THE PORPHYRA SPECIES OF HELGOLAND (BANGIALES, RHODOPHYTA)

This revision of seven Porphyra species of Helgoland was based on a study of the structure of their fertile thalli and the behaviour of their spores. Regarding the reproductive organization the species may be arranged in two groups. P. leucosticta and P. purpureo-violacea are obligate monoecious species. Asexual thalli have never been observed in the field. The other five species are generally dioecious. Isomorphic sexual thalli and asexually propagating ones are mixed in uniform populations. Carpospores originating from sexual fusion develop into the diploid Conchocelis phase. Sporangia of asexual plants, though homologous in formation, produce spores of different kinds: aplanospores that give rise to the vegetative thallus directly (in P. umbilicalis, P. insolita n. sp. and P. ochotensis) and spores that develop into haploid Conchocelis (in P. laciniata and in P. linearis). P. laciniata - formerly considered synonymous with P. purpurea - is an independent species.