Hildenbrandia lecanellierii, an
encrusting red seaweed, is
tolerant of the desiccation
stress high on the shore.
Looking
remarkably
like
splashed tar, this species covers large expanses in the upper intertidal area, in crevices,
and in places prone to sand
inundation. Older parts of the
seaweed often become detached, but it recovers quickly
from physical disturbance and
can regenerate from but a few
cells.
Tar crust, Hildenbrandia lecanellierii, is common in the mid to high
shore where intertidal grazers tend to remove more edible fleshy seaweeds.
Aeodes
orbitosa, commonly
known as slippery orbits, is a
tough, flat, slippery, leaf-like
seaweed.
The colour varies
from yellow-brown to reddishbrown. This seaweed is especially common in the middle to lower reaches of the intertidal area
where it often forms large expanses. In sheltered intertidal
pools, it can easily grow to over
a meter in diameter.
Slippery orbits, Aeodes orbitosa, (center) occurring as a slippery
mass among the dense tongue weed, G. polycarpa.
Gelidium pristoides, commonly
known as the saw-edged jellyweed, is a bushy red seaweed
with a dense stoloniferous basal
part that gives rise to several
upright blades that are flat with
a midrib and serrated margins.
The seaweed is very tough and
its colour varies from dark olive
brown to black. It is abundant
along the mid shore and is more
commonly found growing attached to limpet shells, out of
the reach of grazers. This seaweed has been harvested extensively along the southern east
coasts.
Clumps of Gelidium pristoides are commonly found attached to limpets
and barnacles in the mid intertidal zone where they escape grazing.