Taxonomic Notes on Marine Algae from Malaysia. VIII. Three Species of Laurencia (Rhodophyceae)

Three species of the red algal genus Laurencia (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae) are reported from Malaysia for the first time: L. lageniformis Masuda, L. nangii Masuda and L. calliclada Masuda. Some morphological features regarding corps en cerise and spermatangial branches, which have been unknown for these species, are described. The occurrence of plural corps en cerise in individual trichoblast cells of L. nangii is the first report for the species of Laurencia , as some species have been reported to possess two to four (or more) corps en cerise in superficial cortical cells, but such species are known to contain only a single corps en cerise in trichoblast cells. Furthermore, halogenated secondary metabolite contents of these species are reported.