kelp
Sign in to saveKelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is not a plant but a stramenopile.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- marine ecosystem
- Parent taxon
- Fucophycidae
- Image
- Kelp In Freycinet Tasmania.jpg
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Article
17 sectionsContents
- Description
- Growth and reproduction
- Taxonomy
- Phylogeny
- Prominent species
- Ecology
- Kelp forests
- Interactions
- Conservation
- Uses
- Commercial production
- In culture
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is not a plant but a stramenopile.
Kelp grows from stalks close together in very dense areas like forests under shallow temperate and Arctic oceans. They were previously thought to have appeared in the Miocene, 5 to 23 million years ago based on fossils from California. Kelps were present in the northeastern Pacific Ocean by at least 32 million years ago. These organisms require nutrient-rich water with temperatures between . They are known for their fast growth —the genera Macrocystis and Nereocystis can grow as fast as half a metre a day (that is, about 20 inches a day), ultimately reaching .