Hampton Seaweed


Hampton Beach from the upper deck of La Bec Rouge, NH
 Motorcycling along the coast yesterday, a friend and I took a break in Hampton, NH for dinner. A short walk down to the water to watch the waves and at our feet were fragments of seaweed. The average person taking a glance down at them would have taken them to be all the same. But picking them up we noticed that they were all different, even though at a glance they seemed to be the same. The bladders were located in different places, and some were smooth while others were bumpy. There were distinctions in the blade forking. There were color variations. Were they different species or different genus?


Rockweeds, Fucus species; Knotted Wrack, Ascophyllum


There we were, dressed inappropriately for the beach, surrounded by swimmers and sunners, closely examining seaweed. Clearly, my friend and I are not average people.






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