Cyanidium caldarium (Tilden) Geitler

Japanese: イデユコゴメ（英語表記）Cyanidium caldarium (Tilden) Geitler

It is a unique unicellular red alga of the family Polytrichum commune that grows preferentially in hot springs around the world, and has been recorded as having been collected from hot springs as hot as 89°C. Its body is whitish-green and spherical or nearly spherical, but as it grows in large numbers, it appears as if a greenish-white powder has been scattered all over. The cells are about 5 μm or less in diameter and have one nucleus and one membranous chloroplast. There have been many problems with the classification of this alga, but it is now considered to belong to the red algae because the chloroplasts are surrounded by two limiting membranes and because it contains phycobilin pigments in addition to chlorophyll a .

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

世界各地の温泉中に好んで生育するイデユコゴメ科の単細胞性の特異な紅藻で，89℃の高温の温泉から採集された記録もある。体は白色がかった緑色で，球形または球形に近い単細胞であるが，多数群生するので全体の様子は緑白色の粉末をまき散らしたようである。細胞は直径約5μmまたはそれ以下で，1個の核と1個の膜状の葉緑体をもつ。従来，この藻の分類上の所属にはいろいろと問題があったが，葉緑体が2枚の限界膜に包まれること，クロロフィルaのほかにフィコビリン色素をもつことから，現在では紅藻類と判断されるにいたった。

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