Sargassum johnsonii
| Sargassum johnsonii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Gyrista |
| Subphylum: | Ochrophytina |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Fucales |
| Family: | Sargassaceae |
| Genus: | Sargassum |
| Species: | S. johnsonii
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| Binomial name | |
| Sargassum johnsonii Chapman, 1961
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Sargassum johnsonii is a
Three Kings Islands in New Zealand. It is sometimes called totara weed because of the resemblance to the foliage of the NZ native tree totara.[1] Its scientific name derives from its discoverer, Magnus Earle Johnson, Three Kings Islands explorer and captain of the yacht Rosemary, who landed botanists on the islands on several occasions.[2]
Sargassum johnsonii grows in rocky
subtidal zone up to a depth of 40 m. It is a foundation species, and being very abundant around Three Kings Islands it creates numerous microhabitats for other forms of marine life such as bryozoans, sea squirts, and sponges.[3]
Morphology
Plants are usually large, with a height of 50–60 cm. The main stem is bare and knobby. Basal leaves have strap-shaped form, simple or lobed with an indistinct midrib. Upper leaves are small, narrow and with an indistinct midrib. Holdfast is a small truncate disc. The thallus is dark brown, with a tough, leathery texture. It has no air-vesicles, and its receptacles are small, swollen, and around 2 mm long, clustered in the axils of the upper leaves.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0908812219.
References
- ^ Ballance, Alison (July–August 2013). "Treasure Islands". New Zealand Geographic (122). Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ Godley, Eric (1993). "Biographical Notes (11): Magnus Earle Johnson (1885–1976)" (PDF). New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter. 33: 13–15.
- .