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Benthic Marine Algae of Rotuma Island
Caulerpaceae
Caulerpa Lamouroux 1809: 136
Key to the Rotuman Species of Caulerpa
(Adapted in part from South and N'Yeurt 1993)
1. Branchlets usually stalked, the ends generally sharply swollen ............................ .6
1: Branchlets not stalked, ends not swollen ........................................... .2-5
2. Assimilators flattened or compressed, not spirally twisted .................. C. cupressoides
2: Assimilators angular to compressed, spirally twisted ......................... C. serrulata
3. Assimilators spirally twisted, marginal teeth about twice as long as broad ......................
................................................. C. serrulata var. typica f. serrulata
3: Assimilators straight or only slightly spirally twisted, marginal teeth shorter than broad ...........
............................................. C. serrulata var. boryarza f. occideiztalis
4. Axes not dichotomous, branchlets not distichous ......................... C. cupressoides
4: Assimilators dichotomous, nearly all distichous ..... C. cupressoides var. lycopodiuiiz f. elegaizs
5. Plants large, sparingly branched; assimilators in several ranks ...............................
............................................ C. cupressoides var. typica f. lycopodiurn
5: Plants small, branching bushy, assimilators arranged in 5 or more ranks .......................
.................................................... C. cupressoides var. mamillosa
6. Ends of branchlets terminating abruptly in a peltate disk, or with trumpet-shaped branchlets with
concave, flattened ends ........................................................ .7
6: Ends of branchlets generally swollen, varying from nearly cylindrical to clavate, subspherical or
terminally flattened ........................................................... .8
7. Ends of branchlets terminating abruptly in a peltate disk, plants small; branchlets few ............
......................................................... C. racernosa var. peltata
7: Ends of branchlets trumpet-shaped, flattened, plants larger, branchlets moderately to densely radially
arranged ................................................... C. racernosa var. turbinata
8. Branchlets 20-30 mm high, not corpulent; ends of branchlets subspherical and inflated, 2-4 mm
in diameter, laxly beset about foliar axis ........................ C. raceiizosa var. clavifera
8: Branchlets 10-20 mm high, corpulent; ends of branchlets club to trumpet-shaped, 1-2 mm in
diameter, compact, very densely beset about foliar axis ............. C. raceiizosa var. uvtfera
Caulerpa cupressoides (Vahl) C. Agardh 1823: 441; Okamura 1923: 194, pl. 200, fig. 2
(as var. typica); Yamada and Tanaka 1938: 61 (var. typica); S. Yamada 1940; Chapman
1955: 355 (var. typica); Taylor 1960: 146, pl. 14, figs 3,4, Fig. 6; pl. 15, figs 1-4; pl. 18, figs
11-13; 1966; Chapman 1961: 142, fig. 167 (var. typica); Durairatnam 1961: 28; Trono 1968:
170, pl. 14, fig. 8, pl. 15, fig. 3; Womersley and Bailey 1970: 274; Dawes 1974: 74; Taylor
1977: 4; Tsuda and Wray 1977: 94; Meiiez and Calumpong 1982: 6, pl. 1, figs B, C; Dong
and Tseng 1984: 280, pl. 139, fig. 4; Trono 1986: 214, fig. 9; Silva et al. 1987: 104; Gamgue
and Tsuda 1988: 57; Littler et al. 1989: 48; Coppejans and Beeckman 1990: 113, figs 3-7;
Tsuda 1991: 40; Coppejans 1992: 389, fig. 1C; Coppejans and Prud'homme van Reine
1992a: 172; Coppejans and Prud'homme van Reine 1992b: 676, fig. 2A, 8A; South and Yen
1992: 127; Verheij and Prud'homme van Reine 1993: 121, pl. 1, fig. 2.
Fucus cupressoides Vahl 1802: 38 (type locality: St Croix, Virgin Islands).
(Fig. 24)
Plants forming dense aggregations, with a smooth spreading stolon up to 30 cm long and
3 mm in diameter, anchored by numerous rhizoid-bearing branches spaced at close
(0.5-1 cm) intervals. Foliar axes up to 4 cm tall, often strongly forked with sub-dichotomous
branching. Ramelli oppositely pinnate and terete, with upward curving tendency, tapering to
a sharp point at the tip, and generally twice as long as the diameter of the supporting axis.
The ramelli usually arranged in ranks of 3s, sometimes 2s or up to 5.
Fijian Records
Chapman 1977: 161; Kasahara 1988; South 1991: 5; South and Kasahara 1992: 49; South
and N'Yeurt 1993: 112, fig. 7.