Spirogyra

Spirogyra is a genus of freshwater green algae whose unbranched filaments contain distinctive spiral-shaped chloroplasts. It reproduces sexually through conjugation and a resistant zygospore.

Green algae: A diverse group of photosynthetic organisms containing chlorophyll a and b, including many freshwater algae and the ancestors of land plants. Spirogyra belongs to this broad lineage of chlorophyll-bearing algae.
Conjugation (algae): A sexual reproductive process in some algae in which cell contents pass between cells and fuse. Spirogyra commonly reproduces sexually through this process.
Freshwater ecology: The study of organisms and environmental processes in rivers, lakes, ponds, and other inland waters. Spirogyra mats are part of the living communities and nutrient cycles of freshwater habitats.
Zygnematophyceae: A class of green algae that includes conjugating algae and is closely related to land plants. Spirogyra belongs to this class, whose members often reproduce without flagellated cells.
Spirogyra varians: A species of Spirogyra, one of many filamentous freshwater algae in the genus. It provides a species-level example within the genus.
Chloroplast: A photosynthetic organelle in plants and algae, where light energy is converted into chemical energy. Spirogyra’s conspicuous spiral bands are chloroplasts inside each filament cell.
Zygospore: A thick-walled resting spore formed when two compatible reproductive cells fuse. Fusion during Spirogyra conjugation produces a durable zygospore.
Periphyton: A community of algae, microbes, and other organisms attached to submerged surfaces in aquatic environments. Spirogyra can grow among the attached algal communities of shallow waters.
Zygnema: A genus of filamentous green algae whose cells typically contain two star-shaped chloroplasts. Its paired star-shaped chloroplasts contrast with Spirogyra’s spiral bands.
Spirogyra pratensis: A species of freshwater filamentous green alga in the genus Spirogyra. Its species name appears in taxonomic treatments of the genus’s diversity.

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CharophytaBroader topic: Its unbranched filaments exemplify a very different charophyte body form from stoneworts.