Brown Sea Palm

Scientific Name:
Postelsia palmaeformis

Found On

Cypress Grove Trail, South Shore Trail
Description

A brown alga found in the intertidal zone along the California coast that resembles a miniature palm tree. It has a very strong stipe (stem) and holdfast (anchor that attaches it to the rock), so it can stand being pounded by strong waves.

Fun Facts

Pound away! Brown sea palm grows on rocks that routinely get pounded and swamped by intense wave action.  They actually grow best in areas of high wave action. In fact, they need that wave action to reproduce. After a wave recedes, the little sea palms spring back up and sway in the breeze. If there is no room on the rocks for these algae to grow, they will grow on top of California mussels.

Nature Topics
Marine Life, The Great Kelp Forest

Habitat

Feeding

Clusters of brown sea palm algae with tall, palm-like fronds stand upright on wave-swept rocky shoreline, their stems anchored tightly to the rock.

Photo credit: ©Kip Evans

Brown Sea Palm relies on

  • Line drawing on the sun

    Sun

  • Line drawing of a water drop

    Water

  • Line drawing of a plant above ground and its roots below ground

    Nutrients