Botryocladia skottsbergii has been dubbed by some as 'Red Valonia', though the implied comparison is apt only when a specimen is very young, and the grapelike bladders appear to be directly attached to the substrate as in the photo. As this red alga grows, the rust-colored, branching stipe becomes obvious, though the entire thallus rarely grows to protrude more than an inch off the substrate. The bladders themselves are small, rarely growing little larger than 1/3 inch in diameter, and appear a smooth, transparent red-brown to reddish purple. Tiny dark spots (called cystocarps) visible on the inside of the vesicle wall herald sexual reproduction. The species is found around the Indian Ocean, into the Western Pacific, south to Australia and eastwards to Hawaii. Botryocladia uvarioides forms smaller, more numerous vesicles, on a highly branching stipe that can give specimens heights of nearly a foot from the substrate, looking very much like a bunch of grapes. The species has a curious distribution, with records thus far only in the Philippines and in Baja California. Botryocladia botryoides also forms tall thalli, but there is less incidence of branching, and so the 'stems' are longer, and adorned with bladders. It is found throughout Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, as well as locations along the Eastern Atlantic. Only record in the Western Pacific is in the Philippines. Other species include: Botryocladia leptopoda from Arabia to the eastern shores of continental Asia and down to Australia; Botryocladia microphysa, a primarily Mediterranean alga with records in the Canary Islands and Indonesia; and Botryocladia pyriformis from the Canary Islands, the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, and the waters from China to the Philippines. Botryocladia vesicles usually float when severed, because the mucilaginate fluid inside is less dense than water.
