Last week I went out to check on whether any Sea Palms (Postelsia palmaeformis) were visible yet. This is when juveniles often appear on wave-exposed rocky shores. They're very small at this time of year — most of the individuals I saw on 1 February 2018 were under 5 cm (2 inches) tall.
Sea Palm is an annual kelp that reaches peak heights (up to 60 cm or 24 inches tall)
by summer.
For comparison, here's an example of a large clump of tall Postelsia washed up on the beach in August (with Eric for scale):
2 comments:
Hey Jackie,
I noticed large clumps of mature sea palm washing up this weekend, from Blind Beach to Salmon Creek South and even at the beach next to the Doran boat launch. I had read that they die in winter, so was initially surprised to see. But found this post/photo has a nice large clump from August. What months would you say you see the most washed up? Thanks!
Hi, Amber!
Good question! I generally think of the late summer and early fall as the primary times to see Sea Palm washed up. But although I keep informal field notes about dominant seaweeds washed ashore when I walk beaches, I've never done a formal survey.
Sea Palms are annuals, so they start to senesce at the end of the summer and then when the waves start to pick up they wash off the rocks and onto the beaches. You might be able to see more after the first larger storm, but it'd be an interesting question to pursue.
:) Jackie
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