Nereocystis luetkeana
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| iNereocystis luetkeana | ||||||||||||||
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| Nereocystis luetkeana Postels and Ruprecht, 1840 |
Nereocystis luetkeana is an annual kelp which is common from north of Carmel, California, to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Occasionally, the kelp lasts longer than one season.
This kelp has a holdfast of about 40 cm, with a single stipe of up to 36 m. It contains a single pneumatocyst at the end of the stipe, with multiple (30-64) blades attached to the pneumatocyst. The blades are up to 4 m long, and 15 cm broad.
This species forms thick beds on rocks and are an important part of kelp forests.
