CHLOROPELTA GEN. NOV., AN ULVACEOUS GREEN ALGA WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE.OF DEVELOPMENT1

A diminutive, distromatic ulvaceous green alga was collected in southern California and studied in culture. The initial stages of development resemble those found in the Ulvaceae sensu Bliding. Germlings pass through a uniseriate filamentous stage, a multiseriate stage and a monostromatic saccate stage. At this stage the development departs from the developmental patterns found in the Ulvaceae. Each cell of the monostromatic upright portion of the germling undergoes a single division in a plane parallel to the surface of the germling to form a distromatic saccate germling. Rupture of the apical end of the germling and continued growth eventually results in a peltate distromatic alga superficially resembling Ulva. Based on the developmental pattern, which is unique to the green algae, the new genus Chloropelta gen. nov. and new species Chloropelta caespitosa sp. nov. are proposed for this alga.