Hainault Forest

ALGAE

Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae

Simple plants that do not have roots or flowers. Despite all containing green chlorophyll some are red, orange, blue-green or brown.

FRESHWATER ALGAE

Anabaena. A blue-green algal bloom on the lake. It collects in aggregates or flocs around the edges.

Under the microscope (x400) Anabaena appears as a filamentous alga with similar sized cells occasionally interspersed with a larger heterocyst - looking like a bead necklace.

Euglena. Mud on the edge of Sheepwater having a bright pea-green appearance.

Under the microscope there were masses of motile and non-motile Euglena species. Note the red eye-spot at the anterior end. (x400)

Oscillatoria is another filamentous blue-green alga. This forms blue-green masses in mud. Under the microscope it shows straight filaments of similar cells. The end cell is pointed. Each filament is capable of slowly creeping. (x400) Found in mud near Foxburrows farm.

A Desmid - Pleurotaenium sp. Found in Sheepwater. It is a green alga, and the wavy lines in the middle distinguish this from other desmids. (x400).

TQ4793 23/07/2006

A rigid species of Euglena. Note the red eye spot. Motility is by two anterior flagella. (x400) Sheepwater.

TQ4793 23/07/2006

Another species of Euglena found in Sheepwater (x400).

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Phacus sp. Closely related to Euglena. Has flagella and and anterior red eye spot. Sheepwater.(x400)

TQ4793 21/04/2006

Closterium sp.

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Closterium sp.

TQ4793 21/04/2006

Closterium sp.

Commonly found in Sheepwater and Roe's well amongst the pondweeds. Desmids belong to the Green algae. Identification of individual species helped by measuring the outer edge for the arc of curvature which l to r = 165°, 122° and 100°. (x400).

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This Closterium sp. has a very small arc of curvature. (x400). Sheepwater.

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Cosmarium sp.

A Desmid algae consisting of two semi-cells joined in the middle. Found among submerged vegetation in Sheepwater.

TQ4793 21/04/2006

Cosmarium sp.

Another Desmid algae found at Sheepwater.

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Chaetophora sp. is a green alga, epiphytic on water plants.(x100). Sheepwater.

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Chaetophora sp. Branched filaments (x400) form tufts or balls from which long colourless hairs protrude

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Pandorina sp. a motile, colonial green alga consisting of 8 -16 cells. Each cell has two flagella and the colony is enclosed in a mucilage layer. Sheepwater.

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Peridinium sp. a Dynoflagellate. Found at Sheepwater.

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Peridinium sp. Free swimming cells move with a whirling motion due to two flagella which lie in the grooves of the armoured cell.

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Pediastrum sp. a non-motile green alga. May consist of 8,16 or 32 cells. Found at Sheepwater.

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Mougeotia sp. is an unbranched filamentous green alga. (x100) The chloroplast in the cell is flat and can often be seen end on. Roe's Well.

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Mougeotia sp. (x400) Sheepwater.

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Spirogyra sp. in Roe's Well. Unbranched filamentous green alga with the chloroplast in a spiral within the cell. (x400)

TQ4691 21/04/2006

Oedogonium sp. in Hainault Lodge Pond. Unbranched filamentous green alga. Attached to edges of ponds and plants. The end of the terminal cell is usually rounded. The chloroplast is net-like in each cell. (x400)

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Oedogonium sp. A characteristic is the presence at the end of some cells of ridges like a stack of disposable cups (x950).

TQ4793 13/04/2003

Haematococcus sp. in Roe's Well is unicellular green alga containing a blood red pigment which colours the water red. The green mass is stonewort Chara vulgaris vulgaris.

Red patches of single-celled green algae Haematococcus sp. which contain a blood red pigment.

TQ4792 17/05/2006

Enteromorpha flexuosa pilifera. Length of this specimen 20cms x 12mm width. Attached to rock near outflow of the Lake. Likes nutrient rich water. Often found in marine environments.

TQ4792 17/05/2006

Enteromorpha flexuosa pilifera. A hollow tube, one cell thickness. Detail above x950.

TQ4793 13/04/2003

Chara vulgaris vulgaris - a Stonewort which is present in Roe's Well. Stoneworts are macroscopic green algae which get their name from the presence in them of Calcium carbonate.

TQ4792 21/04/2006

Cladophora sp. on rock in lake edge is a branched filamentous green alga(x100). Hainault Lake.

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Cladophora sp. Often free floating where it gets the name Blanket weed. It feels rough to the touch due to the many species of Diatom which attach themselves to it. (x400)

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Cladophora sp. Diatoms are brown algae with silica shells. (x950).

Blanket weed Cladophora sp. appears in warmer months to cover ponds and is especially common when located in direct sunlight. This particular algae is a filamentous species, commonly referred to as 'String algae', or 'Silk weed'.

TERRESTRIAL ALGAE

TQ4793 23/03/2005

Trentepohlia sp. on Ash tree near Sheepwater forming orangey tufts. It is a green alga with an orange pigment.

TQ4792 16/05/2006

Desmococcus olivaceum a green alga on tree trunk. Formerly known as Pleurococcus, it consists of 1,2,3 or cell clusters on the shaded part of trees. On Dog Kennel Hill.

TQ4792 30/12/2004

Nostoc commune on hoggin path near Foxburrows cottages. This is a macroscopic blue-green algal colony.

This distinct orange colouration on tree trunks is caused by a genus of filamentous green algae Trentepohlia sp. Carotenoid pigments mask the green of chlorophyll so that the algae appear orange. These are similar pigments to those found in carrots. The algae often have a symbiotic relationship with lichens. There are several species that are often treated as an aggregate when recording.

Nostoc commune was a very early form of life on Earth thought to date back 3.5 million years. It is a communal blue-green alga found on paths and bare earth, that is also known as a prokaryote or cyanobacterium. The cells do not contain a nucleus and all its genetic material is spread throughout the cell. From fossil evidence they were present on earth before oxygen had evolved and were able to fix nitrogen.