Scytosiphon simplicissimus
Color: Brown
Shape: Tube-like
Texture: Segmented
Size: Up to 2’
Zone: Intertidal
Range: Alaska to South America
Description: Long narrow tubes, less than .5” in diameter, in clusters but not branched. Small disc-like holdfast. Simplicissimus is segmented, reminiscent of sausage links; other species of Scytosiphon are not.
Edibility: Edible
Distinctive characteristics:
Collection notes:
Phylum: Phaeophyta (Brown Algae)
Previous names: Chorda lomentaria, Scytosiphon lomentaria
Similar species: Melanosiphon intestinalis and other Melanosiphon (Twisted Soda Straws). Can also be confused with Ralfsia in its crustose phase, when it looks like a brown coating on rocks.