Hedophyllum nigripes

Split kelp

Authority: (J.Agardh) Starko, S.C.Lindstrom & Martone

Thallus of this common kelp is medium to dark brown with a branched holdfast (haptera), a stipe up to 60 cm (24 in) long with microscopic mucilage ducts, and a blade up to 2 m (6 ft) long. The blade is often bullate when young but becomes thicker and smoother with age; it often splits into 2-3 segments. The stipe is cylindrical at the holdfast but is often flattened at the base of the blade.

Habitat

This perennial kelp is found on rock in the low intertidal to shallow subtidal zones and occurs in semi-protected to semi-exposed habitats.

North Pacific Distribution

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska to central California; Russia

Former scientific names

Laminaria nigripes, Saccharina nigripes, Saccharina subsimplex; misidentified as Laminaria bongardiana, Laminaria groenlandica, Saccharina groenlandica