Asterionella formosa Hass. 1850
Length:84

 Width:2

Striae:fine






























Collection 826

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Authority information

Hass., Micr. Exam. Water, p. 10, pl 2(2), fig. 5., 1850 (Patrick and Reimer 1966).

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This is a sharpened, close-up of striae, pseudoraphe, spines, and labiate process (barely visible).




This is a stellate colony of Asterionella formosa from Northern Lake Michigan.
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The frustules of this diatom are found in star-shaped colonies. This taxon was first discovered in the drinking water of Grand Junction Company from the Thames at Brentford. Typically, this diatom is found in plankton (Patrick and Reimer 1966). According to Jaworski et al. (1988), over a five-year period, sinking rates of a laboratory strain ofAsterionella formosa were affected by the loss of the stellate arrangement of colonies. That is, the morphology of Asterionella formosa colonies influences sinking rates.


  • Synonyms (Patrick and Reimer 1966)
    Asterionella formosa var. subtilis Grun. in V. H., Syn. Diat. Belgique, pl. 51, fig. 21. 1881.
    Asterionella formosa var. subtilissima Grun. in V. H., Syn. Diat. Belgique, pl. 51, fig. 24. 1881.


  • Ecology
    This taxon may be found in mesotrophic to eutrophic waters (Patrick and Reimer 1966).

    Size ranges and morphology

  • Length is 40 to 130 micrometers (Patrick and Reimer 1966).
  • Width is 1 to 3 micrometers (Patrick and Reimer 1966).
  • Striae are fine, and there can be 24 to 28 in 10 micrometers (Patrick and Reimer 1966).