Kelp

Kelp

Kelp has long, flexible stalks (stipes) which are attached to rocks by root-like structures called holdfasts. Giant Kelp Macrocystis can be longer than the largest whale. Kelps form huge underwater forests in the northern Pacific and provide food and shelter for many creatures. Hollow gas-filled pneumatocysts keep the fronds floating near the surface of the water where light energy can be harvested by photosynthetic pigments. [CH] {EB}