The intertidal rocky shore identifying coralline algae and green seaweeds

The intertidal rocky shore identifying coralline algae and green seaweeds
Seafriends.org

Coralline algae could well be the most amazing plants in the sea, as they are found from the shallowest rock pool to deeper than any plant can grow; from the cold temparate seas to the warm tropical coral reefs where they are perhaps the most important reef builders. Coralline algae are red seaweeds with red pigments. Green seaweeds are usually lush and edible.

coralline algae
The coralline algae are some of the weirdest creatures on Earth. They are red seaweeds that build limestone skeletons in which the plant is 'spread around'. They are living stones containing a thin soup of red seaweed. There are encrusting varieties that grow a stony leaf on the rock, and there are upright branching varieties consisting of beads of stone, joined by a very elastic band. These stony plants are amongst the most robust plants in the sea, found in the most exposed places. Their light sensitivity covers a vast range from right at the surface, being exposed to ultraviolet light, to the very deep where no other seaweed can grow for lack of light.

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