Marine Plants of Hawai'i
Order Cryptonemiales
| Grateloupia filicina |
|
| Description: this is a soft limp & slippery smooth seaweed with
somewhat flattened branches that can be red green brown or almost black. Size and shape
vary greatly with either few or many branches |
| Size: 0.5-5mm wide and 2-30cm long. |
| Habitat: at zero tide, rocky coastlines and shallow reef flats |
|
| Gibsmithsia hawaiiensis |
|
| Description: many thick, lose branches forming from a central
stipe. Color varies from red to white. |
| Size: from 3-12 cm |
| Habitat: most commonly found growing
in between branches of corals
in waters deeper than 5 m but can be found on reef flats occasionally. |
|
| Peysonella rubra |
 |
| Description: red to maroon encrusting seaweed calcified on its
lower surface. Its edges are free but the bottom remains firmly attached to rubble, dead
coral, or other hard surfaces. |
| Size: covers areas 2-20 cm wide |
| Habitat: common in most subtidal habitats. |
| Photograph: Puhi Bay, Hilo Hawai'i. 1996 |
| Portieria hornemanni |
|
| Description: produces a distinctive strong odor. Bright red to
orange-red and grows 2-6cm high with branches that are rolled inward at the tips |
| Size: |
| Habitat: found in almost any habitat |
|
|
