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Split Kelp
Saccharina groenlandica
Authority:
(Rosenvinge) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl et G.W. Saunders
North Pacific Distribution:
Bering Sea and Aleutian Is., Alaska, to central California; Russia.
Phylum:
Ochrophyta
Class:
Phaeophyceae
Order:
Laminariales
Family:
Laminariaceae
Former Scientific Names:
Saccharina subsimplex. misidentified as Laminaria bongardiana, L. groenlandica, L. cuneifolia
Description: Thallus of this common kelp is medium to dark brown with a branched holdfast (haptera), a stipe up to 60 cm (24 in) long with microscopic mucilage ducts, and a blade up to 2 m (6 ft) long. The blade is often bullate when young but becomes thicker and smoother with age; it often splits into 2-3 segments. The stipe is cylindrical at the holdfast but is often flattened at the base of the blade. Habitat: This perennial kelp is found on rock in the low intertidal to shallow subtidal zones and occurs in semi-protected to semi-exposed habitats. Similar taxa: Laminaria spp., Saccharina spp.
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