Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskal) J. Agardh

Order Family    Genus Caulerpales Caulerpaceae Caulerpa

Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskal) J. Agardh

Characteristics

Plants wide spreading with long, coarse branching stolons, becoming very densely enlangled in old colonies, which often become 1-2 m in diameter; stout descending rhizoid-bearing branches common; erect foliar branches often much crowded on the stolons, sometimes more remote, one to several centimeters tall, simple or very sparingly forked, covered with short clavate to spherical stalked branchlets; stolon being 0.3 - 0.8 mm in diameter and usually less than 10 cm long, though occasionally some reach 20 cm or more, the assilimators are erect, cylindrical, 1 - 10 cm long and 0.3 - 0.8 mm in diameter, unbranched or occasionally so and during the gretest part of the vegetative period they are devoid of vesicles and thus are similar in appearance to the stolon; assimilators of mature plants carry 1 - 5 pairs of pyriform vesicles measuring about 1.0 1.2 mm in diameter.

Distribution : Maharashtra, Honawar Bhatkal (Karnataka).

Ecological status : Intertidal zone

IUCN status : NE

Uses : Food and animal feed