What is "nereocystis"

Nereocystis \Ne`re*o*cys"tis\, prop. n. [NL. See Nereid, and Cyst.] (Bot.) A genus of gigantic seaweeds.

Note: Nereocystis Lutkeana, of the North Pacific, has a stem many fathoms long, terminating in a great vesicle, which is crowned with a tuft of long leaves. The stem is used by the Alaskans for fishing lines.

Nereocystis (Greek for "mermaid's bladder") is a monotypic genus of kelp containing the species Nereocystis luetkeana. Some common names include edible kelp, bull kelp, bullwhip kelp, ribbon kelp, giant kelp, bladder wrack, and variations on these names. It forms thick beds on rocks, and is an important part of kelp forests. It can grow to a maximum of . Nereocystis has a holdfast of about , and a single stipe, topped with a pneumatocyst containing carbon monoxide, from which sprout the numerous (about 30-64) blades. The blades may be up to long, and up to wide. It is usually annual, sometimes persisting up to 18 months. Nereocystis is the only kelp which will drop spore patches, so that the right concentration of spores lands near the parent's holdfast. It is common along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Southern California to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

Thallus of this common canopy-forming kelp has a richly branched holdfast (haptera) and a cylindrical stipe 10–36 m (33–118 ft) long, terminating in a single, gas-filled pneumatocyst from which the many blades, up to 10 m (33 ft) long, develop. Blade growth can reach 15 cm (6 in) per day. Reproductive patches (sori) develop on the blades and drop to the seafloor at maturity. Habitat: This annual kelp grows on rock from the low intertidal to subtidal; it prefers semi-exposed habitats or high current areas. Offshore beds can persist for one to many years, usually in deeper water than Eualaria or Macrocystis, where they co-occur.