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Costaria costata (Seersucker kelp)
Copyright © 2006 Jan Holmes
The five to seven parallel midribs interspersed with puckered bullate tissue gives this brown seaweed its common name "seersucker". A haptera type holdfast anchors it to rocks in the low intertidal to upper subtidal in exposed and semi-protected waters. The stipe grows to 65cm (28 inches) (but can be of variable lengths), the blade to up to 2m (6 feet) long and ~35 cm (1 foot) wide. Plants growing in exposed areas tend to be more narrow than those growing in more protected waters. Costaria is usually an annual kelp but some plants can be perennial depending on location.
This
page was created by Jan Holmes on 12/20/06.
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