Neoptilota asplenioides, Fucus asplenioides, Plumaria asplenioides

Description: Thallus is bright to dark red, shiny, coarsely branched, fern-like, reaching 40 cm (15 in) tall with a tough discoidal holdfast. Ultimate branchlets are flattened, in opposite pairs, with one branch remaining short, unbranched, with serrate margins. The opposite branch is initially shorter but has the potential to become a long, indeterminate branch or to produce sporangia. Habitat: This perennial is found on rock or on larger algae in the low intertidal to shallow subtidal of semi-exposed habitats. Similar taxa: Ptilota spp.