Welcome to Mr Aslanov’s Lessons QUESTION-TYPE BASED TESTS Aslanovs_Lessons
Pterocladia from which agar is also available. Happily, New Zealandmade agar is now obtainable in health
food shops.
Section D Seaweeds are divided into three classes determined by colour - red, brown and green - and each tends to live
in a specific location. However, except for the unmistakable sea lettuce (Ulva), few are totally one colour;
and especially when dry, some species can change colour quite significantly - a brown one may turn quite
black, or a red one appear black, brown, pink or purple. Identification is nevertheless facilitated by the fact
that the factors which determine where a seaweed will grow are quite precise, and they therefore tend
to occur in very well-defined zones. Although there are exceptions, the green seaweeds are mainly shallow-
water algae; the browns belong to medium depths, and the reds are plants of the deeper water. Flat rock
surfaces near mid-level tides are the most usual habitat of sea bombs, Venus’ necklace and most brown
seaweeds. This is also the location of the purple laver or Maori karengo, which looks rather like a reddish-
purple lettuce. Deep-water rocks on open coasts, exposed only at very low tide, are usually the site of bull
kelp, strap weeds and similar tough specimens. Those species able to resist long periods of exposure to the
sun and air are usually found on the upper shore, while those less able to stand such exposure occur nearer to
or below the lowwater mark. Radiation from the sun, the temperature level, and the length of time immersed
all play a part in the zoning of seaweeds.
Section E Propagation of seaweeds occurs by spores, or by fertilisation of egg cells. None have roots in the usual
sense; few have leaves, and none have flowers, fruits or seeds. The plants absorb their nourishment through
their fronds when they are surrounded by water: the base or "holdfast" of seaweeds is purely an attaching
organ, not an absorbing one.
Section F Some of the large seaweeds maintain buoyancy with air-filled floats; others, such as bull kelp, have large
cells filled with air. Some, which spend a good part of their time exposed to the air, often reduce dehydration
either by having swollen stems that contain water, or they may (like Venus' necklace) have swollen nodules,
or they may have distinctive shape like a sea bomb. Others, like the sea cactus, are filled with slimy fluid or
have coating of mucilage on % the surface. In some of the larger kelps, this coating is not only to keep the
plant moist but also to protect it from the violent action of waves.