Marimo (moss ball) - Cladophora sauteri

Japanese: マリモ(毬藻) - マリモ（英語表記）Cladophora sauteri

A freshwater algae belonging to the family Cladophoraceae of the order Cladophorales. It is found in cool, clear lakes and marshes. This species is also found in Europe (Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK) and Siberia, but Lake Akan in Hokkaido is the southern limit of its distribution, and it has long been designated a National Special Natural Monument. The algae are made up of long cylindrical cells that branch out significantly and grow three-dimensionally almost evenly in all directions, forming beautiful green spheres 2 to 15 cm in diameter. Some people have created a genus called Aegagropila based on this spherical characteristic, but the filamentous body is essentially the same as that of the Cladophora genus. In addition, a variety called Utsuromarimo C. sauteri var. borgeana , which has a cavity in the algae, is known to exist in Uchiho-numa on Etorofu Island and Lake Chimikeppu in Hokkaido, a variety called Toromarimo C. sauteri form. profunda , which has a clump-like algae, is known to exist in Kimomatou and Lake Toro in Hokkaido, and Fujimarimo C. sauteri var. yamanakaensis , a thumb-sized variety with coarse filamentous branches, is known to exist in Lake Fujiyamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture. In addition, another species called C. lagerheimii , whose filamentous branches are intertwined with each other and look like cotton, is known to exist in Lake Toba in Sakhalin. An extremely dwarf species called Himemarimo C. minima is found in Sakyo-numa in Shimokita, Aomori Prefecture.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

緑藻類シオグサ目シオグサ科に属する淡水産の藻類。清冷な湖沼に産する。本種はヨーロッパ (ドイツ，デンマーク，スウェーデン，イギリス) ，シベリアにも分布するが，北海道の阿寒湖が分布の南限であるため早くから国指定特別天然記念物に指定されている。藻体は長円筒形の細胞から成り，著しく分枝しながら立体的にあらゆる方向にほぼ均等に伸長するので，径2～15cmの美しい緑色の球になる。この球状になる特性を重視してマリモ属 Aegagropilaという属を立てた人もいるが，糸状体は本質的にシオグサ属に同じである。なお択捉島の内保沼および北海道チミケップ湖にはウツロマリモ C. sauteri var. borgeanaという藻体に内腔を有する変種が知られ，北海道キモマトウおよび塘路湖には藻体が塊形になる品種トロマリモ C. sauteri form. profundaが知られ，山梨県富士山中湖にはフジマリモ C. sauteri var. yamanakaensisという親指頭大で糸状枝が粗雑な変種が知られている。またサハリン遠場湖には糸状枝が互いにからみ，綿のようになっている C. lagerheimiiという別種が知られている。青森県下北左京沼にはきわめて矮小なヒメマリモ C. minimaという種がある。

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