Leathesia S.F.Gray, 1821

Holotype species: Leathesia tuberiformis S.F.Gray

Currently accepted name for the type species: Leathesia marina (Lyngbye) Decaisne

Original publication and holotype designation: Gray, S.F. (1821). A natural arrangement of British plants, according to their relations to each other, as pointed out by Jussieu, De Candolle, Brown, &c. including those cultivated for use; with an introduction to botany, in which the terms newly introduced are explained; illustrated by figures. pp. vol. 1: [i]-xxviii, [1]- 824, pls I-XXI plates. London: Printed for Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, Paternoster-Row.

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Description: Plants epiphytic or epilithic, solitary or caespitose, hemispherical or irregularly globose, haplostichous, solid, later becoming hollow, fleshy, slimy, composed of di-trichotomously branched, loosely arranged medullary filaments radiating from basal layer and multicellular assimilatory filaments. Medullary cells large, colorless, elongated, anastomose. Assimilatory filaments composed of cylindrical pigmented cells terminated with a larger swollen cell. Each cell contains several chloroplasts with pyrenoids. Phaeophycean hairs common among assimilatory filaments. Ovoid or ellipsoid unilocular sporangia and linear plurilocular sporangia formed on the basal cells of assimilatory filaments, often on the same thalli. Culture studies of L. difformis revealed basically heteromorphic life history alternating between diploid macrothalli and haploid filamentous microthalli (Sauvageau 1925, Kylin 1933, Dangeard 1969). Plurispores of the macrothalli reproduced macrothalli, and unfused gametes of microthalli reproduced gametophytes. Inagaki (1958) classified Leathesia into 2 sections, sect. Leathesia having hollow thalli comprising reticulated medullary layer and sect. Primariae having solid thalli comprising densely packed medullary filaments. The latter resembles Corynophlaea in the inner anatomy, however, presumably different taxon. Ajisaka (1984) cultured L. japonica belonging to the sect. Primariae and reported the occurrence of erect gametophytic filaments resembling Polytretus reinboldii (Reinke) Sauvageau forming plurilocular sporangia with several lateral release pores. Distribute world-wide. Intertidal or subtidal, mostly summer annual.

Information contributed by: H. Kawai. The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2014-06-20 by M.D. Guiry.

Taxonomic status: This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.

Gender: This genus name is currently treated as feminine.

Most recent taxonomic treatment adopted: Silberfeld, T., Rousseau, F. & Reviers, B. de (2014). An updated classification of brown algae (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae). Cryptogamie Algologie 35(2): 117-156, 1 fig., 1 table.

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Contributors
Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera, organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA) and intended to be published in CD format. These AlgaeBase descriptions are now being continually updated, and each current contributor is identified above. The PSA and AlgaeBase warmly acknowledge the generosity of all past and present contributors and particularly the work of Dr Parker.

Descriptions of chrysophyte genera were subsequently published in J. Kristiansen & H.R. Preisig (eds.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Chrysophyte Genera. Bibliotheca Phycologica 110: 1-260.

Linking to this page: https://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=43

Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 20 June 2014. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 26 December 2024