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Swami’s |
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Kelp In addition to making for good surfing, the reefs are home for an abundance of plants and animals. Take notice of the masses of “sea weed”, more specifically Kelp you probably can see on the sand and in the surf. Most of this kelp is one of three types: Giant Bladder Kelp; Elkhorn Kelp (also known as Elk Kelp or Bullwhip Kelp); or Feather –Boa Kelp. Giant Bladder Kelp was most of what you saw offshore from above. Large beds grow in water 30-60 feet deep. Individual plants are anchored on rocks or in the sand by root-like holdfasts. Along their entire length, the stem-like stipes (up to 150 feet long) have broad, wrinkled “leaves”, each with an air bladder at its base. Much of the length of each plant may float on the surface. Kelp-cutting boats frequently go through the beds, cutting and loading the kelp for processing to extract alginates, which have numerous commercial uses such as in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paint, and to give “body” to ice cream and similar products so they melt more slowly. Elk Kelp lives on the edges of the kelp beds. They have a long, slender stipe with one 4” to 8” spherical float at the upper end. A pair of antler-like stipes with long, broad blades extend from the float.
The Feather-Boa Kelp lives closer to shore in the lower tide zones and beyond. The flattened stipes may be from 10’ to 40’ long depending on the depth of water in which they are growing. A row of “leaves” or blades with bladder floaters is on both sides of each of the several stipes on each plant.
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