''Eucheuma denticulatum'' is a species of
red algae
Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...
and one of the primary sources of
iota carrageenan. It exists naturally in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, tropical Asia, and the western Pacific,
but for the commercial extraction of carrageenan it is usually cultivated. The species is commonly known as ''E. spinosum'' when cultivated and can be found in different colours: brown, green and red.
Cultivation of ''Eucheuma'' started in the Philippines in the early 1970s
and has since been introduced to many other locations with varying results. There are different methods of cultivating ''E. denticulatum''. One of the more common ones is the off-bottom "tie-tie"-method, with the setup being two stakes driven into the sediment with a rope between them. Pieces of the seaweed are then tied to the rope at regular intervals and allowed to grow for 6 weeks, after which it is harvested and dried.
The species was originally described in 1768 as ''
Fucus
''Fucus'' is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world.
Description and life cycle
The thallus is perennial with an irregular or disc-shaped holdfast or with haptera. The erect portion o ...
denticulatus'' by
Nicolaas Laurens Burman
Nicolaas Laurens Burman (27 December 1734 – 11 September 1793) was a Dutch botanist.
He was the son of Johannes Burman (1707–1780). He succeeded his father to the chair of botany at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam., and at the Hortus Bot ...
and in 1917 transferred to the genus ''Eucheuma'' by F.S. Collins and A.B. Hervey.
References
Solieriaceae
{{Rhodophyta-stub