''Desmococcus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

in the family Stichococcaceae. It is a

subaerial In natural science, subaerial (literally "under the air") has been used since 1833,Subaerial
in the Merriam- ...

genus of algae with a cosmopolitan distribution. Algae in the genus ''Desmococcus'' were first named in 1777 by J.C.D. von Schreber, who thought it was a

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

and named it ''Lichen viridis''. After being redescribed in various other genera such as ''

Pleurococcus ''Pleurococcus'' is a genus of green algae in the family Chaetophoraceae that are spherical in shape with a thick cell wall to protect themselves against excessive water loss. They can be found alone or in bunches together forming a slimy layer a ...

'' or '' Protococcus'', the genus was described in 1925 by F. Brand with ''D. vulgaris'' as its type. The type species is '' Desmococcus olivaceus''. Molecular data show that ''Desmococcus'' is closely related to ''

Stichococcus ''Stichococcus'' is a genus of green algae in the family Stichococcaceae. It is a very common algal genus found in a variety of habitats, such as tree trunks, soil, snow, freshwater and marine habitats. One species, '' Stichococcus bacillaris'' ...

'' and related genus, a common genus of algae with rod-shaped cells. ''Desmococcus'' differs from ''Stichococcus'' and its congeners in morphology (having sarcinoid colonies or short branched filaments, and the ability to produce zoospores).

Description

''Desmococcus'' consists of cells found in cuboidal packets (sarcinoid habit) or short branched uniseriate filaments. Cells are uninucleate with a single, trough-shaped

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

and a

pyrenoid Pyrenoids are sub-cellular phase-separated micro-compartments found in chloroplasts of many algae,Giordano, M., Beardall, J., & Raven, J. A. (2005). CO2 concentrating mechanisms in algae: mechanisms, environmental modulation, and evolution. ''An ...

; however, the pyrenoid is naked and difficult to see.

Asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the f ...

occurs by the production of

aplanospore {{Short pages monitor