Haematococcus pluvialis, also referred to as Haematococcus lacustris or Sphaerella
lacustris, is a ubiquitous green alga of the order Volvocales, family Haematococcaceae (Table 1).
It is now known that the alga occurs in nature worldwide, where environmental conditions for its
growth are favorable. No toxicity associated with Haematococcus has ever been reported in the
literature.