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Giant Kelp
Macrocystis tenuifolia
Authority:
Postels & Ruprecht
North Pacific Distribution:
Alaska Peninsula, Alaska to Point Conception, California
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Former Scientific Names:
misidentified as Macrocystis integrifolia, Macrocystis pyrifera
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Description:
Thallus of this golden brown canopy kelp may reach a length of 30 m (99 ft). A conical, richly branched holdfast (haptera) hosts several stipes, which branch dichotomously into vine-like fronds with blades to ~ 50 cm (20 in) long at regular intervals. The blades, which develop via splitting of a small terminal blade, are distinctly wrinkled with marginal teeth and a small gas-filled float (pneumatocyst) at their base. Some thalli, particularly in British Columbia and Washington, have a flattened, creeping, rhizome-like holdfast; this form was previously identified as M. integrifolia. Habitat: This perennial kelp forms beds in the extreme low intertidal to subtidal of semi-exposed habitats.
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