A re-assessment of the genus Izziella Doty (Liagoraceae, Rhodophyta)

The genus Izziella Doty is reassessed based on an examination of a specimen of Liagora orientalis J.Agardh (the species into which Izziella abbottiae Doty has been subsumed) from the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen. This species shows marked differences from the type species of Liagora (L. viscida (Forsskâl) C.Agardh), Ganonema (G. farinosum (Lamouroux) Fan et Wang), and Trichogloea (T. requienii (Montagne) Kützing) and we therefore propose that Izziella be restored as an independent genus. It is our contention that Liagora, as presently constituted, displays considerable variation in reproductive morphology and should probably be divided into several smaller genera.