"Mermaid's bladder" Kelp

Description:

The thallus of this common canopy-forming kelp has a richly branched holdfast (haptera) and a cylindrical stipe 10–36 m (33–118 ft) long, terminating in a single, gas-filled pneumatocyst from which the many blades, up to 10 m (33 ft) long, develop. Blade growth can reach 15 cm (6 in) per day. Reproductive patches (sori) develop on the blades and drop to the seafloor at maturity.

Habitat:

It grows on rock from the low intertidal to subtidal; it prefers semi-exposed habitats or high current areas.These were washed ashore in a beach near Piedras Blancas, CA.

Notes:

Apparently edible: http://northernbushcraft.com/seaweed/bul... http://www.seaweedsofalaska.com/species....