Saccharina latissima (Sugar Kelp)
Saccharina latissima is a brown algae (class Phaeophyceae), of the family Laminariaceae. It is also known by the common name sea belt. It is found in the north east Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea south to Galicia in Spain. It is not found in the Bay of Biscay but is common round the coasts of the British Isles.
Description
S. latissima is a yellowish brown colour with a long narrow, undivided blade that can grow to three metres long and twenty centimetres wide. The central band is dimpled while the margins are smoother with a wavy edge. The frond is secured to the rock in the intertidal and sublittoral zones by a claw-like holdfast and a short, pliable, cylindrical stipe.