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Electronic Flora of South Australia Genus Fact Sheet

Genus WOMERSLEYA Papenfuss 1956: 160.

Phylum Rhodophyta – Family Delesseriaceae

Thallus complanately and marginally branched, with irregular lateral and alternate, often proliferous blades, surface and margins smooth, arising from prostrate blades attached by discoid haptera; epiphytic. Structure. Apical cells to blades only just recognisable, segmenting to give an axial cell row and indistinct second-order rows which reach the blade margin with their cells cutting off third-order cells or rows irregularly, abaxially and also adaxially. Transverse intercalary divisions occur in axial cells and later formed cells, and the blade width increases by marginal growth by small, obscure apical cells. The blades soon become polystromatic throughout with larger central cells and smaller dimidiate cortical cells on both sides.

Reproduction: Gametophytes dioecious. Procarps scattered on the blades, with the cortical cells functioning as supporting cells bearing a single sterile group and two 4-celled carpogonial branches. Fusion cell with an apical group of sterile, conical cells and two gonimoblast groups. Carposporophytes with a prominent basal fusion cell and gonimoblast filaments bearing short chains of ovoid carposporangia. Cystocarps few per blade, ostiolate, swollen, with a thick pericarp of anticlinal rows of cells. Spermatangial sori on both sides of blades, with the cortical cells functioning as initials which cut off elongate spermatangia.

Tetrasporangial sori scattered, with tetrasporangia cut off laterally from cortical cells, in 2 layers, covered by a layer of smaller outer cortical cells.

Type (and only) species: W. monanthos (J. Agardh) Papenfuss 1956: 161.

Taxonomic notes: Womersleya is distinguished within the Phycodrys group by having only just-recognisable apical cells, with marginal growth from other slight apical cells, by lack of veins in the blades which are polystromatic throughout, and by scattered procarps with 2 carpogonial branches on each supporting cell.

References:

PAPENFUSS, G.F. (1956). On the nomenclature of some Delesseriaceae. Taxon 5, 158–162.

The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia Part IIID complete list of references.

Author: H. B. S. Womersley

Publication: Womersley, H.B.S. (24 February, 2003)
The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia
Rhodophyta. Part IIID. Ceramiales – Delesseriaceae, Sarcomeniaceae, Rhodomelaceae
Reproduced with permission from The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia Part IIID 2003, by H.B.S. Womersley. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Copyright Commonwealth of Australia.


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