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''Egregia menziesii'' is a species of
File:Mysterious kelp.jpg, Feather Boa
File:Seaweed & tidepool, North Moonstone SLO.jpg, Feather Boa growing in tidepool
File:Alger, Egregia Menziesii, Nordisk familjebok.png, illustration of ''Egregia menziesii''
marine.gov ProfileAlgaeBase
Lessoniaceae Monotypic brown algae genera {{Phaeophyceae-stub
kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.
Kelp grows in "underwa ...
known commonly as feather boa kelp. It is the only species in the monotypic genus
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
''Egregia''. It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
to Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, where it is a common kelp of the intertidal zone.
Description
It is dark brown in color, shiny and bumpy in texture, and may reach over five meters long. It grows a branching stipe from a thick holdfast. It bears long, flat, straplike fronds lined with small blades each a few centimeters long. There arepneumatocyst
In phycology, a pneumatocyst is a floating structure that contains gas found on brown seaweed. A seaweed's thallus may have more than one. They provide buoyancy to lift the blades toward the surface, allowing them to receive more sunlight for p ...
s at intervals along the fronds which provide buoyancy
Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the ...
. The alga varies in morphology; the rachis
In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft".
In zoology and microbiology
In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...
, or central strip, of the frond may be smooth or corrugated, and the blades along the edge of the rachis may be a variety of shapes.
Usage
''E. menziesii'' is used in baths or forthalassotherapy
Thalassotherapy (from the Greek word ''thalassa'', meaning " sea") is the use of seawater as a form of therapy. Note: Thalasso therapy is a sub-definition under the listing for Thalasso. It also includes the systematic use of sea products and shor ...
, along with species such as Turkish towel ('' Chondracanthus exasperatus''), finger kelp ('' Laminaria digitata''), and ''Fucus
''Fucus'' is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.
Description and life cycle
The thallus is perennial with an irregular or disc-shaped holdfast or with haptera. The erect portion o ...
''.
See also
* Discurria insessa, a limpet endemic to ''Egregia''References
External links
marine.gov Profile
Lessoniaceae Monotypic brown algae genera {{Phaeophyceae-stub