AuthorLind, E.M. & Brook, A.J.
Year1980
TitleDesmids of the Lake District
ISBN0 900386 40 1
SeriesScientific Publication
TypeBook/Report
How CompleteIncludes species of Desmid that have been found in at least three tarns or lakes in the English Lake District. Covers 168 of the 700 desmid spp known in Britain at the time.
SourceScientific Publication, No 42., 123pp, Freshwater Biological Association
IllustrationsLine drawings accompany the text
Review (by Malcolm Storey)

Although the book confines itself to species of Desmid found in the English Lake District, the authors feel it likely to be useful in base-poor waters throughout the northern hemisphere.

Desmids are most beautiful microscopic subjects. They have intrigued botanists since the heyday of amateur microscopy in Victorian times when owning a microscope had the same cachet as did owning a personal computer in the 1980’s. Because of this long history, Desmids are probably the best understood algae from a taxonomic point of view.

A flow-chart key to genera is followed by two pages of drawings of representative genera. Then the genera are presented in taxonomic order, with keys for larger genera, followed by the description and a drawing of each species.

Examine Compound Microscope
Specimen PreparationFresh or preserved.
Identification difficultyThe larger species are straightforward but some of the larger genera (eg Closterium) are a challenge.

Notes & PurposeStatusTaxonEnglishClassification
For identificationCurrent[Desmids]desmidsPlantae: Zygnematales
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material on the BioInfo website by Malcolm Storey is licensed under the above Creative Commons Licence.

BioInfo - Wildlife Information (UK)