A morphological study of Fimbrifolium, a new genus in the Cystocloniaceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) [Algae]

Fimbrifolium is described as a new genus for the taxon, Rhodophyllis dichotoma (Lepechin) Gobi. Vegetatively, Fimbrifolium dichotomum is similar to some species of Rhodophyllis and Craspedocarpus , but reproductively it differs from these genera in three main features: the carposporophyte develops with the first gonimoblast initial produced in an outward direction away from the axis; at maturity, the carposporophyte consists of a central fusion cell with outwardly radiating chains of carposporangia and inwardly radiating nutritive filaments; and, in the mature tetrasporophyte, tetrasporangia are borne in an intercalary position in cortical rosette-filaments. The relative importance of these features as generic characteristics in the family is discussed.