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Spirogyra

Spirogyra

9.5
A type of green algae that lives in ponds and lakes and has green spiral shapes inside it
  • noun
  • /ˌspaɪrəˈɡaɪrə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Spirogyra
  • The aquarist explained how Spirogyra can both help and hinder fish tanks by providing oxygen and excessive growth.

Examples

  • In the pond, we saw strands of Spirogyra floating gently with their distinct spiral chloroplasts.

  • In the second and third years, algal productivity continued, with less Hydrodictyon and more Cladophora, Spirogyra, and Rhizoclonium.

    Academic text (1998)
  • During our biology class, we studied Spirogyra under a microscope and marveled at its unique spiral structures.

Surface Forms

Spirogyra singular
Spirogyra plural

Etymology

The word Spirogyra comes from Greek parts spiro- and -gyra, both meaning 'coil' or 'circle', and spiro- is the same root as the English word spiral, so the name fits the long green threads of algae that show spiral 'bands' inside their cells.