Morphological Characteristics of Brown Alga Spatoglossum crassum Tanaka (Dictyotaceae, Dictyotales), New to Korea

Abstract

Morphological and phonological characteristics of brown alga Spatoglossum crassum Tanaka new to Korea were described based on the field and the indoor cultured plants. The taxonomic characteristics of the plants were agreed to those from the type locality-submerged reproductive organs in cortex, anatomical features, and absence of phaeophycean hairs on the surface. But they have rudimentary midrib on lower portion of thallus. We can observe the young plants on November, adult ones in June, and senile ones in August. This species has an annual life-cycle in the field, starting with germ lings in early November. The differentiation of thallus is quite different from other species of genera in tribe Zonarieae, e.g. Zonaria and Homoeostrichus. Three different tissues, meristoderm, cortex and medulla are discerned. The outmost cortical one celled layer as a meristoderm produce cortex by unequal periclinal division. In the apical cell division, the primary inner cells are developed into 3-4 cell layered medulla of thallus. The distribution of this species extends from Korea to Shizuoka Peninsula (34°40`N) Japan, which is the type locality of this species.