referred to as the conchocelis phase 12 the gametophytic or blade phase represents the asexual life cycle 1 and what is normally found in nature and what is grown on nets in nori cultivation in open seas the haploid gametophytic phase consists of a membranous blade that may be one or two cells thick and either dioecious or monoecious depending upon the species in monoecious species various sized blocks of male and female cells develop along the blade at maturity the gametophytic blade phase is seasonal and normally degenerates and dies after the production of carpospores after sexual fertilization 2 diploid carpospores are produced by the blade which give rise to the diploid sporophytic conchocelis phase 12 the sporophytic concocelis phase typically grows as a mass of filaments embedded in shell and difficult to observe in nature the filaments are composed of very long cells with a very narrow diameter typically around 3 to 10 mirometers wide and several times that in length seasonal changes in the environmental conditions induce the conchocelis to produce packets or branches of larger sized cells typically 15 to 25 micrometer in diameter called conchosporangial branches which when mature release diploid conchospores meiosis is thought to occur in the germinating conchospore typically conchocelis cultures are grown on shells in large tanks and induced to produce and release conchospores prior to the farming season through an alteration in light and temperature conditions the conchospores released by the conchocelis are used to seed the nets that will be put out into the ocean to grow the blades which are later harvested dried and sold as nori sheets the sexual life cycle of fertilization during summer is used to cultivate porphyra by almost all porphyra farmers in contrast the principal.