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A1. Nonmotile algae without chloroplasts: Cyanobacteriophyta
B1. Vegetative cells usually solitary
B2. Vegetative cells united into colonies or agglomerations
C1. Cells arranged in a single layer to form flat colonies
C2. Colonies comprised of cubical, four-cell subgroups
C3. Colonies approximately spherical
C4. Cells arranged into irregular, amorphous colonies
D1. Cells appear brown and mottled under microscope
D2. Cells various colors but not mottled brown when viewed under the microscope
E1. Cells form irregular subgroups surrounded by bright red mucilage:
Gloeocapsopsis magma
E2. Cells spherical, in groups of 2 or 4 at end of thin, radiating mucilage strands:
Snowella
E3. Cells spherical or nearly spherical
F1. Cells tiny, spherical or oval; cells form single flat layer (not in regular groups of four cells):
Pannus
F2. Cells in groups of 2 or 4; young colonies occasionally cubical, but colony becomes amorphous as cell groups increase:
Chroococcus/Limnococcus
F3. Colony surrounded by unstriated mucilage; individual cells without additional mucilage layers:
Aphanocapsa
F4. Cells, cell subgroups, and colony surrounded by striated mucilage; mucilage often pale red or pink:
Gloeocapsa
cf.
sanguinea
E4. Cells oval, elliptical, or wedge-shaped
B3. Vegetative cells aligned end-to-end forming filaments or pseudofilaments
A2. Nonmotile algae with chloroplasts
A3. Motile algae with chloroplasts and flagella
A4. Cells divided into paired semi-cells that are approximate mirror images of each other:
Desmids
A5. Cells enclosed in glassy, ornamental frustules; many species exhibit gliding movement:
Diatoms
