Gracilaria gracilis (Stackhouse) Steentoft, L Irvine & Farnham

Description: Thallus terete, rising from a small discoid holdfast terete to 60 cms long. Unbranched or variably branched, irregular. Cystocarps large, to 1 mm in diameter, produding as nodules.

Habitat: Common. Epilithic in the lower littoral and sublittoral to 15 m.

Distribution: Widely distributed around the British Isles from the Shetlands to the Channel Islands. Europe: Mediterranean, Portugal, Atlantic coast of Spain, Netherlands, Helgoland, Baltic Sea and Norway. Atlantic coasts of America: from Canada to Brazil. Further afield: Bermuda, Canary Islands, Namibia, South Africa, India and in the Pacific Ocean from British Columbia to Baja California, Philippines and Fiji.

Similar Species: Cystoclonium purpureum can be distinguished by its branched holdfast and by the small cells in the centre of the thallus. Rhodomela confervoides shows a large cell in the centre surrounded by about 5 larger cells and others decreasing in size outwards.

Key Identification Features:

• String-like. If with cystocarps the nodules are as knots on the the string.

Distribution Map from BioMar data for Ireland - Google Earth map:  download this placemark (not got Google Earth installed?)

Distribution Map from NBN: JNCC MNCR Seasearch data - Grid map : Interactive map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.