Bladder Wrack - Fucus vesiculosus

This seaweed has air bladders in pairs within the blades. The blades are often spiraled. The receptacles are swollen and berry-shaped. The fronds grow to 90 cm (35 in) long and 2.5 cm (1in) wide and have a midrib throughout.

Spotted in large quantities in the low intertidal zone.

Bladder wrack was the original source of iodine and has been used extensively to treat thyroid disorders.

comments (3)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Nice! Really awesome that you managed to identify this, I wouldn't have known where to start. Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks! My undergrad was environmental science, and I got my degree in Maine, so....I spent a lot of time exploring tide pools. Marine Bio was my favorite class, and thankfully, a lot of what I learned has stuck with me :) Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Cool! Posted 7 years ago

The Bladder wrack

"Fucus vesiculosus", known by the common name bladder wrack, is a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Info 5 0

Similar species: Fucales

Species identified by Christine Young