Biodiversity & Conservation

Purple laver - Porphyra umbilicalis - General information

Porphyra umbilicalis

Image Steve Trewhella - Porphyra umbilicalis. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Porphyra umbilicalis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Porphyra umbilicalis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Paolo Pizzolla Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Class Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Abundant on rocky shores throughout Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Purple laver is highly adaptable to conditions on different parts of the rocky shore and able to withstand prolonged periods of exposure to the air as well as tolerating a greater degree of wave action than most other red algae. It occurs singly or in dense colonies throughout the intertidal but most frequently at upper levels.
Text page icon Description A small red alga (up to 20 cm across) with an irregularly shaped, broad frond that is membranous but tough. The plant attaches to rock via a minute discoid hold-fast, is greenish when young becoming purplish-red and has a polythene-like texture.

This review can be cited as follows:

Paolo Pizzolla 2008. Porphyra umbilicalis. Purple laver. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4194>