Willea

{{Short description|Genus of algae}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Willea | image = Willea rectangularis mosbo6.jpg | image_caption = ''Willea rectangularis'' | authority = Schmidle<ref name=AB_g46424/> | type_species = | type_species_authority = | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *''Willea apiculata'' *''Willea crucifera'' *''Willea irregularis'' }}

'''''Westella''''' is a genus of green algae in the family Oocystaceae. It is found in freshwater habitats such as ponds and lakes, as part of the phytoplankton.<ref name=AB_g46424>{{AlgaeBase genus|name=Willea|id=46424|access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref> It has a cosmopolitan distribution.<ref name=Bicudo>{{cite book | title= Gêneros de Algas de Águas Continentais do Brasil: chave para identificação e descrições | edition=2 | year=2006 | first1=Carlos E. M. |last1=Bicudo | first2=Mariângela | last2= Menezes | publisher= RiMa Editora | pages=508 | isbn= 857656064X }}</ref>

''Willea'' consists of four-celled (rarely two-celled) colonies (termed coenobia); the coenobia may be aggregated to form compound colonies of 100 cells or more, arranged in a single plane. The cells are oval to cylindrical, arranged in a rectangle forming a rhomboidal gap. The cell walls are smooth. Cells are uninucleate, and contain a single parietal chloroplast; the chloroplast has a pyrenoid but this may be difficult to observe.<ref name=AB_g46424/> Asexual reproduction occurs by the formation of autospores, which are organized into coenobia; they enlarge with the cell wall, which eventually dissolves, releasing the new cells. Sexual reproduction and flagellated stages are not known in this genus.<ref name=AB_g46424/>

A number of species formerly included in the genus ''Crucigeniella'' are now placed in ''Willea''; the name ''Crucigeniella'' is illegitimate.<ref name=Bicudo/>

==References== {{Reflist|1}}

Category:Trebouxiophyceae genera Category:Oocystaceae Category:Freshwater algae