hydrodictyon

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of curious fresh-water algæ, the type of subfamily Hydrodictyeæ of the family Protococcaceæ. The individual cells are oblong-cylindrical and united into a reticulated saccate cœnobium; all are fertile; some produce macrogonidia, which join themselves into a cœnobium within the mother-cell; others produce microgonidia, which are furnished with vibratile cilia and a lateral red spot; these after a brief motile period subside into protococcoid, thick-walled spores. (Cooke.) The plant when full-grown resembles a long purse, whence the name water-net, and consists of a beautifully regular network of threads. The single known species, H. utriculatum, is common to North America and Europe.