Class Ulvophyceae

The Ulvophyceae is a species-rich class that exhibits exceptional morphological and cytological diversity. The architecture of the thalli ranges from microscopic flagellated or non-flagellated unicells to large and complex multicellular thalli (filamentous, blade-like or tubular) or siphonous thalli formed by a giant single cell (Leliaert et al. 2012). The monophyly of the Ulvophyceae is still uncertain as well as the relationships among the families within the most important orders which include Trentepohliales, Cladophorales, Bryopsidales, Dasycladales, Ulvales and Ulotrichales (Leliaert et al. 2012; Škaloud et al. 2018, Del Cortona et al. 2020; Gulbrandsen et al. 2021). Many ulvophycean algae (members of Trentepohliales, Ulvales and Ulotrichales) enter lichen symbiotic associations.