Ahnfeltia plicata (Hudson) Fries

Also known as Porphyrodiscus simulans Batters, the name for the tetrasporophyte stage
Common names: Landlady's Wig (Eng.)
Description: Gametophytes horny, cylindrical, blackish fronds, narrow (1 mm diam.), irregularly subdichotomously branched, to 120 mm high, from a thin crustose base of up to 200 mm diam. Branches with rounded axils and blunt, often bleached tips and growing through shell fragments. Tetrasporophyte (Porphyrodiscus simulans) a thin, violet crust, generally found in association with the gametophytes.
Habitat: On rock, mid-intertidal to sublittoral, especially common on sand-covered rocks, widely distributed, common.
Distribution: Widespread in the British Isles.
Usage: Used in Russia for the manufacture of Russian Agar, not utilized in Britain and Ireland.
Link: Algaebase

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