Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotic life forms (one-celled organism with a nucleus and membrane-bound intracellular organelles) that are found in bodies of water worldwide. They are variously called stramenopiles, brown algae, or protists. These small organisms make a cell wall out of silica-- it is basically glass. The different ornamentations of the cell wall, called the frustule, can be used to differentiate the species. There are about 20,000 species known worldwide.
There are many genera of named diatoms-- Tabellaria is one of them. ‌In Tabellaria, which is a freshwater genus of diatom, the cells are joined into chains by sticky secretions ("mucilage" pads at the corners).
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Tabellaria sp., collected by Vera Laton (Biology of Algae class with Dr. Norris), Silver City, San Vicente Creek just NW of Hwy 90 bridge S of town, February 6, 2023 (taken with cellphone through ocular of compound scope)