''Lemanea'' is a genus of freshwater
red algae
Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...
, in the order
Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (red algae) it in fact is green in colour.
Description
''Lemanea'' is a stiff bristle-like branched or unbranched alga similar to a coarse
horsehair
Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...
. Close inspection show it to have small swellings at more or less regular intervals along its length. It grows to 40 cm in length, in bunches in freshwater. It is blue-green to olive in colour when young. The asexual stage is a row of single-celled branched filaments.
[Guiry, M.D., John, D.M., Rindi, F. and McCarthy, T.K. (Edited) 2007. ''New Survey of Clare Island. Volume 6: The Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae.'' Royal Irish Academy. ]
Species
World-wide nine species are listed in algaebase:
* ''
Lemanea borealis'' Atkinson
* ''
Lemanea ciliata
''Lemanea'' is a genus of freshwater red algae, in the order Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (red algae) it in fact is green in colour.
Description
' ...
'' (Sirodot) De Toni
* ''
Lemanea condensata'' Israelson
* ''
Lemanea fluviatilis
''Lemanea fluviatilis'' is a species of alga belonging to the family Lemaneaceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q894224
Batrachospermales ...
'' (Linnaeus) C. Agardh
* ''
Lemanea fucina'' Bory de Saint-Vincent
**
''Lemanea fucina'' var. ''parva'' M.L.Vis & R.G. Sheath
* ''
Lemanea mamillosa
''Lemanea'' is a genus of freshwater red algae, in the order Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (red algae) it in fact is green in colour.
Description
'' ...
'' Kützing
* ''
Lemanra rigida'' (Sirodot) De toni
* ''
Laminea sinca'' C.C. Jac
* ''
Lemanea sudeica
''Lemanea'' is a genus of freshwater red algae, in the order Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (red algae) it in fact is green in colour.
Description
'' ...
'' Kützing
Taxonomy
The genus name of ''Lemanea'' is in honour of Dominique Sébastien Léman (1781-1829), who was an Italian-French botanist (interested in
Pteridology
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...
, Algology and Mycology) and also
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
.
The genus was
circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every polyg ...
by Jean Baptiste Bory de St. Vincent in Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. (Paris) vol.12 on page 178 in 1808.
Distribution
The genus is considered to be cosmopolitan in the northern hemisphere.
Europe
United Kingdom
There are two species in the British Isles:-
* ''
Lemanea fluviatilis
''Lemanea fluviatilis'' is a species of alga belonging to the family Lemaneaceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q894224
Batrachospermales ...
'' (L.) C.Ag.
* ''
Lemanea fucina'' Bory
Ireland
The records of this genus in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
are few with only three historic records from the north of Ireland in the
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...
Herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
(BEL). One collected by
William Thompson in 1839; one collected by W. Sawers in 1856 and one collected in 1884 by H.W.Lett. These seem to be the earliest records from the north of Ireland. A more recent specimen collected in 1959 by Miss M.P.H. Kertland near
Dungiven,
Co. Londonderry is also preserved. A further 16 specimens were collected recently, that is within the last 50 years and have been added to the collection - all from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. They have also one foreign specimen collected from the
Faroes
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betw ...
.
A ''Lemanea'' species was found on slabs in the rapidly flowing streams in the NW of the Island of
Mull
Mull may refer to:
Places
*Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides
** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland
* Mount Mull, Antarctica
*Mull Hill, Isle of Man
* Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...
.
[Hibberd, D.J. in ''The Island of Mull a survey of its flora and environment.'' Ed A.C. Jermy and J.A. Crabbe. British Museum (Natural History) London. 1978]
In 2007, ''Lemanea fucina'' has been reported from Clare Island.
North America
In
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
two species in this genus are listed.
[Vis, M,L, and Sheath, R.G. 1992. Systematics of the freshwater red algael family Lemaneaceae in North America. ''Phycologia.'' 31: 164 - 179]
* ''
Lemanea borealis'' Atkinson
* ''
Lemanea fluviatilis
''Lemanea fluviatilis'' is a species of alga belonging to the family Lemaneaceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q894224
Batrachospermales ...
'' (Linnaeus) C.Agardh
**
''Lemanea fucina'' var. ''parva'' M.L. Vis & R.G. Sheath
References
General references
* John, D.M., Whitton, B.A. and Brook, A.J. (Ed.) 2002. ''The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles.'' Cambridge University Press.
* Morton, O. 1978. ''Lemanea'' in the north of Ireland. ''Irish Naturalists' Journal'' 19: 205.
* Sawers, W. 1854. List of algae gathered in the north of Ireland. ''Naturalist, Morris'' 4: 254 - 257.
* West, G.S. and Fritsch, F.E. 1927. ''A Treatise on the British Freshwater Algae.'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
acsimile edition printed in 1968 as Vol. 3 of Bibliotheca Phycologia. J.Cramer, Lehre.
Further reading
* Scannell, M.J.P. 1977. Localities in Cork East for ''Lemanea'' sp. (Rhodophycea) ''Ir. Nat. J.'' 19: 25.
External links
algaebase.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q290961
Batrachospermales
Red algae genera