Other seaweed resources inc. a key for identification

'Seaweed Gatherer' by French impressionist Paul Serusier (c1890)

With my current snail infatuation, I know I'm guilty of neglecting other groups that people might be collecting. So this morning I've been looking around for some resources for seaweeds.

I've spotted this key to seaweeds by Emma Wells. She's written it allegedly for beginners. However, it is full of seaweedy jargon... but she does explain it all in a glossary at the start. The pictures are all at the end, whereas it might be nice to have them as you go along? But you will have to see how you get on, and report back. I'm going to print a copy off, so if you come in you're welcome to use it. She's based it on seaweeds at Milford Haven, on the south coast of Wales.

If you're growing to love seaweed as a result of your collecting, you might be interested in Fergus Drennan's 'British Seaweeds in Season' in which he talks about which ones are tastiest. But he doesn't talk very much about looking for sewage outlets nearby, something worth bearing in mind I would have thought.

Dried cochayuyo (Durvillaea antarctica - kelp seaweed for eating) in a market in Chile. CC image by McKay Savage.

Also, I like the information via the FSC's Rocky Shore Species page. There aren't too many species, but there are the common ones you're bound to come across, and each one gets an interesting write-up. It's probably the sort of ecological information you might want to scribble against each species in your field note book after you've identified it.

Another thing you might find interesting is the British Phycological Society's Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland. It has all the up to date names for the species and their taxonomic relationships. And this is followed by maps with dots for each 10km square where the species have been recorded.

I rather liked this small selection of species at the BBC's Discover Wildlife site because artist Dan Cole has painted them as they would be seen by something living in a rock pool (hmm. maybe something like a snail...) - they are stretched out and floating freely. I thought this might help inspire you to display the specimens in an attractive way that shows their structure and identifying features. Many seaweeds look a bit sad when they're out of the water do they not.

With this in mind, you might want to look at Seaweed Collections Online which is a project to gather together images of specimens in museums around the country. You can see how other people have coped with the difficulty of squashing a three-dimensional plant onto a two-dimensional bit of paper. The 1850s album on the home page is just beautiful.

spicy seaweed cracker. CC image by Calgary Reviews. I need my dinner.