Identifying Pacific Seaweeds
Thumbnail Identification Guide | 37
Brown Seaweeds
Seaweeds yellowish to light brown to dark brown, p. 157
Crusts
Seaweeds crusts, usually lacking upright portions, to 40 cm/16 in in diameter, p. 159
Filaments
Seaweeds thread-like or filamentous, less than 1 mm/0.04 in wide, p. 163
Globular or cushiony
Seaweeds cushion or sac-like, to 30 cm/12 in at greatest dimension, p. 168
Small flat blades
Seaweeds small, usually less than 10 cm/4 in long and unbranched blades, p. 174
Dichotomously branched
Seaweeds small, usually less than 40 cm/16 in, and “Y” branched (dichotomous), p. 180
Cylinders
Seaweeds cylindrical throughout, branched or un-branched, to 1 m/3 ft long, p. 187
Radially branched with some parts flattened
Seaweeds radially branched with numerous blades, up to 3 m/10 ft long, p. 194
Pacific Seaweeds
38 | Thumbnail Identification Guide
Feather-like branching
Seaweeds flattened with feather-like branching, usually less than 1 m/3 ft long, p. 198
Kelp
Seaweeds large, 0.5–55 m/1.6–180 ft long, tough, with flattened blades, p. 200
Simple blades
Kelp simple, unbranched blades, lacking ribs and sporophylls, p. 202
Winged kelp
Kelp with numerous small lateral blades arising from the stipe (stem), p. 208
Ribbed kelp
Kelp simple, unbranched blades with ribs, p. 219
Repeatedly branched kelp
Kelp repeatedly branched, p. 224
A grey whale frolicking in a forest of bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana) in Bamfield, BC.
Shore Plants and Seagrasses | 39
Shore Plants and Seagrasses
Shore plants
The fringe of land above the intertidal zone but below coastal forests is occupied by a diverse array of shore plants. Shore plants are flowering plants that have adapted to salt exposure intolerable to most other vascular species. The different types and communities of shore plants the reader encounters will depend on geography and habitat. Habitats differ in exposure to wind, salty spray and substrate, with the major types including: rocky shores and headlands, shingle beaches of large cobble or gravel, sandy beaches and fine-grained tidal marshes. Here we present five relatively common representative species found along our coastal shores.
Cakile edentula (sea rocket) p. 40
Fragaria chiloensis (coastal strawberry) p. 41
Glehnia littoralis (beach carrot) p. 42
Lathyrus japonicus (beach pea) p. 43
Sarcocornia pacifica (pickleweed) p. 44