Towel, anyone?

We found a very large blade of red algae washed up on the beach a couple of days ago:

 

Although it might be hard to tell from the picture, this algae is known for its texture — it's covered with small bumps or spines.  They're dense, which gives the seaweed a rough texture.  Because of this, someone came up with a distinctive name for it — Turkish Towel.  

This is Chondracanthus.  (My guess is Chondracanthus corymbiferus.)  However, Turkish Towel is often easier to remember!

This towel was so big (you might call it a bath sheet!), Eric thought he'd give it a try:

 

There are over 200 species of seaweeds in the Bodega Bay region.  I'll be trying to highlight more of them this year.