Green algae are a group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms that include species with haplobiontic and diplobiontic life cycles/02%3A_Biodiversity_(Organismal_Groups)/2.04%3A_Protists/2.4.03%3A_Photosynthetic_Protists/2.4.3.03%3A_Red_and_Green_Algae). They are characterized by their greenish color, which comes from having chlorophylls a and b in their plastids, as well as the accessory pigments beta carotene (red-orange) and xanthophylls (yellow) in stacked thylakoids. Here are some general characteristics of green algae:
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Forms: Green algae have many forms, including unicellular, multicellular, or colonial/02%3A_Biodiversity_(Organismal_Groups)/2.04%3A_Protists/2.4.03%3A_Photosynthetic_Protists/2.4.3.03%3A_Red_and_Green_Algae). Unicellular green algae are solitary, single-celled photosynthetic organisms, while multicellular algae appear filamentous or form leaf-like thallus. Some of them form colonies, such as Volvox species.
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Cell wall: The cell wall of a green algal cell usually contains cellulose, and they store carbohydrate in the form of starch/02%3A_Biodiversity_(Organismal_Groups)/2.04%3A_Protists/2.4.03%3A_Photosynthetic_Protists/2.4.3.03%3A_Red_and_Green_Algae).
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Reproduction: Green algae reproduce both sexually and asexually. Vegetative reproduction occurs by fragmentation, stolons, and tubers, while asexual reproduction takes place by mitospores. The common asexual spores are zoospores, aplanospores, hypnospores, and akinetes. Sexual reproduction is effected by isogamy, anisogamy, and oogamy.
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Habitat: Green algae can be found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats such as soil, rocks, and trees/02%3A_Biodiversity_(Organismal_Groups)/2.04%3A_Protists/2.4.03%3A_Photosynthetic_Protists/2.4.3.03%3A_Red_and_Green_Algae). About 90% of the total species grow in freshwater habitats and 10% in marine water.
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Life cycle: Green algae have three types of life cycles: haplontic, diplontic, and haplodiplontic. In haplontic life cycle, the dominant phase is haploid, while in diplontic life cycle, the dominant phase is diploid. The haplodiplontic life cycle possesses well-developed multicellular haploid and diploid structures.
Green algae are a diverse group of organisms with diverse life history traits, many of which are shared with land plants/02%3A_Biodiversity_(Organismal_Groups)/2.04%3A_Protists/2.4.03%3A_Photosynthetic_Protists/2.4.3.03%3A_Red_a...
