| Sargassaceae () |
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sessile; marine; depth range 0 - 7 m |
| Indian Ocean: from Iran to Madagascar, including the Persian Gulf, Aldabra, Seychelles, Mauritius and Réunion, east to India and south to Indonesia including Laccadive and Andaman Islands; Pacific Ocean: from China to the South China Sea south to Queensland, Australia including Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands and Fiji, east to the Samoan Archipelago. |
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Thalli erect, yellowish brown to dark brown in colour, attached by coarse branched holdfasts to rocky substrate, forming thick, huge colonies. Axes terete, muricate at the basal portion. Leaves are 6 to 12 mm long, consisting of a stalk, small vesicles and an expanded distal marginal blade outlined by coarse teeth; leaves triangular in outline or irregularly rounded in surface view; 3.5 to 9.0 mm across, sometimes deeply cut on one side, the cut often reaching the vesicle. Receptacular clusters 3 to 10 mm long, generally shorter and attached to the stalk of the leaves at 1/4 the distance from the main axis. This species is easily distinguished by its lax branched thalli, numerous branches, and small turbinate leaves with a length of about 1 cm or less. Thalli up to 1.5 m in height (Ref. 80758). |
| Used for human consumption, as fertilizer and insect repellant; contains minerals (Ca, K, Mg, Na, Cu, Fe, Zn); source of algin, tannins and phenols (Ref. 80758). Thrives mostly on sandy coralline bottoms on reef portions which are not exposed to excessive water turbulence; usually in shallow lagoons or tidepools in subtidal habitats protected from strong wave action (Ref. 80758). |
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Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
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| harmless |
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