Two types of Bryopsidophyceae can be distinguished, according to the kinds of plastids they contain. In homoplastidic forms, the only plastids present are chloroplasts, which may or may not contain pyrenoids. Heteroplastidic forms, however, also contain colorless amyloplasts . Siphonoxanthin and siphonein occur as accessory photosynthetic pigments in the chloroplasts . Cytoplasmic streaming occurs.
Sexual fusion is anisogamous.