Gracilaria blodgettii

Thallus caespitose, somewhat turgid, cartilaginous, 15-40 cm high, reddishpurple. Main axes cylindrical (1.0-2.0 mm in diam.). Branching irregular, unilateral or alternate. Branches and branchlets cylindrical, tapering to acute tips, slightly curved inwards, and abruptly constricted at their bases. Terasporangia ovate, oblong, to globose, cruciately divided, (25)-30-35(-40)×(15)-21-25 mm. Cystocarps spherical, markedly projecting from the axis. Attachment by small discoid holdfast. Growing on dead corals, stones, shells, in tidepools, at low intertidal to upper subtidal, in sites exposed to moderate wave action.

Note: This species is used in folk medicine in Japan and in China.

Europe. Atlantic, Indian, Pacific Oceans. Common in countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.