Lessonia corrugata
A. H. S. Lucas
Kombu
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) smithsonian_marinegeo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
(c) tarnh, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
The leaves are eaten.
How to Identify
A kelp-type algae in the family Lessoniaceae.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Lessonia corrugata is a species of kelp, a brown algae in the genus Lessonia, commonly known as strapweed, common crapweed, or Tasmanian kombu. It is a subtidal species endemic to Tasmania and southern Victoria, Australia, and is the least studied of the only three Laminarian kelps in the region. The species was first described by Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas in 1931, and is most closely related to the New Zealand species Lessonia variegata. Lessonia corrugata is a dominant species in some Tasmanian kelp forests, but remains poorly studied. It is currently being developed for use in aquaculture, to produce food, feed, kelp biomass, and for environmental remediation purposes in IMTA finfish farms. However, it has also been identified as highly vulnerable to ocean warming.
References (1)
- Hughes, L. J. et al, 2018, Vitamin D Content of Australian Native Food Plants and Australian-Grown Edible Seaweed. Nutrients 2018, 10, 876
