Gracilaria is a genus of red algae (Rhodophyta) notable for its economic importance as an agarophyte

Agarophyte

An agarophyte is a seaweed, typically a red alga, that produces the hydrocolloid agar in its cell walls. This agar can be harvested commercially for use in biological experiments and culturing. In some countries , the harvesting of agarophytes, either as natural stocks or a cultivated crop, is of...

, as well as its use as a food for humans and various species of shellfish. Various species within the genus are cultivated in various parts of the developing world, including Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

.

Distribution

Gracilaria bursa-pastoris (S.G.Gremlin) Silva and Gracilaria multipartita (Clemente) Harvey have long been established in southern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and northwestern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, but confusion between Gracilaria gracilis (Stackhouse) Steentoft, L.Irvine & Farnham and Gracilariopsis longissima (S.G.Gmelin) Steentoft, L. Irvine & Farnham, (as Gracilaria verrucosa (Hudson) Papenfuss or Gracilaria confervoides (L.) Greville) (Steentoft et al. 1995), has prevented recognition of the northern boundaries.

Use

Gracilaria is used as a food in Japanese

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

, Hawaiian

Cuisine of Hawaii

Modern Hawaiian cuisine is a fusion of many cuisines brought by multiethnic immigrants to the Hawaiian Islands, particularly of American, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Polynesian and Portuguese origins, including plant and animal food sources imported from around the world for agricultural...

, and Filipino cuisine. In Japanese cuisine, it is called ogonori

Ogonori

Ogonori , also called ogo or sea moss, is a type of edible seaweed eaten along the coasts of Japan, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. Ogonori is typically eaten cold and is a source of the thickener agar.-Uses:...

or ogo. In the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, it is called gulaman or guraman.

External links

• Gracilaria and its Cultivation
• Gracilaria in the Suria Link Sea Plants Handbook