Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant; it is a heterokont.
Fucus is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.
Laminaria is a genus of 31 species of brown algae commonly called "kelp". Some species are also referred to as tangle. This economically important genus is characterized by long, leathery laminae and relatively large size. Some species are referred to by the common name Devil's apron, due to their shape, or sea colander, due to the perforations present on the lamina. It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 to 30 m. Laminaria form a habitat for many fish and invertebrates.
Macrocystis is a monospecific genus of kelp. This genus contains the largest of all the phaeophyceae or brown algae. Macrocystis has pneumatocysts at the base of its blades. Sporophytes are perennial and the individual may live for up to three years; stipes/fronds within a whole individual undergo senescence, where each frond may persist for approximately 100 days. The genus is found widely in subtropical, temperate, and sub-Antarctic oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and in the northeast Pacific from Baja California to Sitka, Alaska. Macrocystis is often a major component of temperate kelp forests.
Corallina officinalis is a calcareous red seaweed which grows in the lower and mid-littoral zones on rocky shores.
Saccharina is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae. It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m.
Egregia menziesii is a species of kelp known commonly as feather boa kelp. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Egregia. It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska to Baja California, where it is a common kelp of the intertidal zone. It is dark brown in color, shiny and bumpy in texture, and may reach over five meters long. It grows a branching stipe from a thick holdfast. It bears long, flat, straplike fronds lined with small blades each a few centimeters long. There are pneumatocysts at intervals along the fronds which provide buoyancy. The alga varies in morphology; the rachis, or central strip, of the frond may be smooth or corrugated, and the blades along the edge of the rachis may be a variety of shapes.
Saccharina japonica is a marine species of the Phaeophyceae plant, a type of kelp or seaweed, which is extensively cultivated on ropes between the seas of China, Japan and Korea. It is widely eaten in East Asia. A commercially important species, S. japonica is also called ma-konbu (真昆布) in Japanese, dasima (다시마) in Korean and hǎidài (海带) in Chinese. Large harvests are produced by rope cultivation which is a simple method of growing seaweeds by attaching them to floating ropes in the ocean.
Saccharina latissima is a brown algae, of the family Laminariaceae. It is known by the common name sugar kelp, and also sea belt and Devil's apron, due to its shape. It is found in the north east Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Barents Sea south to Galicia in Spain. It is not found in the Bay of Biscay but is common round the coasts of the British Isles. The species is found at sheltered rocky seabeds.
Macrocystis pyrifera, commonly known as giant kelp or giant bladder kelp, is a species of kelp, and one of four species in the genus Macrocystis. Despite its appearance, it is not a plant; it is a heterokont. Giant kelp is common along the coast of the eastern Pacific Ocean, from Baja California north to southeast Alaska, and is also found in the southern oceans near South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Individual algae may grow to more than 45 metres long at a rate of as much as 60 cm (2 ft) per day. Giant kelp grows in dense stands known as kelp forests, which are home to many marine animals that depend on the algae for food or shelter. The primary commercial product obtained from giant kelp is alginate, but humans also harvest this species on a limited basis for use directly as food, as it is rich in iodine, potassium, and other minerals. It can be used in cooking in many of the ways other sea vegetables are used, and particularly serves to add flavor to bean dishes.
Laminaria hyperborea is a species of large brown alga, a kelp in the family Laminariaceae, also known by the common names of tangle and cuvie. It is found in the sublittoral zone of the northern Atlantic Ocean. A variety, Laminaria hyperborea f. cucullata is known from more wave sheltered areas in Scandinavia.
Chondracanthus exasperatus, commonly called Turkish towel, is a species of seaweed in the family Gigartinaceae. The specific epithet exasperatus refers to the bumpy texture of the blades. This texture also leads to the common name which evokes the luxurious feel of a towel from a Turkish bath. The rough, papillae-strewn blade surface even makes it difficult to measure the temperature using infrared thermometers.
Laminaria pallida, the split-fan kelp, is a species of large brown seaweed of the class Phaeophyceae found from Danger Point on the south coast of South Africa to Port Nolloth, Tristan da Cunha and Gough islands in the Atlantic and Île Saint-Paul in the Indian Ocean.
Lottia instabilis is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae. Common names include the unstable limpet, the unstable seaweed limpet and the rocking chair limpet. It is native to the northern Pacific Ocean where it feeds on kelp in the intertidal zone and the shallow sub-littoral zone.
Laminaria sinclairii is a species of brown algae, in the family Laminariaceae. It is native to the lower intertidal zone of the northeastern Pacific Ocean from British Columbia southwards to California.
Phyllariopsis brevipes is a species of large brown algae, found in the subtidal zone in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the type species of the genus. Unlike other large brown macroalgae, it has a habitat requirement to grow on the living thalli of the crustose red alga Mesophyllum alternans.
Phyllariopsis purpurascens is a species of large brown algae, found in the subtidal zone of the Mediterranean Sea and the intertidal zone of Morocco, as observed by Lourenço et al. (2020). While it is functionally similar to kelp species, it is not in the order Laminariales.
Halosaccion glandiforme, also known as sea sacs or sea grapes, is a species of red algae.
Laminaria nigripes is a species of kelp found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific within Arctic and subarctic waters including Vancouver Island, Haida Gawaii, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Downeast Maine, and the Bay of Fundy. The species may be found exclusively in the Arctic, but frequent misidentification of samples has led to speculation and debate over whether the actual range is subarctic or Arctic. The species is commonly confused with Laminaria digitata and Laminaria hyperborea and is at risk from climate change.
Hildenbrandia rubra is a marine species of thalloid red alga. It forms thin reddish crusts on rocks and pebbles in the intertidal zone and the shallow subtidal zone. It is a common species with a cosmopolitan distribution, and is able to tolerate a wide range of conditions.
