Chlorophyta (Green algae)

There are many species of green seaweeds in California, but we will only cover some of the common species on our web page. The list below represents some of the more common species that one can encounter in California. Active links to those species we have photographed or scanned are in blue. Like most of our website, this is a work in progress. Please re-visit for updates. All of the seaweed pictures here were taken by Luis A. Solorzano using an Olympus C-2100 digital camera.

Class Chlorophyceae
   Order Ulotrichales
       Family Ulotrichaceae
          Genus Ulothrix
               Ulothrix pseudoflacca Wille
       Family Monostromataceae
          Genus Monostroma
       Family Ulvaceae
          Genus Blidingia
               Blidingia minima var. subsalsa (Kjellm.)
                      Kornmann & Sahling ex Scagel et al.
          Genus Enteromorpha
              Enteromorpha compresa (Linnaeus) Nees
              Enteromorpha intestinalis (Linnaeus) Nees
         Genus Ulva
              Ulva lobata (Sea lettuce)
Order Prasiolales
       Family Prasiolaceae
        Genus Prasiola
             Prasiola meridionalis
Order Cladophorales
       Family Cladophoraceae
        Genus Chaetomorpha
            Chaetomorpha linum
            Chaetomorpha spiralis
        Genus Cladophora
           Cladophora columbiana
           Cladophora graminea
        Genus Rhizoclonium
           Rhizoclonium
        Genus Acrosiphonia
           Acrosiphonia coalita (Ruprecht) Yendo
        Genus Urospora
           Urospora
Order Codiales
      Family Bryopsidaceae
        Genus Bryopsis
           Bryopsis corticulans
      Family Derbesiaceae
         Genus Derbesia
           Derbesia marina
      Family Codiaceae
           Genus Codium
           Codium fragile (Dead Man's Fingers)
           Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides

This species list represents some of the more common green seaweeds that might be encountered in California and were taken from:

Marine Algae of California,
Isabella A. Abbott and George J. Hollenberg, Stanford University Press (1976)

Seashore Plants of California
E. Yale Dawson and Michael S. Foster, California Natural History Guides: 47, University of California Press (1982)

Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Changes for California Seaweeds, Draft: November 2001, Kathy Ann Miller, Wrigley Marine Science Center, Santa Catalina Island:

http://wrigley.usc.edu/pdf/CA_Seaweeds_11-01.pdf