“Plants before maturity olivaceous, or yellowish-green, sometimes dark violet, sometimes reddening the water in which they stand, confined to the basal cell of the chantransia phase or arising from the middle branching. When young, usually preserve color when drying. In age, drying yellowish, greenish, or blackish; from 2-40 cm long, very delicate or stout, which an abrupt contraction at the beginning of the fertile portion, marked in stout specimens; simple or very much branchs; branches distributed all along the main axis of the plants; main axis reaching beyond the branched and easily traced, or indistinguishable from them; branches unilateral, or fasciculate or both; when profusely branched, the final branches slender, often capillary, becoming stouter in age by the breaking away of the capillary apices. Carposporophyte zone nearly cylindrical, or constricted in the middle; spermatangial papillae plane or prominent, so that the plants vary from cylindrical to torulose, or with regularly recurring whorls of prominent papillae. Papillae in verticils of 2 to 7, sometimes irregular, often confluent, sometimes increasing after fertilization by hypertrophy of the tissue beneath the spermatangia, so that they are very prominent in age, sometimes less prominent after fertilization; carposporophyte zone in some specimens strongly constricted just above the spermatangial zone, so that with the next spermatangial zone it appears nearly clavate, more strongly so in age and towards the distal end of the plants. Spermatangial zones sometimes distant, sometimes rather near each other. Carpogonium-bearing branch developed in and near the spermatangial zone, never in the middle of carposporophyte zone, so that at maturity the clusters of spores alternate with the sterile middle portion of carposporophyte zone; spores when mature giving a darker color to the plants.
Chantransia phase producing extensive mats or individual tufts, greenish or bluish-green, 1-2 mm long, primary branches usually alternate, final branching unilateral, alternate, or sometimes opposite or slightly fasciculate, sometimes pilose, filaments not much attenuated at base, 15-35 mm in diameter.”
Kumano, S. 2002. Freshwater red algae of the world. Biopress Ltd. 375pp.
Type Locality: rapid streams between Vitre and Fougeres, France, Europe.
Distribution: Europe: France, Belgium; North America: eastern U.S.A, Canada.