Aegagropila
| Aegagropila | |
|---|---|
| Aegagropila linnaei in Lake Akan in Japan | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Ulvophyceae |
| Order: | Cladophorales |
| Family: | Pithophoraceae |
| Genus: | Aegagropila Kützing |
| Type species | |
| Aegagropila brownii (Dillwyn) Kützing
| |
| Species | |
| |
Aegagropila is a genus of green algae in the family Pithophoraceae. It is found in freshwater habitats in across the Northern Hemisphere.
Aegagropila consists of densely branched, uniseriate filaments, forming spherical aggregates, solid or hollow balls, or tufts and cushions attached to a substrate. Branches grow off the side (laterally) or just below the tip of the cell (subterminally); older cells may produce a second or third branch. Older cells are often irregularly club-shaped, with many branches. Basal poles of cells may produce rhizoids that can attach to other filaments. Each chloroplast has many pyrenoids.
Aegagropila is morphologically similar to, and sometimes indistinguishable from the genus Aegagropilopsis.