Feather Caulerpa
Caulerpa taxifolia
Caulerpa taxifolia is a species of green seaweed, an alga of the genus Caulerpa, native to tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean Sea. The species name taxifolia arises from the resemblance of its leaf-like fronds to those of the yew (Taxus).
A strain of the species bred for use in aquariums has established non-native populations in waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the United States, and Australia. It is one of two species of algae listed in 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species compiled by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group.
From the article Caulerpa taxifolia on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
C. taxifolia is light green with stolons (stems) on the sea floor, from which sparsely-branched upright fronds of approximately 20–60 cm (8–24 in) in height arise. Algae in the genus Caulerpa synthesize a mixture of toxins termed caulerpicin, believed to impart a peppery taste to the plants. The effects of the specific toxin synthesized by C. taxifolia, caulerpenyne, have been studied, with extracts from C. taxifolia being found to negatively affect P-glycoprotein-ATPase in the sea sponge G. cydonium. Like all members of the genus Caulerpa, C. taxifolia consists of a single cell with many nuclei. The algae has been identified as the largest known single-celled organism. Wild-type C. taxifolia is monoecious.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Caulerpa taxifolia in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 50919.