Porphyra abbottiae

Welcome! My first species of interest on this blog is the red alga Porphyra abbottiae (Krishnamurthy). A common name for P. abbottiae is red laver (e.g. Garibaldi and Turner, 2004; Turner, 1975). This seaweed was at one point called Porphyra perforata (Turner, 1975). Since then it has been alternately (but incorrectly) spelled P. abbottae (N. J. Turner, pers. comm.). It resembles a flat, reddish-purple or greenish blade (see image in this post [Mandy Lindeberg, 1996]), and may reach lengths of 150 cm or longer (Turner, 1975). Along with humans, some marine animals such as limpets, chitons, and snails also eat this seaweed (Turner, 2003). This particular species will be the focus of my research over the next two years.

This seaweed is a member of the genus Porphyra. There are many species in this group of seaweeds, and many of these have been an important source of medicine and food throughout the world for thousands of years. Porphyra was part of a traditional coastal Southeast Asian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese diet. It appears in soups, as flavouring for many dishes, and as the nori in sushi in Japan. It is a valuable food, and is grown in 'farms' to meet the demand. The value of the seaweed industry was $1.5 billion in Japan alone by 1998 (Zemke-White and Ohno, 1999). On the Pacific coast of North America, there may be 22 species of Porphyra (Druehl, 2000). Species harvested by First Nations along the Pacific coast included P. abbottiae, P. laciniata and P. lanceolata (Turner, 2002). Porphyra grows on hard surfaces such as rocks in the intertidal zone [this is the area between the highest and lowest tides!] (Druehl, 2000), though some species grow on other seaweeds or are found in the subtidal zone [this is the area below the lowest tide, so it's always covered by water] (McConnaughey, 1985).

Porphyra abbottiae is a typical Porphyra. It is epilithic (grows on rocks) or other hard, immovable surfaces such as shells (Turner, 2003; Williams, 1979). It mostly grows in the intertidal zone, and is reported to be found from the polar (Alaska) to the South Temperate zones of coastal Pacific waters (Turner, 2003; Madlener, 1977). The location of Porphyra species in the intertidal zone makes it possible for both marine and terrestrial animals to get to it. Early First Nations hunters and gatherers would have encountered laver while they collected coastal species such as clams, octopi, limpets, and snails, and so at some point laver too was harvested and integrated into the traditional diet (Turner, 2003). One important source of information is Boas (1921), who wrote up ethnographic information collected from the Kwakwaka’wakw by George Hunt. Another, less detailed source, also on Kwakwaka’wakw practises, is found in Curtis (1915). Tomorrow I will talk in greater detail about the traditional use of Porphyra by the Kwakwaka’wakw!

References:

Aaronson, S. 1986. A Role For Algae as Human Food in Antiquity. Food and Foodways 1: 311-315.
Boas, F. 1921. Ethnology of the Kwakiutl: based on data collected by George Hunt. Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C.
Curtis, E. S. 1915. The North American Indian, Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States, the Dominion of Canada, and Alaska. Johnson Reprint Corporation: New York.
Druehl, L. D. 2000. Pacific Seaweeds; A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast. Harbour Publishing: Madeira Park, British Columbia.
Madlener, J. C. 1977. The Sea Vegetable Book. Clarkson N. Potter: New York.
McConnaughey, E. 1985. Sea Vegetables; Harvesting Guide & Cookbook. Naturegraph Publishers: Happy Camp, California. Pp. 159-190.
Turner, N. J. 1975. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. Royal British Columbia Museum. UBC Press: Vancouver. Pp. 21-22.
Turner, N. J. 2003. The Ethnobotany of Edible Seaweed (Porphyra abbottae and Related Species; Rhodophyta: Bangiales) and its Use by First Nations on the Pacific Coast of Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany, 81: 283-293.
Zemke-White, W. L., and Ohno, M. 1999. World seaweed utilization: An end-of-century summary. Journal of Applied Phycology 11: 369-376.