Marine Plants of Hawai'i
Order Corallinales
| Jania adherens |
|
| Description: calcified brittle branches pink to white color |
| Size: less then 0.5mm and 0.3-2cm long. |
| Habitat: close examination of almost any habitat will reveal the
presence of this seaweed |
|
| Porolithon garderni |
 |
| Description: forms pinkish calcareous crusts or much branched
hemispherical shaped heads |
| Size: 10-30cm across (or larger). |
| Habitat: on reef crest and just seaward of crest. |
| Photograph: Puhi Bay, Hilo Hawai'i. 1996 |
| Porolthon onkodes |
|
| Description: forms extensive pinkish to purplish chalky crusts in
intertidal areas exposed to surf action. Due to strong tolerance to sunlight and
desiccation and its crustose nature it is extremely successful in occupying high wave
energy habitats. P. onkodes performs a critical role in the formation and
maintenance of the biotic reefs of Hawaii by providing an actively growing reef rim,
allowing consolidation and cementation of reef material to occur in protected shoreward
areas or the Porolithon ridge. |
| Size: |
| Habitat: intertidal areas exposed to surf. |
|
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