Dictyota

 Systematic Position
Kingdom Plantae
Division Gyrista
Class Phaeophyceae
Order Dictyotales
Family Dityotaceae
Genus Dictyota

 Habitat
Dictyota is an algae found in European Atlantic coasts and the Mediterranean Sea. It grows in
tropical and sub-tropical waters.
 Commonly known as brown algae or a type of “seaweed”.
 Its life cycle lasts less than three months and exhibits alternation of generation.
 Sex organs called ‘Sori’ appear on the thallus of the sexual plant(gametophyte).
 Female sori appear as deep brown spots while male ones appear as white spots.
 Dictyota is also of economic significance. One of its many benefits is its high content of sulphated
polysaccharides (eg: Fucan and Fucoidens) which have several therapeutic applications (antiviral,
anticoagulant, etc.)
Sources: Science direct
o P. Baweja, I. Levine, in Seaweed in Health and Disease Prevention, 2016, Biology of Seaweeds
o National Library of Medicine