Kelp

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Kelp

Kelp are large seaweed

Seaweed

Seaweed is a loose colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthos ocean algae. The term includes some members of the rhodophyta, phycophyta and green algae....
plants (algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
), belonging to the brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
. Some species can be very long and form kelp forest

Kelp forest

Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth....
s.

Despite their plant-like appearance, scientists group them not with the terrestrial plants (kingdom

Kingdom (biology)

In Biology taxonomy, kingdom or regnum is a taxonomic rank in either the highest rank, or the Rank below domain . Each kingdom is divided into smaller groups called Phylum ....
Plantae), but instead place them either in kingdom Protista or in kingdom Chromista

Chromista

The Chromista are a eukaryote supergroup, probably polyphyletic, which may be treated as a separate kingdom or included among the Protista. They include all algae whose chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and c, as well as various colorless forms that are closely related to them....
.

Kelp grows in underwater "forest

Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
s" (kelp forests) in shallow oceans.

Discussion

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Morphology

In most kelp, the thallus (or body) consists of flat or leaf-like structures known as blades. Blades originate from elongated stem-like structures, the stipes. The holdfast, a root-like structure, anchors the kelp to the substrate of the ocean. Gas-filled bladders (pneumatocyst

Pneumatocyst

In phytology, a pneumatocyst is a large float containing gas found in brown algae. An organism may have more than one. They provide buoyancy to lift the blades toward the surface, allowing them to receive more sunlight for photosynthesis....
s) form at the base of blades of American species, such as Nereocystis lueteana (Mert.& Post & Rupr.) and keep the kelp blades close to the surface, holding up the blades by the gas they contain.

Growth and reproduction

Growth occurs at the base of the meristem

Meristem

A meristem is the biological tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells and found in zones of the plant where growth can take place....
, where the blades and stipe meet. Growth may be limited by grazing. Sea urchins, for example, can reduce entire areas to urchin barrens. The kelp life cycle involves a diploid

Ploidy

Ploidy is the number of complete sets of non-homologous chromosomes in a biological cell. In humans, the somatic cells that comprise the body are diploid , but sex cells are haploid....
sporophyte

Sporophyte

All land plants, and some algae, have life cycles in which a haploid gametophyte generation alternates with a diploid sporophyte, the generation of a plant or alga that has a double set of chromosomes....
and haploid gametophyte

Gametophyte

In plants and algae that undergo alternation of generations, a gametophyte is the multicellular structure, or phase, that is haploid, containing a single set of chromosomes:...
stage. The haploid phase begins when the mature organism releases many spores, which then germinate to become male or female gametophytes. Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is characterized by processes that pass a Genetic recombination of Genetics material to offspring, resulting in Genetic diversity....
then results in the beginning of the diploid sporophyte stage which will develop into a mature individual.

Commercial uses

Bongo kelp ash is rich in iodine

Iodine

Iodine , is a chemical element that has the symbol I and atomic number 53. Naturally-occurring iodine is a single isotope with 74 neutrons....
and alkali

Alkali

In chemistry, an alkali is a Base , Ionic compound salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal Chemical element. Alkalis are best known for being Base s that dissolve in water....
. In great amount, kelp ash can be used in soap

SOAP

SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks....
and glass

Glass

Glass generally refers to a Hardness, brittle, transparency amorphous solid, such as that used for windows, many Glass Bottles, or eyewear, including, but not limited to, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, acrylic glass, sugar glass, Muscovite , or aluminium oxynitride....
production. Until the Leblanc process

Leblanc process

The Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc....
was commercialized in the early 1800s, burning of kelp in Scotland was one of the principal industrial sources of soda ash (predominantly sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate , , is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily efflorescence to form a white powder, the monohydrate....
). Alginate, a kelp-derived carbohydrate, is used to thicken products such as ice cream

Ice cream

Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, combined with fruits or other ingredients....
, jelly, salad dressing, and toothpaste

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it can aid in the removal of dental plaque and food from the teeth, aid in the elimination and/or masking of halitosis and deliver active ingredients such as fluoride or xylitol to prevent tooth...
, as well as an ingredient in exotic dog food

Dog food

Dog food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by dogs or other Canidaes. Special types of dog food, given as a reward, and not as a staple, are known as dog treats....
and in manufactured goods. Giant kelp can be harvested fairly easily because of its surface canopy and growth habit of staying in deeper water.

Kelp is also used frequently in seaweed fertiliser

Seaweed fertiliser

.Seaweed fertiliser, American and British English spelling differences#-ise / -ize seaweed fertilizer, is a valuable addition to the organic garden, and is abundantly available free for those living near the coast....
, especially in the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are a group of islands in the English Channel, off the France coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey....
, where it is known as vraic.

