Stalked kelp

Description:

Pterygophora californica is the only species in its genus Pterygophora. This is a unique brown seaweed that grows to 3 meters in height. The top portion of the woody stipe is flat - this is where the blades are arranged on either side. The bottom two thirds of the stipe is often gnarled and twisted. Pic 5 shows the holdfast attached to a rock (this is from a different specimen than the first 3 pics).

Habitat:

Washed shore on the beach at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. A narrow spit that extends into the Strait Of Juan de Fuca over 5 miles (pic 6). It's a great beach to find seaweeds and kelp. It grows in shallow water on the Pacific coast of North America where it forms part of a biodiverse community in a "kelp forest".