Bull-kelp nori • Pyropia nereocystis
Left: bull kelp nori attached to bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana). Photo by Jenn Burt. Right: Specimen collection numbers SCL 15280 and SCL 15305 in the UBC Herbarium Algae Database. Search the collection numbers in the database for more information on these specimens, or search the species for further occurrences. Images courtesy of Sandra Lindstrom.
Identification
This species is found almost exclusively on the stipes of older bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana). Though only one cell thick, this species can be up to 3 m in length! Blades are light red to purple-red, un-branched and much longer than they are wide.
Similar Species
Due to its specific substratum, this species is not often confused with other red seaweeds. However,
Porphyra cuneiformis sometimes grows epiphytically on bull kelp, but is two-cell layers thick, and is more ruffled and pale in colour at the blade margins than Pyropia nereocystis.
Habitat and Range
This species grows epiphytically on bull kelp, and rarely on other species of kelp. Its range extends from the eastern Aleutian Islands to central California. It is always submerged, and usually appears in outer coastal areas around the month of November.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/542165-Pyropia-nereocystis
This species is found almost exclusively on the stipes of older bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana). Though only one cell thick, this species can be up to 3 m in length! Blades are light red to purple-red, un-branched and much longer than they are wide.
Similar Species
Due to its specific substratum, this species is not often confused with other red seaweeds. However,
Porphyra cuneiformis sometimes grows epiphytically on bull kelp, but is two-cell layers thick, and is more ruffled and pale in colour at the blade margins than Pyropia nereocystis.
Habitat and Range
This species grows epiphytically on bull kelp, and rarely on other species of kelp. Its range extends from the eastern Aleutian Islands to central California. It is always submerged, and usually appears in outer coastal areas around the month of November.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/542165-Pyropia-nereocystis
References
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest [electronic version]. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing.
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Porphyra nereocystis. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 2015-11-06
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Porphyra nereocystis Anderson. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 2015-11-06
Authors and editors of page
Beatrice Proudfoot and Kelly Fretwell (2015)
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest [electronic version]. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing.
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Porphyra nereocystis. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 2015-11-06
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Porphyra nereocystis Anderson. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 2015-11-06
Authors and editors of page
Beatrice Proudfoot and Kelly Fretwell (2015)