PRODUCTS > KELPGROW > Macrocystis, also known as "giant kelp",
is a brown alga of which four species recognized, these are; M.
integrifolia, M. angustifolia, M. pyrifera and M. laevis. Kelp,
(Brown Algae/Giant Kelp) is the common name for large, leafy
brown algae, known as seaweed, that grow along colder
coastlines. The principal genera of kelp are the true kelps,
found in most cool seas, and the giant kelps and bladder kelps,
both of which are restricted to the northern Pacific. The giant
kelps grow as long as 65 m (213 ft). Giant kelp is the fastest
growing plant in the ocean. Under ideal conditions it can grow
as much as two feet per day. The kelp plant has a rootlike
holdfast that fixes to rocky surfaces; a long, slender stalk, or
stipe; and long, leaflike blades that manufacture food by
photosynthesis. Kelps, like ferns, reproduce by alternation of
generations. Giant kelp is called the "Rainforest of the Sea"
because it provides the earth with a large percentage of oxygen,
hundreds of species depend upon