Postelsia Ruprecht, 1852
Holotype species: Postelsia palmiformis Ruprecht
Original publication and holotype designation: Ruprecht, F.J. (1852). Neue oder unvöllstandig bekannte Pflanzen aus dem nördlichen Theile des Stillen Oceans. Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg, Sixième Série, Sciences Naturelles 7: 55-82, 8 pls.
Request PDFDescription: Thallus to 60 cm tall, erect, annual, with a palm tree-like aspect. Holdfast compact, composed of stout, branched haptera. Stipe thick, tubular, thicker at base than at apex; both erect and resilient. Numerous blades borne singly on simple branches arranged radially at top of stipe. Blades narrow, tapering to a point distally, with dentate margins, both surfaces with deep, parallel grooves along the entire length, the grooves of one surface alternating with those of the other. Spores produced in unilocular sporangia with paraphyses, in sori covering most of blade. Gametophytes dimorphic, dioecious, oogamous, branched uniseriate filaments; growing to a small size and producing gametes, even in the absence of blue light or added iron in the medium, two conditions found to be necessary for gametogenesis in gametophytes of other members of the Laminariales.
Information contributed by: R.J. Lewis & M.D. Guiry. The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2016-07-26 by M.D. Guiry.
Taxonomic status: This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.
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.
Comments: Postelsia palmaeformis occurs in dense "groves" on intertidal shores exposed to extreme wave force on the Pacific coast of North America. The dense patches may be the result of limited dispersal of spores, which mainly occurs within 3 m of an existing patch. This dispersal apparently occurs from emerged plants as the spores are released and flow along the grooves in the blades, dripping onto the substratum below. Sporophytic thalli may grow on existing algae or barnacles, resulting in these competitors being overgrown or ripped out, leaving bare rock, which is the most suitable substratum for successful growth and persistence. Small populations often do not persist from year to year while large populations generally do.
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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=42120
Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 26 July 2016. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 19 April 2024
