Sea Cauliflower

At a glance

Sea Cauliflower (Leathesia marina) is a marine alga with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.

Confirmed by 1,308 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with British Columbia, Washington, and California the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Despite its name, Sea Cauliflower is a brown alga, not a plant.
• It forms hollow, slimy globes up to 10 cm across on rocky shores.
• It often grows as an epiphyte directly on top of other algae.
• It appears seasonally in spring and summer, then dies back in winter.
• Its lumpy, brain-like texture inspired the cauliflower nickname.

Where Sea Cauliflower are seen

• British Columbia849 iNat obs
• Washington158 iNat obs
• California127 iNat obs
• Alaska76 iNat obs
• Oregon39 iNat obs
• Rhode Island21 iNat obs

Background

Leathesia marina (Lyngbye) Decaisne, 1842, previously known as Leathesia difformis Areschoug, 1847, commonly known as the sea cauliflower the sea potato, and brown brains is a species of littoral brown algae in the class Phaeophyceae and the order Ectocarpales, which is commonly attached to other seaweeds and sometimes rocks.

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

Other brown algae/kelps on CatchRules

• RockweedFucus distichus
• Saw WrackFucus serratus
• OarweedLaminaria digitata
• Oyster thiefColpomenia sinuosa