''Leathesia difformis'', is a synonym for ''Leathesia marina'' (Lyngbye) Decaisne, 1842, commonly known as the sea cauliflower and the sea potato. It is a species of

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and p ...

in the

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Phaeophyceae and the order

Ectocarpales Ectocarpales is a very large order in the brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). The order includes families with pseudoparenchymatous (Splachnidiaceae) or true parenchymatous ( Scytosiphonaceae) tissue. Pseudoparenchymatous refers to a filamento ...

which is commonly attached to other seaweeds and sometimes rocks. When young, the organism is solid but as it matures it becomes hollow and somewhat convoluted and has the appearance of a small leathery brown bag about the same size as a

tennis ball A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in organised competitions, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt which modifies their aerodyna ...

. The texture is rubbery and the outer surface smooth. These brain-like brown seaweeds can be found growing on rock or as epiphytes on other seaweeds in the mid to low

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

. Individuals can grow to ~ in diameter. Young individuals can resemble other globular forms of algae, such as '' Soranthera ulvoidea''. To determine if it is '' Leathesia'', squeeze and flatten a piece between your fingers. Leathesia will break apart into filaments whereas other globular forms will flatten but remain intact."Leathesia difformis"
, 18 December 2006. Retrieved on 8 February 2012.

Taxonomy

A 2011 study using

phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...

found the following relationships between ''L. difformis'' and the rest of

Chordariaceae Chordariaceae is a family of brown algae. Members of this family are may be filamentous, crustose with fused cells at the base, or they may be terete and differentiated into a central medulla and an outer photosynthetic cortex. They have a spo ...

Taxonomy

References

Further reading