Cultivating Palmaria palmata - Bord Iascaigh Mhara

a b
Fig. 4.1. Selecting fertile Palmaria fronds for spore release. a) Young reproductive tetrasporophyte – areas of
mature sori marked by rectangles are suitable for spore release. b) Fertile section of Palmaria frond at higher
magnification. c) Older part of Palmaria frond with endophytes - brown areas indicated by arrow. d) Young
Palmaria frond with out-growths at the margins, spore-containing sori (white arrow) and patches with
endophytes (black arrow). Some epiphytic green algae are also attached to the frond. e) Bryozoans growing on
a Palmaria frond. f) Filamentous algae growing on a thallus of Palmaria; arrow indicates small area of
developing sori. Palmaria fronds shown in c-f should not be selected for spore release.
The selected material can then be collected in a tray with a little seawater. When each batch of fronds has been
processed, the material is briefly washed twice in UV-filtered seawater.
c
e
d
f
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