| This biological division contains the algal species Euglena and close to 1,000 species of related algae; they are all unicellular (single-celled) and are mainly found in freshwater environments.
They are all photosynthetic (though some are secondary heterotrophs) and they all contain chlorophylls a and b. A unique feature of this division is that they store the energy they produce from photosynthesis as paramylum, an unusual carbohydrate (specifically, a glucose polymer) that is stored directly in the cell's cytoplasm. Members of this division have a contractile vacuole and a single flagellum.
From the science dictionary at http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/.
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