UC specimens and range limits for Ulva linza

• Blue markers: specimen records
• Yellow marker: type locality, if present
• Red markers: endpoints of range from literature

View map from the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Notes: Ranging from Alaska to southern California (Hayden & Waaland 2004).

Status: This species can usually be confidently identified in the field. Confirmed by DNA sequence: British Columbia, Canada (Saunders & Kucera 2010); Coast Guard Cove, Humboldt Bay, Humboldt Co. (Hayden & Waaland 2004).

Habitat: Mid-low intertidal, subtidal

Life History: Alternation of isomorphic phases, with the sporophyte producing quadriflagellate zoospores and unisexual gametophytes producing biflagellate anisogametes; male and female gametes capable of parthenogenetic development (Tanner 1986; Chihara 1969a; Smith 1947).

Search Sequences in GenBank

Illustration from DeCew's Guide to the Seaweeds of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California

Ulva Linnaeus 1753

Thalli membranous blades, broadly expanded, distromatic, mostly without hollow margins. Blades annual, mostly without stipe; rhizoidal processes from multinucleate lower cells extending downward between blade margins forming usually perennial holdfast. Cells of blade mostly uninucleate. Chloroplast single, laminate or cup-shaped, usually on outer face of cell, with 1 to several pyrenoids. Sporangial and gametangial thalli usually morphologically similar; fertile areas marginal or terminal; zoospores quadriflagellate. Gametes biflagellate, isogamous or anisogamous. Zygote germinating without dormant period.

"Gomontia polyrhiza," which may be a stage in the life history of species of Ulva, is described on p. 120.

Enteromorpha linza (L.) J. Ag.

Ulva linza Linnaeus 1753: 1163. Enteromorpha linza (L.) J. Agardh 1883: 134; Doty 1947a: 18; Bliding 1963: 127; Scagel 1966: 52 (incl. synonymy).

Thalli unbranched, silky, often gregarious, to 50(175) cm tall, 1-10(45) cm wide; distromatic flattened upper portion with hollow monostromatic margins, tapering to tubular hollow monostromatic cylindrical or compressed stipitate basal portion; cells in surface view above stipe portion angular, not ordered, 10-20 µm diam; cells of stipe region in longitudinal rows, usually elongate, (8.5)12-25(34) µm wide, 17-44 µm long; chloroplast laminate to cup-shaped, with 1(2 or 3) pyrenoids; transection of distromatic upper portion of thallus (25)35-60(80) µm thick, with cells 8.525.5 µm wide and 15-35 µm long; monostromatic region of stipe to 45 µm thick, with cells 8.5-25.5 µm wide and to 40 µm long.

On rocks or rarely epiphytic on other algae, midtidal to low intertidal in bays, estuaries, or other semiprotected localities, Orce, Alaska, to Mexico, and Chile; common in Calif. Type locality: probably N. Europe.

Excerpt from Abbott, I. A., & Hollenberg, G. J. (1976). Marine algae of California. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xii [xiii] + 827 pp., 701 figs.

Notes: As Enteromorpha in Marine Algae of California. Molecular studies demonstrated that Enteromorpha and Ulva are synonyms; Ulva has priority (Hayden et al. 2003).