Kombu

Kombu

Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , are edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....
(Saccharina japonica
Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica is a marine species of Phaeophyceae , a type of kelp or seaweed, that is extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea....
and others), several Pacific species of kelp, is a very important ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Kombu is used to flavor broths and stews (especially dashi
Dashi

Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cuisine. Shizuo Tsuji wrote in 1980 that "many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely a la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor." Dashi forms the base for miso soups, clear broth soups, Japanese noodle broths, and ma...
), as a savory garnish (tororo konbu) for rice and other dishes, as a vegetable, and a primary ingredient in popular snacks (such as tsukudani
Tsukudani

is small seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin. High osmotic pressure preserves the ingredients. Its name originates from Tsukudajima, the island where it was first made in the Edo period....
). Transparent sheets of kelp (oboro konbu) are used as an edible decorative wrapping for rice and other foods.

Kombu can be used to soften beans during cooking, and to help convert indigestible sugars and thus reduce flatulence.

Because of its high concentration of iodine, brown kelp (Laminaria) has been used to treat goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by a lack of iodine, since medieval times.

As a Possible Renewable Energy Source

See also: Biomass energy, Algae fuel
Algae fuel

Algae fuel, also called algal fuel, oilgae, algaeoleum or third-generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae.The record oil price increases since 2003, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources and the world food crisis have ignited interest in algaculture for making vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethan...

Kelp has a high rate of growth and its decay is quite efficient in yielding methane

Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees....
, as well as sugars that can be converted to ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
. It has been proposed that large open-ocean kelp farms could serve as a source of renewable energy. Unlike some biofuels such as corn ethanol

Corn ethanol

Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn as a biomass through industrial fermentation, chemical processing and distillation. It is primarily used in the United States as an alternative to gasoline and petroleum ....
, kelp energy avoids "food vs fuel

Food vs fuel

Food vs. fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of diverting farmland or crops for biofuels production in detriment of the food supply on a global scale....
" issues and does not require irrigation.

Kelp in history and culture

During the Highland Clearances

Highland Clearances

The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands between the 18th. and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the coast, the Scottish Lowlands and abroad....
, many Scottish Highlanders were moved off their crofts

Crofting

Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production unique to the Scottish Highlands and the Islands of Scotland.Within crofting townships, individual croft are established on the better land, and a large area of poor quality hill ground is shared by all the crofters of the township for grazing....
, and went to industries such as fishing and kelping (producing soda ash from the ashes of kelp). At least until the 1820s, when there were steep falls in the price of kelp, landlords wanted to create pools of cheap or virtually free labour, supplied by families subsisting in new crofting townships. Kelp collection and processing was a very profitable way of using this labour, and landlords petitioned successfully for legislation designed to stop emigration. But the economic collapse of the kelp industry in northern Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
led to further emigration, especially to North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.

Natives of the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located from the coast of Argentina, west of the Shag Rocks , and north of the British Antarctic Territory ....
are sometimes nickname

Nickname

A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. Another class of nickname is the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, such as Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robbie, and Bert for Robert, more properly called a short name....
d "Kelpers

Kelpers

The Falkland Islanders, most of whom are of Wales or Scotland descent, are nicknamed kelpers because the islands are surrounded by large seaweeds called kelp....
". The name is primarily applied by outsiders rather than the natives themselves.

See the article on seaweed fertiliser

Seaweed fertiliser

Endangerment

Overfishing nearshore ecosystems leads to the degradation of kelp forests. Herbivores are released from their usual population regulation, leading to over-grazing of kelp and other algae. This can quickly result in barren landscapes where only a small number of species can thrive.

Prominent species

Bull-head kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, a northwestern American species. Used by coastal indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
to create fishing net
Fishing net

A fishing net or fishnet is a Net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread....
s.
Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Macrocystis

Macrocystis is a genus of kelp . This genus contains the largest of all the phaeophyceae or brown algae. Macrocystis has pneumatocysts at the base of its blades....
, the largest seaweed. Found in the Pacific coast of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.
Kombu
Kombu

Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , are edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....
, Laminaria japonica and others, several edible species of kelp found in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

Species of Laminaria in the British Isles;

Laminaria digitata
Laminaria digitata

Laminaria digitata is a brown alga in the Division Heterokontophyta, of the genus Laminaria, also known by the common name Oarweed....
(Hudson) J.V. Lamouroux (Oarweed; Tangle)
Laminaria hyperborea (Gunnerus) Foslie (Curvie)
Laminaria ochroleuca Bachelot de la Pylaie
Laminaria saccharina (Linnaeus) J.V.Lamouroux (sea belt; sugar kelp; sugarwack)

