Part A | 6.3
106 Part A Marine Flora and Fauna
grazing. Continual regeneration leads to great variation in the appearance of individual plants as each
new growth could come from the end, margin or surface of the blade. Fronds are frequently encrusted
with the spiral tube worm Spirorbis spirorbis or bryozoans [6.575].
Habitat. Frequent in shady pools in lower intertidal
and on rock subtidally to 30 m.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (Scandinavia to Canary Islands, North Sea); W Mediterranean; Black Sea; Freefloating forms in the Baltic Sea.
Uses and Compounds. Raw material for the agar
production on the Black Sea [6.32]. Extracts have antifungal activity [6.62].
Polyides rotundus (Hudson) Gaillon
Common Names. Discoid forked weed, Goat tang.
Description. Dark red or blackish seaweed with
smooth, cartilaginous, cylindrical fronds, branching dichotomously in roughly the same plane. The fronds
rise from a fleshy, discoid holdfast up to 2 cm in diameter. The reproductive bodies occur as oval-shaped
swellings along the sides of the branches or occasionally encircling them. The seaweed grows up to 20 cm in
length [6.576].
Habitat. On rocks and stones in open sandy pools and
runnels, lower intertidal and shallow sublittoral.
Distribution. N and NE Atlantic (Arctic Ocean to
Iberian Peninsula, Baltic); NW Atlantic (Arctic Canada
to New York).
Uses and Compounds. Extracts have antifouling activity [6.532].
Solieria chordalis (C. Agardh) J. Agardh
Description. Thallus tufted, vividly red, axes cylindrical, thin, only sparsely branching at first, later characteristically with relatively long, unilaterally inserted
appendices, height to 20 cm [6.577].
Habitat. In sheltered localities below the mid-littoral
zone on rocks.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (from N France to S Morocco), Mediterranean.
Uses and Compounds. Source of carrageenan [6.521,
578–581]. Extracts have hemagglutinating [6.375], and
Immunostimulation [6.581] activity.
Sphaerococcus coronopifolius Stackhouse
Common Name. Berry wart.
Description. Narrow, compressed, two-edged, cartilaginous, scarlet fronds, main axes dark brownish red,
to 300 mm long; branching abundant, distichous, subdichotomous or alternate, terminal branchlets acute,
fringed with short marginal proliferations. Tetrasporophyte is Haematocelis fissurata, a thick crust with oily
fissures, with which it is sometimes found [6.582].
Habitat. Rarely on rocks in lower littoral, often common in the shallow sublittoral to 15 m.
Distribution. E Atlantic (Ireland and Britain to Canary Islands); Mediterranean, the Black Sea.
Uses and Compounds. Extracts have antifouling
[6.583], cytotoxic and antimitotic [6.62, 332, 584, 585],
antiviral [6.586], antibacterial and antifungal [6.62,
275], activity.
Stenogramma interruptum (C. Agardh)
Montagne
Description. Cartilaginous, flattened, bright-red
fronds, to 70 mm high, shortly stipitate from the
discoid base. Lamina fan-shaped, ˙dichotomously
divided, segments about 10 mm wide, with rounded
apices, margin usually smooth, rarely proliferous;
reproductive structures often occurring in a clearly
visible, often discontinuous, midrib over the surface of
the fronds [6.587].
Habitat. Epilithic, sublittoral to 13 m, in sheltered areas on small stones among gravel and mud [6.518].
On rocks, stones, etc., sublittoral, southern and western
coasts, occasional.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (Ireland and Britain to Morocco); West of Atlantic (Canada to Brazil); E and W
Pacific (Japan, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Peru); Australia
and New Zealand.
Uses and Compounds. Produces carrageenan –
polysaccharides from tetrasporic plants (lambdacarrageenan) of S. interruptum showed higher anticoagulant activity than those isolated from cystocarpic
106 Part A Marine Flora and Fauna
grazing. Continual regeneration leads to great variation in the appearance of individual plants as each
new growth could come from the end, margin or surface of the blade. Fronds are frequently encrusted
with the spiral tube worm Spirorbis spirorbis or bryozoans [6.575].
Habitat. Frequent in shady pools in lower intertidal
and on rock subtidally to 30 m.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (Scandinavia to Canary Islands, North Sea); W Mediterranean; Black Sea; Freefloating forms in the Baltic Sea.
Uses and Compounds. Raw material for the agar
production on the Black Sea [6.32]. Extracts have antifungal activity [6.62].
Polyides rotundus (Hudson) Gaillon
Common Names. Discoid forked weed, Goat tang.
Description. Dark red or blackish seaweed with
smooth, cartilaginous, cylindrical fronds, branching dichotomously in roughly the same plane. The fronds
rise from a fleshy, discoid holdfast up to 2 cm in diameter. The reproductive bodies occur as oval-shaped
swellings along the sides of the branches or occasionally encircling them. The seaweed grows up to 20 cm in
length [6.576].
Habitat. On rocks and stones in open sandy pools and
runnels, lower intertidal and shallow sublittoral.
Distribution. N and NE Atlantic (Arctic Ocean to
Iberian Peninsula, Baltic); NW Atlantic (Arctic Canada
to New York).
Uses and Compounds. Extracts have antifouling activity [6.532].
Solieria chordalis (C. Agardh) J. Agardh
Description. Thallus tufted, vividly red, axes cylindrical, thin, only sparsely branching at first, later characteristically with relatively long, unilaterally inserted
appendices, height to 20 cm [6.577].
Habitat. In sheltered localities below the mid-littoral
zone on rocks.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (from N France to S Morocco), Mediterranean.
Uses and Compounds. Source of carrageenan [6.521,
578–581]. Extracts have hemagglutinating [6.375], and
Immunostimulation [6.581] activity.
Sphaerococcus coronopifolius Stackhouse
Common Name. Berry wart.
Description. Narrow, compressed, two-edged, cartilaginous, scarlet fronds, main axes dark brownish red,
to 300 mm long; branching abundant, distichous, subdichotomous or alternate, terminal branchlets acute,
fringed with short marginal proliferations. Tetrasporophyte is Haematocelis fissurata, a thick crust with oily
fissures, with which it is sometimes found [6.582].
Habitat. Rarely on rocks in lower littoral, often common in the shallow sublittoral to 15 m.
Distribution. E Atlantic (Ireland and Britain to Canary Islands); Mediterranean, the Black Sea.
Uses and Compounds. Extracts have antifouling
[6.583], cytotoxic and antimitotic [6.62, 332, 584, 585],
antiviral [6.586], antibacterial and antifungal [6.62,
275], activity.
Stenogramma interruptum (C. Agardh)
Montagne
Description. Cartilaginous, flattened, bright-red
fronds, to 70 mm high, shortly stipitate from the
discoid base. Lamina fan-shaped, ˙dichotomously
divided, segments about 10 mm wide, with rounded
apices, margin usually smooth, rarely proliferous;
reproductive structures often occurring in a clearly
visible, often discontinuous, midrib over the surface of
the fronds [6.587].
Habitat. Epilithic, sublittoral to 13 m, in sheltered areas on small stones among gravel and mud [6.518].
On rocks, stones, etc., sublittoral, southern and western
coasts, occasional.
Distribution. NE Atlantic (Ireland and Britain to Morocco); West of Atlantic (Canada to Brazil); E and W
Pacific (Japan, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Peru); Australia
and New Zealand.
Uses and Compounds. Produces carrageenan –
polysaccharides from tetrasporic plants (lambdacarrageenan) of S. interruptum showed higher anticoagulant activity than those isolated from cystocarpic