Endocladia muricata, commonly known as nailbrush seaweed or turfweed, is a marine alga that is widely distributed along the shores of the North Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to Punto Santo Tomas, Baja California.
| Endocladia muricata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Endocladia muricata, on a boulder in the upper intertidal zone, near Cambria, California | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Clade: | Archaeplastida |
| Division: | Rhodophyta |
| Class: | Florideophyceae |
| Order: | Gigartinales |
| Family: | Endocladiaceae |
| Genus: | Endocladia |
| Species: | E. muricata
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| Binomial name | |
| Endocladia muricata J. Agardh 1841
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Gigartina muricata | |
E. muricata is common north of Point Conception, and is one of the most common algae in the high intertidal zone of the central California, coast. It commonly forms the top-most conspicuous band of seaweed along that coast. E. muricata often grows with Pelvetiopsis limitata (dwarf rockweed) and Mastocarpus papillatus (Turkish washcloth), on rocks in the high intertidal. [1][2]
E. muricata's thallus is 4–8 cm tall, short & bushy; branches cylindrical with sub-dichotomous branching; covered with minute, soft conical spines; blackish-brown to dark red to yellow. Dries to almost black. It is usually not slippery to walk on, dry or wet.
References
edit- ^ Endocladia muricata, Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring, UC Santa Cruz
- ^ Intertidal red algae at SeaNet, Hopkins Marine Lab
External links
edit
- Endocladia muricata at Algaebase
- Photo of E. muricata with other seaweeds it commonly grows with, protected outer coast near Monterey, California
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