Bleached brunette • Cryptosiphonia woodii
Identification
This red seaweed grows in dense hair-like tufts, and is deep red to olive brown with bleached yellow-brown tips later on in the growing season, which gave the seaweed its common name. Bleached brunette reaches 10 cm tall and has intricate radial branching, with basal branches longer than distal branches. Each section tapers at both ends, so that branch points appear delicate. The branch tips are rounded. It has a small discoidal holdfast.
Habitat & Range
This species grows in dense patches in the mid to low intertidal on protected and semi-exposed rocky shorelines. Its range extends from Unalaska Island, Alaska to San Pedro, California.
Similar Species
The best characteristics to distinguish bleached brunette from other branching, turfy red algae are the fine, short branch tips and thicker, longer basal branches. It is also found higher up in the intertidal than most other branched red algae. Oregon pine (Neorhodomela oregona) can appear similar initially, but upon closer examination its branches are clearly more coarse, with terminal branches appearing more tufted. It lacks the delicate appearance of bleached brunette, and has less orders of branching (many small branches off the major ones instead of intermediate size branches).
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/117777-Cryptosiphonia-woodii
This red seaweed grows in dense hair-like tufts, and is deep red to olive brown with bleached yellow-brown tips later on in the growing season, which gave the seaweed its common name. Bleached brunette reaches 10 cm tall and has intricate radial branching, with basal branches longer than distal branches. Each section tapers at both ends, so that branch points appear delicate. The branch tips are rounded. It has a small discoidal holdfast.
Habitat & Range
This species grows in dense patches in the mid to low intertidal on protected and semi-exposed rocky shorelines. Its range extends from Unalaska Island, Alaska to San Pedro, California.
Similar Species
The best characteristics to distinguish bleached brunette from other branching, turfy red algae are the fine, short branch tips and thicker, longer basal branches. It is also found higher up in the intertidal than most other branched red algae. Oregon pine (Neorhodomela oregona) can appear similar initially, but upon closer examination its branches are clearly more coarse, with terminal branches appearing more tufted. It lacks the delicate appearance of bleached brunette, and has less orders of branching (many small branches off the major ones instead of intermediate size branches).
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/117777-Cryptosiphonia-woodii
References
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Cryptosiphonia woodii. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 05/08/2014.
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Cryptosiphonia woodii J. Agardh. 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 05/08/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Joel White, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Lindberg, M. and Lindstrom, S. (2010). Cryptosiphonia woodii. Seaweeds of Alaska. Accessed 05/08/2014.
O'Clair, R. and Lindstrom, S. Cryptosiphonia woodii J. Agardh. 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 05/08/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Joel White, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).