Laminaria hyperborea (Gunnerus) Foslie
Description: Dark brown, to 2 m in length; with a
claw-like holdfast, a rough, rigid stipe, generally covered in
epiphytes, and a laminate blade to 1.5 m long dividing into
finger-like segments.
Distinguishing features: Stipe is circular in
crossection, and snaps easily when bent; in
Laminaria digitata
the plants are darker in colour, the stipe is generally shorter,
narrower. In
Saccharina latissima
(formerly Laminaria saccharina) the blade is undivided
and has regular, small depressions
Habitat: Common at low water in wave-exposed areas, and
in the subtidal in optically clear water growing on rock to a
depth of 32 m. Forms extensive closed communities at depths of
0-24 m.
Distribution: All coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Usage: Dredged in Norway for alginate production, in
Ireland cast-up stipes used to be collected for alginate
production in Scotland but collection has ceased in reent years.
Spring regrowth of fronds in Brittany © Susan DeGoër
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