Electronic Flora of South Australia Family Fact Sheet

Tribe AMANSIEAE Schmitz 1889: 447

Phylum Rhodophyta – Family Rhodomelaceae

Thallus erect, usually much branched, branches compressed to flat or foliose, usually with a conspicuous midrib and lateral wings, margins entire or dentate, blades ecorticate or corticate. Apices dorsiventral and bilateral, straight or often revolute to varying degrees, with a single apical cell, protruding or not, segmenting usually transversely to an axial filament cutting off 5 or 6 pericentral cells, with or without pseudopericentral cells (cut off laterally from the pericentral cells and lying in the ring of pericentral cells), the lateral pericentral cells dividing to form the wings of the blades. Medulla 1–3 cells thick, cells in some taxa in layers or interposed to form (surface view) chevrons or rhombic areolation; cortex 1–2 cells broad, surface bare or covered with short, dense, proliferations. Branching usually endogenous from the midrib or wings, or adventitious from the cortex. Trichoblasts apical or arising adventitiously from cortical cells, or absent apart from much reduced and associated with reproduction.

Reproduction: Gametophytes dioecious, usually with short, erect, fertile processes. Procarps arising on reduced trichoblasts (soon polysiphonous), carpogonial branches 4-celled; carposporophytes with a basal fusion cell and branched gonimoblast with clavate terminal carposporangia; cystocarps ovoid, usually stalked; pericarp ostiolate, several cells thick. Spermatangial organs on short, polysiphonous, processes on the blades, ovoid and with 1–2 sterile basal cells.

Tetrasporangial stichidia on the blade surface or on short processes, corticated, compressed, with paired tetrasporangia per segment, in longitudinal rows.

Type genus: Amansia Lamouroux 1809a: 332.

Taxonomic notes: The Amansieae includes some 13 genera, distributed in the tropics and Pacific - Indian Oceans in particular, with 8 genera (6 endemic) known from southern Australia.

Several genera show the presence of pseudopericentral cells but the number and occurrence of these is variable and their presence or not must be used with caution to characterise particular species.

In addition to the genera described below, Adamsiella chauvinii (Harvey) Phillips & Nelson in Phillips probably occurs on southern Australian coasts. Phillips (2002b, p. 220) considers it is restricted to New Zealand, though Harvey in his original description (1855, p. 222) referred to it as a "Native of New Holland" and stated "Our first specimens of this plant were received from M. Chauvin, who obtained them from New Holland." Wilson (1892, p. 166) recorded it from Port Phillip Heads, but no recent collections are known from here. A specimen from Oedipus Point, West I., S. Australia, 21–25 m deep (Shepherd, 8.x.1966; AD, A30861) appears to be this species, but further collections are needed for confirmation.

References:

LAMOUROUX, J.V.F. (1809a). Observations sur la physiologic des algues marines, et description de cinq nouveaux genres de cette famille. Nouv. Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 1, 330–333, Plate 6.

PHILLIPS, L.E. (2002b). Taxonomy of Adamsiella L.E. Phillips et W.A. Nelson, gen. nov. and Epiglossum Kützing (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales). J. Phycol. 38, 209–229.

SCHMITZ, F. (1889). Systematische Übersicht der bisher bekannten Gattungen der Florideen. Flora, Jena 72, 435–456, Plate 21.

WILSON, J.B. (1892). Catalogue of algae collected at or near Port Phillip Heads and Western Port. Proc. R. Soc. Viet. 4, 157–190.

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

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.

KEY TO GENERA OF AMANSIEAE

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