Alaria nana desiccating at low tide. Alaria photos by Ryan Murphy
Alaria nana
Description: The plant is olive brown to yellowish-brown in colour with a conspicuous blade(eroded at maturity), stipe, and holdfast. The holdfast is made up of short, firm root-like structures and is 3-7cm. long, 5-8 mm. in diameter, merging into a slightly compressed rachis 2-4 cm. long. The rachis in turn merges into the blade, which is linear, tapering gradually to the apex and abruptly tothe rachis; the blade is 40-60 cm. long and 3-8 cm. wide with a conspicuous, solid percurrent midrib 4-6 mm. wide.
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- Alaria nana mixed with other algae near the zero tide level.
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- Three algae zones: highest is Alria nana, then the rough brown algae Hedophyllum sp. then the greensurf grass at the lowest level. (0 elev.))
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- The holdfasts of A. nana attached to barnacles.
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- Alaria beside the stipe and pneumatocyst of a bull kelp
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- A. nana exposed at low tide
Habitat: On rocks in the middle and upper intertidal zones in exposed areas.
Kingdom: Chromista
Phylum: Phaeophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Alariaceae
Genus: Alaria
Species: nana
Robert Scagel, 1972
See other Brown Algae, Phaeophytes of Race Rocks
 Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
 The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Ryan Murphy PC yr 26 |