A small section of Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii) showing the floats (pneumatocysts) and lateral blades. When I picked up this piece of kelp today, I realized I hadn't thought about the growth and development of Feather Boa Kelp floats.
At first I thought the size of the floats might be sequential on a young plant, i.e., largest near the base of the plant and smallest towards the outer tip. But seeing these floats today made me re-think the development of the floats. I haven't had a chance to research whether someone has tracked this in maturing plants over time, but now I'm curious. I might have to follow a few individuals to see how they progress!
P.S. For more pictures and information about Feather Boa Kelp, you can review the post called "Happy Birthday, Archibald!" from 14 March 2012.
4 comments:
Live your posts- many thanks!
But note rare typo today:
Feather boaT kelp!! 😂
Perhaps small floats out of sequence broke off and are being replaced.
Hi, Hank,
Yikes! Thanks! Typing late at night is always a challenge for me. :)
That was kind of a funny typo, but it has now been fixed.
Jackie
Hi, Jim,
Interesting idea! This was a relatively young plant, with only a few floats. It had washed up on the beach, so it's hard to know its history. I'm reading around a bit just now to see if someone has studied float development in Egregia.
:) Jackie
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