Yellow-green algae

Yellow-green algae are mostly freshwater algae in the class Xanthophyceae. Their pigments give them a yellow-green appearance, and they typically lack fucoxanthin.

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Xanthophyceae: A class of stramenopile algae that includes yellow-green algae. This taxonomic class is the formal group identified by the common name.
Photosynthesis: The process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy. Yellow-green algae use photosynthesis to build organic matter from light and carbon dioxide.
Vaucheria: A genus of yellow-green algae that often forms branched, tube-like filaments. Its coenocytic filaments are a familiar example of yellow-green algal structure.
Diatom: A unicellular or colonial alga, usually enclosed in a silica cell wall, within the stramenopile lineage. Diatoms are related stramenopiles that commonly contain fucoxanthin, unlike this group.
Chlorophyll: A family of green pigments that absorbs light for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll contributes green color and captures light in yellow-green algae.
Chloroplast: A membrane-bound organelle where photosynthesis occurs in plants and many algae. Chloroplasts house the pigments and machinery used by these algae.
Botrydium: A genus of terrestrial yellow-green algae that forms globular, bladder-like bodies. It illustrates that the group includes algae living on damp soil, not only in water.
Brown algae: A group of mostly marine multicellular algae whose brown color comes largely from fucoxanthin. Their fucoxanthin-rich pigmentation contrasts with the typical pigment profile of yellow-green algae.
Carotenoid: A family of pigments that absorb light and often protect cells from excess illumination. Carotenoids help produce the yellow tones that distinguish these algae.
Coenocytic growth: Growth in which a cell or filament contains multiple nuclei without complete internal cell divisions. Some yellow-green algae form large, multinucleate bodies through this growth pattern.