''Fucus serratus'' is a

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

of the north

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, known as toothed wrack, serrated wrack, or saw wrack.

Description and reproduction

''Fucus serratus'' is a robust alga, olive-brown in colour and similar to ''

Fucus vesiculosus ''Fucus vesiculosus'', known by the common names bladderwrack, black tang, rockweed, sea grapes, bladder fucus, sea oak, cut weed, dyers fucus, red fucus and rock wrack, is a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea ...

'' and ''

Fucus spiralis ''Fucus spiralis'' is a species of seaweed, a brown alga (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae), living on the littoral shore of the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It has the common names of spiral wrack and flat wrack. Description ''Fu ...

''. The species is one of many algae that are multicellular. It grows from a discoid

holdfast Holdfast most often refers to: *Holdfast (biology), a root-like structure that anchors aquatic sessile organisms to their substrate *Holdfast (tool), a tool used to secure a workpiece to a workbench or anvil Holdfast or hold fast may also refer t ...

up to long. The

fronds A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

are flat, about wide, bifurcating, and up to long including a short stipe. It branches irregularly and dichotomously. The flattened blade has a distinct midrib and is readily distinguished from related taxa by the serrated edge of the fronds. It does not have air

vesicles Vesicle may refer to: ; In cellular biology or chemistry * Vesicle (biology and chemistry), a supramolecular assembly of lipid molecules, like a cell membrane * Synaptic vesicle In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) s ...

, such as are found in ''F. vesiculosus'', nor is it spirally twisted like ''F. spiralis''. Male and female receptacles are on different plants. The lamina shows cryptostomata – small cavities which produce colourless hairs. The reproductive bodies form in

conceptacles Conceptacles are specialized cavities of marine and freshwater algae that contain the reproductive organs. They are situated in the receptacle and open by a small ostiole.Boney, A.D. (1969). ''A Biology of Marine Algae''. Hutchinson Educational ...

sunken in receptacles towards the tips on the branches. In these conceptacles

oogonia An oogonium (: oogonia) is a small diploid cell which, upon maturation, forms a primordial follicle in a female fetus or the female (haploid or diploid) gametangium of certain thallophytes. In the mammalian fetus Oogonia are formed in lar ...

and

antheridia An antheridium is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes (called ''antherozoids'' or sperm). The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing one or more antheridia is called an androecium. The androecium is al ...

are produced and after

meiosis Meiosis () is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, the sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells, each with only one c ...

the oogonia and antheridia are released. Fertilisation follows and the

zygote A zygote (; , ) is a eukaryote, eukaryotic cell (biology), cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individ ...

develops, settles and grows directly into the

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

sporophyte A sporophyte () is one of the two alternation of generations, alternating multicellular organism, multicellular phases in the biological life cycle, life cycles of plants and algae. It is a diploid multicellular organism which produces asexual Spo ...

plant. The fertilization in the Fucus serratus would be associated with egg activation.

Distribution

''Fucus serratus'' is found along the Atlantic coast of Europe from

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. It was introduced to the shores north-east

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

over 140 years ago, is presence described first at

Pictou Harbour Pictou Harbour is a natural harbour in Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait. Geography The distance between the town of Pictou on the north shore, and the community of Pictou Landing to the south is about . The south side of the harbour ope ...

in the late 1860s by George Upham Hay and Alexander Howard McKay, it's introduction to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

could date back to the Vikings, within the last 1000 years and was first noted in a phycological survey in 1900.

Ecology

''Fucus serratus'' grows very well on slow draining shores where it may occupy up to a third of the area of the entire seashore. It often dominates the rocky parts of the lower shore, exposed or immersed in rock pools, on all but the most exposed shores. "...the

littoral zone The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely flood ...

is characterised especially by such

Phaeophyta Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and polar region ...

(brown algae) as ''

Pelvetia ''Pelvetia canaliculata'', the channelled wrack, is a very common brown alga (Phaeophyceae) found on the rocks of the upper shores of Europe. It is the only species remaining in the monotypic genus ''Pelvetia''. In 1999, the other members of this ...

'', ''

Ascophyllum ''Ascophyllum nodosum'' is a large, common cold water seaweed or Phaeophyceae, brown alga (Phaeophyceae) in the Family (biology), family Fucaceae. Its common names include knotted wrack, egg wrack, feamainn bhuí, rockweed, knotted kelp and Norweg ...

'', '' Egregia'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Laminaria ''Laminaria'' is a genus of brown algae, brown seaweed in the order Kelp, Laminariales (kelp), comprising 31 species native to the north Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans. This economically important genus is characterized by long, leathery L ...

'', particularly when the shore is rocky". It is considered an invasive species in the

Canadian Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

, particularly on Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Northern coastline of New Brunswick. In Northern Europe and Iceland it is known to hybridize with ''

Fucus distichus ''Fucus distichus'' or rockweed is a species of brown alga in the family Fucaceae to be found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores in the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in rock pools. Description This is a small tufted brown alga. The fr ...

.''

Uses

''Fucus serratus'' is used in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for the production of

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

and for

thalassotherapy 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 ...

. In the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, it is harvested for use as a liquid fertiliser. Since the organism contains triacylglycerols and fatty acids.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1506400 Protists described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fucaceae Brown algae species