Kelp Forests Grow Faster Than Almost Anything
Kelp is large brown seaweed. Some species grow more than half a metre in a single day.
Kelp is large brown seaweed growing in cool coastal waters. Giant kelp can add over half a metre a day and reach forty metres, making it among the fastest growing organisms on Earth. It is not a plant but a brown alga, with no roots, no true leaves and no vascular system — it absorbs everything directly from the water. Kelp was burned for centuries to produce soda ash and iodine, and the word originally named that ash rather than the plant.
- Large brown seaweed. *A kelp forest.*
- Burned ash (archaic). *Kelp.*
- Holdfast — its anchor. *A holdfast.*
- Iodine — extracted from it. *Iodine.*
- Middle English — *culp*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | kelp | Kelp. |
| Compound | kelp forest | A kelp forest. |
| Part | holdfast | A holdfast. |
| Part | frond | A frond. |
| Middle English | culp | Kelp. |
- Otters shelter in the kelp.Habitat.
- It can grow half a metre a day.Fact.
- Kelp was burned for iodine.History.
Why kelp is not a plant
- No roots — a holdfast grips rock but absorbs nothing
- No true leaves — the blades absorb directly from seawater
- No vascular system for transporting sap
- It is a brown alga, a lineage separate from land plants
- Gas bladders float the fronds towards the light
Middle English *culp*, of unknown origin, originally naming the ash produced by burning seaweed.
Is kelp a plant?
No. It is a brown alga, with no roots, true leaves or vascular system. Its holdfast grips rock but absorbs nothing.
How fast does kelp grow?
Giant kelp can add more than half a metre a day, among the fastest growth rates of any organism.