Biodiversity & Conservation

Tangle or cuvie - Laminaria hyperborea

Laminaria hyperborea

Image Keith Hiscock - Laminaria hyperborea. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Laminaria hyperborea recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Laminaria hyperborea is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Ochrophyta Brown and yellow-green seaweeds
Class Phaeophyceae
Authority (Gunnerus) Foslie 1884
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Found on most coasts of Britain and Ireland. Scarce along the south east coast of Britain due to a lack of suitable substrata.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on bedrock or other stable substrata from extreme low water to depths dependant on light penetration and sea urchin grazing (typically about 8 m depth in coastal waters to 30 m in clear coastal waters). It grows as dense forests under suitable conditions. Found at depths of up to 47 m around St Kilda.
Text page icon Description A large conspicuous kelp which can grow up to 3.5 m in length in suitable conditions although this length is rarely attained (J. Jones, pers. comm.). The blade is broad, large, tough, flat and divided into 5 - 20 straps or fingers (digitate). The blade is glossy, golden brown to very dark brown in colour. The holdfast is large, conical and branched with conspicuous haptera. The stipe is stiff, rough textured, thick at the base and tapers towards the frond. The stipe stands erect when out of water. The stipe is often covered with numerous epifauna and epiflora. The amount of energy allocated to growth of the stipe, and consequently maximum length of stipe, varies with season, the age of plant and location. This species is often confused with Laminaria digitata, especially when young.
Identifying features
  • Large frond up to 1 m in length lacking midrib.
  • Frond is smooth, wide and digitate.
  • Stipe stiff, rough in texture and often covered by red seaweeds.
  • Stipe is circular in cross section and snaps when bent if already nicked.
  • May be confused with Laminaria digitata when young. However, the stipe of Laminaria digitata is usually oval in cross section, not thicker at the base and does not snap easily.
Additional information icon Additional information Other common names include, redware, cuvy, sea rod, mayweed or Slat mara. The new blade grows below the older from November onwards. The old blade is shed in spring and early summer. Blade and stipe vary with exposure and current. In sheltered conditions the blade has few or no digits and the stipe becomes thin but in exposed conditions the blade is deeply digitate and the stipe becomes thick. The stipe is usually up to 1m long but stipes up to 3m long have been recorded (Parke unpublished, cited in Kain, 1971a).

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This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters 2007. Laminaria hyperborea. Tangle or cuvie. 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/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3614>