tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885184849467086568.post6637710458892341240..comments2024-03-18T10:40:00.766+00:00Comments on A Kilchoan Diary: KelpJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11348491898920520197noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885184849467086568.post-58953798387064630842013-12-29T16:31:27.837+00:002013-12-29T16:31:27.837+00:00What surprises me is that these bladder-like struc...What surprises me is that these bladder-like structures are not common, occurring on sometimes only one of the stipes on only a few of the weeds. I've seen pictures of other kelps with bladders, and they seem to be much more common on each plant.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11348491898920520197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885184849467086568.post-78161697998302428002013-12-28T19:04:49.040+00:002013-12-28T19:04:49.040+00:00Hi Jon: Just checked on line and here is an excerp...Hi Jon: Just checked on line and here is an excerpt:<br /><br />University of Southern California Sea Grant Program<br />Help with Kelp<br /> <br />What's that waving back and forth in the ocean? It looks like a tree - a tree in the ocean?! No, it's kelp! Kelp is a type of marine algae, or seaweed. Seaweeds come in three different color varieties, red, green and brown. Kelp is a kind of brown seaweed that grows to be very large. Although kelp resembles a kind of weed or tree, it is quite different from plants that grow on land. First of all, kelp has no roots. Kelp does have a way to anchor itself to the bottom of the ocean floor, but this anchoring system, called the holdfast, does not take in nutrients like plant roots do. The other parts of the kelp also have different names. The "leaves" of a kelp plant are called blades and the "stem" is called the stipe. Another structure unique to kelp is the air bladder, which looks like a small balloon at the base of each blade. The stipe of the kelp is very flexible and cannot stand up on its own - the air bladders help the stipe and blades of the kelp float in the water, which allows the kelp plant to grow up toward the surface of the water, where the sunshine is brightest.<br /><br />Keep "singing in the rain".<br /><br />Jim RobinsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com