Ectocarpales is a very large

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

in the

brown algae Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class (biology), class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate ...

(class Phaeophyceae). The order includes families with

pseudoparenchyma This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...

tous (

Splachnidiaceae Splachnidiaceae is a family of brown algae Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class (biology), class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown ...

) or true

parenchyma upright=1.6, Lung parenchyma showing damage due to large subpleural bullae. Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ such as the brain or lungs, or a structure such as a tumour. In zoology, it is the tissue that ...

tous (

Scytosiphonaceae Scytosiphonaceae is a family of brown algae in the order Ectocarpales. Genera: References Ectocarpales Brown algae families {{Phaeophyceae-stub ...

) tissue. Pseudoparenchymatous refers to a filamentous alga with cells packed very close together to give an appearance of parenchymatous tissue, the latter being composed of cells which can truly divide in three dimensions, unusual among the

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

. Filamentous algae are composed of cells that divide along a single plane, allowing only elongation to form filaments of one or more rows of cells. Algae that can divide in two planes can form sheet-like

thalli Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

or bodies. Cells that can divide in a third plane potentially allow for the organism to develop a more complex body plan, and diversification of body plans into an erect thallus of some sort and a

holdfast Holdfast most often refers to: *Holdfast (biology), a root-like structure that anchors aquatic sessile organisms to their substrate *Holdfast (tool), a tool used to secure a workpiece to a workbench or anvil Holdfast or hold fast may also refer t ...

for attaching the upright portion to the substrate. A 2014 classification recognizes the following families: *

Acinetosporaceae Acinetosporaceae is a family of brown algae in the order Ectocarpales Ectocarpales is a very large order (biology), order in the brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). The order includes families with pseudoparenchymatous (Splachnidiaceae) or true ...

Hamel ex J Feldmann * Adenocystaceae F Rousseau, B. de Reviers, M.-C. Leclerc, A Asensi, and R Delépine *

Chordariaceae Chordariaceae is a family (biology), family of brown algae. Members of this family are may be filamentous, crustose with fused cells at the base, or they may be terete and differentiated into a central Medulla (lichenology), medulla and an outer ...

Greville *

Ectocarpaceae Ectocarpaceae is a family of brown algae in the order Ectocarpales Ectocarpales is a very large order (biology), order in the brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). The order includes families with pseudoparenchymatous (Splachnidiaceae) or true pa ...

C Agardh * Petrospongiaceae Racault et al. *

Scytosiphonaceae Scytosiphonaceae is a family of brown algae in the order Ectocarpales. Genera: References Ectocarpales Brown algae families {{Phaeophyceae-stub ...

Farlow

References

Further reading