Feather Boa Kelp

At a glance

Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii) is a marine alga regulated in 3 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 1 (Oregon); the most generous is 10 (California).

Confirmed by 12,398 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with California, British Columbia, and Oregon the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Named for its frilly, feathery fronds that can grow up to 10 meters (33 feet) long.
• Ranges from Alaska to Baja California along exposed rocky Pacific shores.
• The central stipe is lined with hundreds of small bladelets and air-filled floats called pneumatocysts.
• The tough, rope-like stipe allows it to withstand heavy surf on exposed rocky coastlines.
• Provides dense shelter and nursery habitat for dozens of small invertebrates and juvenile fish.

Where Feather Boa Kelp are seen

• California9,738 iNat obs
• British Columbia1,602 iNat obs
• Oregon554 iNat obs
• Washington495 iNat obs
• Alaska9 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Feather Boa Kelp

• CaliforniaUnited States · official source
• OregonUnited States · official source

Background

Egregia menziesii is a species of kelp known commonly as feather boa kelp. It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska to Baja California, where it is a common kelp of the intertidal zone. It is dark brown in color, shiny and bumpy in texture, and may reach over five meters long. It grows a branching stipe from a thick holdfast. It bears long, flat, straplike fronds lined…

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Feather Boa Kelp article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other brown algae/kelps on CatchRules

• Bull KelpNereocystis luetkeana
• bladder wrackFucus vesiculosus
• BeanweedScytosiphon lomentaria
• Elk KelpPelagophycus porra