Black pine Neorhodomela larix | |
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Neorhodomela larix with Analipus japonicus , Cambria, California | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Clade: | Archaeplastida |
Division: | Rhodophyta |
Class: | Florideophyceae |
Order: | Ceramiales |
Family: | Rhodomelaceae |
Genus: | Neorhodomela |
Species: | N. larix |
Binomial name | |
Neorhodomela larix | |
Synonyms | |
Neorhodomela larix, commonly known as black pine, is a species of red algae native to coastal areas of the North Pacific, from Mexico to the Bering Sea to Japan. It forms dense mats on semi-exposed rocks in intertidal areas. The thallus is dark brown to black in color with whorled branches resembling a bottlebrush or a pine tree's branches. [1] [2]
The brown alga Soranthera ulvoidea is commonly found as an epiphyte on Neorhodomela species, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] especially N. larix [8] Isabella Abbott notes that individuals of Soranthera growing on Neorhodomela species as a host differ from those found on other hosts by tending to be attached more broadly, thick walled, spherical, and occurring primarily in northern or central California. [6]