Southwest Missouri State University 901 S. National Ave. The Phaeophyceae as a class contain members whose habitat is strictly marine.
Some forms flourish in estuarine areas.
One of the latter is Ectocarpus commonly called slurry. For watermen, persons who make their living harvesting from marine areas, slurry is a problem, as in the winter time when growth is maximum, the massive growth weights down crab pots and other traps. All species in this class are multicellular. In addition specialized reproductive structures are formed either on the surface of the plant or internally. While there are some simple filaments, unbranched, and some endophytic , there are no simple colonial or unicellular forms.