Summary
The thick and anatomically complex stalks of a Western Australian species ofCryptonemia (Cryptonemiales, Rhodophyta) are characterized by growth rings in cross-section. Cells of the medulla may die as the diameter of the stalks increases to maximum widths of over 2 centimeters, the remaining cell walls appearing to function as purely supportive tissue (a phenomenon hitherto unreported in the red algae). All cells of the stalk are enclosed by thick, compact cell walls and are interconnected by pit connections which become progressively more convoluted and fluted with increasing distance of the cells from the stalk surface. This is the first report of such a pit-connection morphology. It is suggested that the modification may serve to aid transport of solutes towards the more deeply-buried layers of living cells.
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Wetherbee, R., Kraft, G.T. Morphological and fine structural features of pit connections inCryptonemia sp., a highly differentiated marine red alga from Australia. Protoplasma 106, 167–172 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02115970
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02115970