#haematococcus

In this picture, an adult cell has divided multiple times while in a protective casing. One cell becomes two, then four, then eight, then 16, and finally 32. Kinda reminds me of an early embryo. Eventually the casing opens and out swim tiny flagellated cells (the flagella are too thin to see in any of the photos).

The flagellated cells grow in size until they become “adults”

Here we have a neat transition of sorts, from the flagellated cells on the left to the “adult” coccoid cell on top, followed by the reddish one in the middle. That big one in the middle is in the immobile palmella stage, while the ones to the left can still swim around. See how the palmella cell is kind of reddish in the center? It’s in the process of entering a protective state by forming an antioxidant called astanxanthin. This means the cell is under some sort of stress, usually caused by too much UV radiation from the sun’s rays.