hairs composed of cylindrical cells. Cells 15-22 mm in diameter and 2.5-4 times longer than diameter. Terminal hairs of varying length may occur. Monosporangia unknown.”
Kumano, S. 2002. Freshwater red algae of the world. Biopress Ltd. 375pp.
