The Red Algae ("scarlet") department includes about four thousand species and more than six hundred genera. The oldest representatives found in Cambrian sediments are about 550 million years old.
Due to the presence of a number of features, red algae is considered a separate kingdom in the plant kingdom. Apart from chlorophylls and carotenoids, some water-soluble pigments, phycobilins, are present in the chromatophores of scarlet. As a spare polysaccharide, crimson starch acts. Its grains are deposited outside the chloroplasts in the cytoplasm.
Gametes and crimson spores do not have flagella. The cycle of their development includes three stages. From the zygote (after fusion) a diploid organism is formed - sporophyte. It produces diploid spores, of which the second generation is formed. In the cells of a new sporophyte, meiosis occurs during a certain period and haploid spores develop. The third generation is formed from them - the gamete-producing haploid gametophyte producing gametes.
The cell membranes of red algae contain hemicelluloses and pectins. They have the ability to swell strongly, merging into the total mass of mucus. Often the threads of thallus (shoot) stick together with mucous substances and become slippery to the touch. Phycocolloids are present in the intercellular spaces and cell walls of many red algae. These sulfur-containing polysaccharides are widely used in human activities. The most popular are agaroids, carrageenan and agar. Many red algae are distinguished by the presence of calcium carbonate in the cell walls. This component gives scarlet stiffness.
In a large number of red algae, the formation of thalli is carried out using interwoven multicellular threads. They attach to the substrate using rhizoids. The size of the thalli ranges from a few centimeters to a whole meter.
Red algae predominantly live in the seas. There crimson trees are always attached to shells, stones and other objects at the bottom. Sometimes algae can be found at a sufficiently large depth.
Callitamnion corymbose - typical red algae. This representative of purplish forms very elegant bushes up to ten centimeters high, bright pink. These bushes consist of significantly branched threads.
Nemalion - another representative of red algae - grows on sea rocks. Its pale pink cords reach five millimeters in thickness and twenty-five centimeters in length.
In algae of the genus Delesseria, bright red thalli resemble leaves.
In warm seas, crimson trees of the Corallin genus are common. Their thalli consist of joints impregnated with lime and joined by joints (with a slight content of lime). This gives flexibility to the plant, which helps withstand the effects of waves and develop in areas of strong surf.
Crimson trees are widely used by man in economic activities. As you know, these algae are a rather valuable product due to the presence of protein, trace elements, vitamins.
In Hawaii, in East Asian countries, a variety of dishes are prepared from scarlet. Use these algae in candied or dried form. Of edible scarlet moths, porphyry and childbirth are popular. These algae are found in many seas. In Japan, industrial cultivation of these plants is quite widely developed. Stones, branches are laid in shallow water in the coastal strip, or special nets are woven from thick ropes and fastened to bamboo poles. After a certain period of time, all these objects are overgrown with algae.