The genus is cosmopolitan, and its representatives are found in freshwater environments, mainly rivers, and less frequently in standing waters.

The genus Batrachospermum was established by Albrecht Wilhelm Roth at the end of the 18th century, described in his work Bemerkungen über das Studium der cryptogamischen Wassergewächse (Remarks on the study of cryptogamic aquatic plants).

[1] The binomial nomenclature were first used in 1801 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, who distinguished three species: B. gelatinosum, B. simplex, and B.

According to these studies, the genus Batrachospermum is paraphyletic – nested within its clade are genera such as Lemanea, Nothocladus, Paralemanea, Petrohua, Psilosiphon scoparius [pl], Sirodotia, and Tuomeya.

In order to maintain the genus as a monophyletic taxon in a broad sense, all the above-mentioned genera are included in Batrachospermum, or in a narrow sense, only the type species, B. gelatinosum, is included, with its recognized form (sometimes elevated to the species rank) B. gelatinosum f. spermatoinvolucrum (M.L.Vis & R.G.Sheath).

The thallus is filamentous, covered with a slippery, gelatinous sheath, with mucilage primarily composed of oligosaccharides.

[9] The gametophyte thallus is filamentous, up to 40 cm long (usually shorter in many species), typically branching monopodially to dichotomy.

[4] The sporophyte stage is crustose, consisting of large basal cells from which poorly branched filaments grow upwards.

Spermatangia (male gametangia) are spherical (4–8 μm in diameter) and colorless, usually clustered at the end of filaments, sometimes also on branches carrying carpogonia.

This is the case with Batrachospermum gelatinosum, which was found in 13% of samples collected from North American streams.

[15] In the streams of the upper São Francisco basin in Brazil, various species of Batrachospermum, especially in the thallus stage, are one of the most common taxonomic groups of macroalgae.

[10] Some species, such as B. gelatinosum, are found on all continents (except Antarctica), while others are endemic (e.g., Batrachospermum spermatiophorum known only from one stream on Maui Island),[17] although according to some proposals, it may be transferred to the genus Kumanoa.

Representatives are often rheophiles or rheobionts and live in waters with a wide range of current velocities, but with averages exceeding 40 cm/s (e.g., Batrachospermum boryanum),[18] or even 50 cm/s (B. keratophytum, which also occurs in ponds).

[4] Gametophytes live for a short period – from late autumn to early spring in tropical regions or slightly longer in temperate zones.

[9] Both types of gametes are non-motile – spermatozoids are released into the water and carried by its movement, while carpogonia remain on the parent plant, germinating into carposporophytes after fertilization.

[6] An exception is Batrachospermum brasiliense, in which there is no carposporophyte, and the Chantransia stage grows directly from the fertilized carpogonium.

[24] For many years, it was believed that the only diploid stage in the development of Batrachospermum is the zygote, which immediately undergoes meiosis, making the carposporophyte haplont.

[12] Such information is still presented in relatively modern studies,[25] despite the fact that since the mid-20th century, it has been discovered that successive species representing this life cycle model (supposedly represented by the genus Nemalion) actually have a model similar to most other red algae (typified by Polysiphonia).

[26][27] Additional misunderstandings arose from the fact that after meiosis in Chantransia (or pseudochantransia), only one cell (meiospore) gives rise to a new individual, while the rest degenerate, which is unusual in algae.

There are few reports of the anti-inflammatory properties of B. atrum used in folk medicine at the foothills of the Himalayas (Arunachal Pradesh).

[28] Due to its environmental requirements, representatives of this genus found in Poland are considered when determining the River Macrophyte Index [pl], with values of W=6 (indicating a preference for mesotrophic waters) and L=2 (indicating an average range of ecological tolerance).