Seaweed

THE PLANT 

Seaweed is the general name for a vast collection of marine algae. Red algae, green algae and brown algae are commonly considered to be seaweed.

They grow from about high water mark to depths of 100 to 200 metres (300 to 600 ft).

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Seaweed gets its energy from photosynthesis just as plants do. However seaweeds aren't plants, but instead belong in the kingdom Protista. Seaweeds lack the vascular system and roots of a plant; they can absorb the water and nutrients they need directly from the ocean.

Seaweed can be an aggressive species: it invades areas of the ocean, chokes out other seaweeds and damages local ecosystems.

The fresh, salty smell of beach air is actually the smell of rotting seaweed.

The largest known seaweed, the Macrocystis pyrifera, or Giant Kelp, has been measured at 215 ft long and can grow at up to one and a half feet a day.

USES 

From the 1960s to 70s seaweeds have been farmed and the alginates extracted are used in chocolate milk, processed meat, ice cream, and animal feed, as well as toothpaste, soap, air freshener gel and the manufacture of odine and glass.

The colouring in blue Smarties comes from a seaweed called spirulina.

Seaweed baths are said to soften skin and fight cellulite.

Many types of seaweed have traditionally been gathered for food, such as purple laver, green laver and carragheen moss.

People living on the coast often eat seaweed, especially those in East Asia.

Laver and toast. Wikipedia Commons

Seaweed accounts for 10 per cent of the Japanese diet, with an average consumption of nearly 8lb per person.

Traditionally, Koreans eat seaweed soup on their birthdays. People believe the soup is also good for pregnant women.

It's illegal to sell seaweed in the UK without a license.

Adding a type of seaweed to the diet of cows reduces their methane production by nearly 60%.

Sources Hutchinson Encyclopedia, Daily Mail