A small, flask-shaped structure containing spores found in red algae, essential to the algae's reproduction.
From Greek 'kystis' (bladder or sac) + 'karpos' (fruit); the structure is literally named for its resemblance to a small, bladder-like fruit containing reproductive cells.
The cystocarp is like nature's elegant seed pod for algae—it's a completely different reproductive structure from anything you see in land plants, showing how radically different the life cycle strategies of marine organisms can be.
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