Fucus gardneri, near Roberts Creek, British Columbia, Canada
A strong contender for the plant (note: see comments below – not actually a plant, but a stramenopile) with the “most common” common name, common rockweed is a brown alga typically found in the intertidal zone of rocky shorelines. It is abundant throughout the temperate waters of the Pacific Northeast, from California to Alaska.
For more information about this stramenopile, see Fucus gardneri on the Center for Phycological Documentation site for a wide array of references.
Being a long-time algophile, I am delighted to see a seaweed on this page! The barnacles are super as well!
I love popping the pods with my toes. Never knew the name. Pacific Northeast? I think it’s just a typo. Love the page though.
Thanks both.
Emily – it’s not a typo. It took me a little while to get used to the terminology myself, but the northeastern waters of the Pacific Ocean are those off the west coast of North America. The Pacific Northwest waters are located by Japan and Kamchatka.
Facinating that was very “land-centric” of me to assume.
Aren’t algae classified as protists, not plants?
Lorrie, you’re right – I shouldn’t have called it a “plant” since I’m trying to stick with scientific terminology. Had it been a green alga instead of a brown alga, though, I might have been able to argue differently – see the Viridaeplantae lineage of the Eukaryotes via the Tree of Life. It would probably be best if I called it a stramenopile, as that is the formal “kingdom” name for this grouping. Protists would also work, though that seems to be a catch-all term that is now absent from modern classification systems.
Came upon this site looking for a good picture of F. gardneri. Great site–I’ll be coming back often. However, I need to jump in on the ‘Pacific Northeast’ thing. Almost nobody uses the term (try Googling it). ‘Northeast Pacific’ is widely used though. Grammatically, the second word in each of these terms is the noun, and the first word is an adjective modifying the noun. Thus, ‘Pacific Northwest’ means the northwestern portion (of North America in this context) that is adjacent to the Pacific. ‘Northwest Pacific’ on the other hand, meant the northwestern portion of the Pacific Ocean.
Yours pedantically,
Peter
That is certainly the case, Peter. I learned it as Pacific Northeast in a university class, but that seems to be a neologism (though as you mention, there are a few references to it online).
One of the most impressive photos of brown algae I have ever seen….
Do these plants er-stramenopiles ,grow with Fucus vesiculosis?
Are there significant differences in the algins? Oils?
Thanks for the most beautiful photo.
This is a great photo which clearly shows the algae and its features.
I agree, a great photo. I much appreciate the diversity of plant subjects featured on this site. From stunningly gorgeous flowers, to fields, fungi, forest floor, and… algae.
I like the page. The pods are fun to pop with your toes. I have a question, seaweed is an algae right? So does that mean it is nonvascular?
Erin, yes, that is correct in both cases.
I am doing educational work re. seaweeds tomorrow at the Penn Cove Water Fest in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. May I have permission to use this wonderful photo as an example of brown seaweeds?
Did you take the photo?
Great photo of the rockweed and associated organisms.