02.
A Bit of Botany
some botanical information for bladderwrack
description
Bladderwrack is a perennial plant of the Fucaceae family ranging in color
from light yellow to brownish-green and grows up to 2-3 feet in length.
Bladderwrack leaves are fan shaped and it attaches itself to rocks via
root-like extremities growing from its leathery stalk.
Bladderwrack has flattened, branching fronds, which have an obvious midrib,
and are covered with spherical air bladders, which tend to occur in pairs on
either side of the mid-rib. In small plants, however, air bladders may be
entirely absent. Forked and pointed reproductive structures occur at the
tips of the fronds.
The appearance of bladderwrack varies depending on the
environmental conditions in which it occurs; in more sheltered areas there
are many air bladders, whereas there are fewer in more exposed conditions.
In very exposed areas, a form of bladder wrack may arise, which completely
lacks bladders.
common names
& nomenclature
"Vesiculosus" is from the Latin and means covered with little bladders or blisters.
A general West Germanic borrowing, cf. Old Frisian bete, Middle Dutch
bete, Old High German bieza, German Beete.
Also known as:
bladder wrack,
lady wrack,
sea ware,
bladder wrack rockweed,
kelp,
seawrack,
kelpware,
black-tang,
bladder fucus,
cutweed,
seaweed,
sea oak,
black tany,
cutweed,
fucus sea-wrack,
kelp-ware,
black-tang,
quercus marina,
cutweed,
bladder fucus,
fucus vesiculeux,
blasentang,
seetang,
and
meeriche