Enter Search Terms:
Genus (i.e. Fucus)
Species (i.e. Gardneri)
Common Name (i.e. Rock Weed)
Phylum (i.e. Ochrophyta)
All of the above
Rockweed
Fucus distichus
Authority:
Linnaeus
North Pacific Distribution:
Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to central California; Japan; Russia
Phylum:
Ochrophyta
Class:
Phaeophyceae
Order:
Fucales
Family:
Fucaceae
Former Scientific Names:
Fucus evanescens, Fucus furcatus, Fucus gardneri, Fucus distichus subsp. evanescens
Description: Thallus of this very common and abundant intertidal species is yellow-brown to medium brown, with a discoidal holdfast, flattened, straplike blades with midribs, which repeatedly branch more or less equally (dichotomous branching), and distinctive air bladders (receptacles) at reproductive maturity. Individuals grow up to 50 cm (20 in) tall. Habitat: This perennial can dominate high to low intertidal rock from estuarine to semi-exposed habitats. Rockweed is very tolerant of fresh water and freezing temperatures.

Comments:
Fucus gardneri is a synonym of this species; whether this subspecies also occurs in the Arctic and western North Atlantic requires verification.

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