Species of Laminaria
Laminaria

Laminaria is a genus of 31 species of brown algae , all sharing the common name "kelp". This economically important genus is characterized by long, leathery laminae and relatively large size....
world-wide, listing of species at AlgaeBase

AlgaeBase

AlgaeBase is a global species database of information on all groups of algae, as well as one group of flowering plants, the Seagrass ....
:

Laminaria agardhii (NE. America
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
)
Laminaria angustata
Kombu

Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , are edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....
(Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
)
Laminaria bongardina Postels et Ruprecht (Bering Sea to California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
)
Laminaria cuneifolia (NE. America)
Laminaria dentigera Klellm. (California - America)
Laminaria digitata (NE. America)
Laminaria ephemera Setchell (Sitka, Alaska, to Monterey County, California - America)
Laminaria farlowii Setchell (Santa Cruz, California, to Baja California - America)
Laminaria groenlandica (NE. America)
Laminaria japonica (Japan), synonym of Saccharina japonica
Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica is a marine species of Phaeophyceae , a type of kelp or seaweed, that is extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea....
Laminaria longicruris (NE. America)
Laminaria nigripes (NE. America)
Laminaria ontermedia (NE. America)
Laminaria pallida]] Greville ex J. Agardh (South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
)
Laminaria platymeris (NE. America)
Laminaria saccharina (Linnaeus) Lamouroux (Aleutian Islands, Alaska to southern California America)
Laminaria setchellii Silva (Aleutian Islands, Alaska to Baja California America)
Laminaria sinclairii (Harvey ex Hooker f. ex Harvey) Farlow, Anderson et Eaton (Hope Island, British Columbia to Los Angeles, California - America)
Laminaria solidungula (NE. America)
Laminaria stenophylla (NE. America)

Other species in the Laminariales which may be considered as kelp;

Alaria marginata Post. & Rupr. (Alaska and California - America
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
Costaria costata (C.Ag.) Saunders Japan; Alaska, California - America)
Durvillea antarctica (New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
)
Durvillea willana (New Zealand)
Durvillaea potatorum (Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière

Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardi?re was a French botanist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia....
) Areschoug (Tasmania
Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and States and territories of Australia of the same name. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait....
; Australia)
Ecklonia brevipes J. Agardh (Australia; New Zealand)
Ecklonia maxima
Ecklonia maxima

Ecklonia maxima, sea bamboo, is a species of kelp native to the southern oceans. It is most typically found along the southern Atlantic Ocean of Africa, from the very south of South Africa north to Namibia....
(Osbeck) Papenfuss (South Africa)
Ecklonia radiata
Ecklonia radiata

Ecklonia radiata is a species of kelp found in the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Islands, Madagascar, Mauritania, Senegal, South Africa, Oman, southern Australia, Lord Howe Island , and New Zealand....
(C.Agardh) J. Agardh (Australia; Tasmania; New Zealand; South Africa)
Eisena arborea Aresch. (Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Montrey, Santa Catalina Island, California - America)
Egregia menziesii
Egregia menziesii

Egregia menziesii is a species of kelp known commonly as feather boa kelp. It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska to Baja California, where it is a common kelp of the intertidal zone....
(Turn.) Aresch.
Hedophyllum sessile (C.Ag.) Setch (Alaska, California - America)
Macrocystis angustifolia Bory (Australia; Tasmania and South Africa)
Pleurophycus gardneri Setch. & Saund. (Alaska, California - America)
Pterygophora californica Rupr. (Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Bahia del Ropsario, Baja California and California - America)
Saccharina japonica
Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica is a marine species of Phaeophyceae , a type of kelp or seaweed, that is extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea....
(Japan)

Interactions
Some animals are named after the kelp, either because they inhabit the same habitat
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
as kelp or because they feed on kelp. These include:

Northern kelp crab (Pugettia producta) and graceful kelp crab (Pugettia gracilis), Pacific coast of North America.
Kelpfish
Kelpfish

The kelpfishes are a family of perciform fishes, native to coastal Australia and New Zealand.The name is from Greek language cheir meaning "hands" and nema meaning "thread"....
(blenny) (e.g., Heterosticbus rostratus, genus Gibbonsia), Pacific coast of North America.
Kelp goose (kelp hen)
Kelp Goose

The Kelp Goose , Chloephaga hybrida, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae....
(Chloephaga hybrida), South America and the Falkland Islands
Kelp pigeon (sheathbill)
Sheathbill

The sheathbills are a family of birds, Chionididae. Classified in the wader order Charadriiformes, the family contains one genus, Chionis, with only two species....
(Chionis alba and Chionis minor), Antarctic

Kelp

Morphology

Growth and reproduction

Commercial uses

As a Possible Renewable Energy Source

Kelp in history and culture

Endangerment

Prominent species

Interactions

See also

External links