Sponge of Sea

Sponge of Sea

This was taken again at the Gibson's Steps beach. This plant looks like a sponge which people normally use for bathing and it has a distinct comb shape like and able to catch all those "hair" on it. This beach is not often visited by large tourists as they would have to climb down and up the steps. This maybe a blessing because this plant might have been destroyed.



Biologists, specifically marine biologists, consider seaweed to be any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic, and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size. Seaweeds are not to be confused either with plants like seagrasses (which are vascular plants), or actual weeds in the sense of nuisance blooms or accumulations of unwanted species — certainly, seaweeds are natural components of pristine marine ecosystems. (The best definition of "weed" is "A plant in the wrong place").

Seaweeds are extensively used as food by coastal peoples, particularly in Japan and Korea, but also in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru, Taiwan, the Canadian Maritimes, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales, Philippines, and Scotland, among other places. For example, Porphyra is a red alga used in Wales to make laverbread, and in Japan dried, formed into sheets called nori which is widely used in soups, and for wrapping sushi, boiled rice stuffed with bits of raw fish, sea urchin roe, or other ingredients. Chondrus crispus (commonly known as Irish moss or Carrageen Moss) is another red alga used in producing various food additives, along with Kappaphycus and various gigartinoid seaweeds.

Seaweeds are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of Alginate, Agar and Carrageenan, collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance because they are used in various industries, the most common being food production^[2]. Agar is found in foods such as confectionary, meats and poultry products, desserts and beverages and moulded foods. Carrageenan is used in preparation of salad dressings and sauces, dietetic foods, and as a preservative in meat and fish products, dairy items and baked goods. Alginates enjoy many of the same uses as carrageenan, but are also used in production of industrial products such as paper coatings, adhesives, dyes, gels, explosives and in processes such as paper sizing, textile printing, hydro-mulching and drilling. The food industry exploits the gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties of these hydrocolloids. In the biomedicine and pharmaceutical industries, alginates are used in wound dressings, and production of dental moulds and have a host of other applications. In microbiology research, agar is extensively used as culture medium. Carrageenans, alginates and agaroses (the latter are prepared from agar by purification), together with other lesser-known macroalgal polysaccharides, also have several important biological activities or applications in biomedicine. For instance, it has been demonstrated in laboratory studies that seaweeds may have curative properties for tuberculosis, arthritis, colds and influenza, and worm infestations. [1]

A number of research studies have been conducted to investigate claims of seaweed's effects on human health. [2]

Other seaweeds may be used as seaweed fertiliser.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)