Palmaria palmata

Description  

Palmaria palmata has a reddish-brown to dull dark red colour but may show purple tints on it in clear water. It appears tough almost leathery, with flat fronds of 10-30 cm long, arising directly from a disc holdfast. It is found in clumps or singly, fringing rock pools or frequently hanging from rocks on the mid-lower shore under a covering of wracks. Frequently it is found growing on the stipes of large brown kelps and occasionally on wracks

Distribution

Palmaria palmata growing at rocks near Letter Mullen Island, Connamara, Ireland

Palmaria palmata is a common cool water species of the middle to lower shore in many parts of Europe and the North Atlantic coasts of America. In Ireland P. palmata is common on the south, west and north coasts of Ireland with anecdotal evidence of larger plant sizes on the south and north coasts.

Underwater view of Palmaria palmata growing on a Laminaria hyperborea stipe

Nutritional analysis