Alaria marginata

Alaria marginata

Winged Kelp

Alaria marginata, offshore Big Sur, Monterey Bay NMS
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Chromalveolata
Division: Heterokontophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Alariaceae
Genus: Alaria
Species: A. marginata
Binomial name
Alaria marginata
Postels & Ruprecht 1840

Alaria marginata, the winged kelp, is a brown alga species in the genus Alaria. It Can grow up to 13 feet. Fronds are long and narrow with raised midrib and wavy edges. Each frond has two rows of several smooth, oblong, 5 inch spore-bearing blades at the base in winter. The base is attached to rocks.[1]

In the kelp species Alaria marginata, phenolics act as chemical defence against herbivores.[2]

References

  1. Alden, P. and Heath, F. (1998). National Audubon Society Field Guide to California. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 87.
  2. Algal Chemical Defense Against Herbivores: Allocation of Phenolic Compounds in the Kelp Alaria marginata. Peter D. Steinberg, Science, 27 January 1984, Volume 223, number 4634, pages 405-407, doi:10.1126/science.223.4634.405

Further reading

External links


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