Sea Lettuce - Ulva lactuca

Sea lettuce is a thin, flat, GREEN algae that grows from a discoid holdfast on rocks or on other algae. The margin is ruffled and often torn. It can reach 18 cm (7 in) long and up to 30 cm (12 in) across. The membrane is only two cells thick, is soft and translucent. This piece of sea lettuce was white from being bleached by the sun.

Ulva lactuca is edible, but has a strong flavor that can be lessened by soaking in water.

I found this sea lettuce floating free in the low intertidal zone.

comments (5)

Flown Kimmerling

Lion

Wonderful! Have you eaten any before? Posted 7 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Yes! It is so versatile and FULL of nutrients. There are some seaweeds that I do not like at all because of the strong flavor, but this one isn't bad - tastes kind of like spinach, but saltier. Comparable texture to spinach as well. The strong flavor can be lessened by rinsing or soaking in water for a couple hours. It's especially good toasted with sesame oil, or used in soups. People also eat in salad, but the texture is way too gross for me to eat it that way. Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that you can use sea lettuce on cuts and burns...You just rub it on. It has a lot of iodine in it, so it acts as an astringent.
    
    ...Not that you'll find much Ulva lactuca in rural Georgia though... ;P Posted 7 years ago
  2. 1. Flown Kimmerling
      
      Lion
      
      Yummy!
      
      No. Very doubtful :P Maybe if I visited Georgia's barrier islands (on my bucket list)! Posted 7 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Ooh, yes! Imagine the things you could find there! Posted 7 years ago

The Green Laver

"Ulva lactuca", also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus "Ulva".

Info 9 0

Similar species: Ulvales

Species identified by Christine Young