Below you’ll see examples of intertidal red algae, mostly from the exposed surf-swept shores of the Oregon coast. You are likely to encounter these reds on the rocks or in and around tide pools, and you’ll see a few of them as drift on the beaches. Some are easy to identify with field guides and online resources (see References, below). Others are tricky. I try to get the IDs right, but I’m far from an expert. I apologize for any misidentifications. If you find one, please let me know. There’s nothing really new here, just my photos of common reds, and a natural history note if I can think of something from my experience that hasn’t already been said or seems over- or underemphasized. I’ll show some that I can’t identify too. Please drop me a line if you can resolve a mystery red.
I more or less follow Lamb and Hanby (2005), showing species in the order they might be encountered on the rocky shore, from highest to lowest intertidal. Common names are my choice. I lean on Algaebase for scientific names and I learn a ton by browsing the pages of Druehl and Clarkston (2016) and Kozloff (1993). All photos are mine, and all are from exposed northern Oregon shores, unless otherwise noted in the text or captions.
Let’s Explore Some Reds
Nori or Laver, Pyropia
There are plenty of species. You’ll see the ones shown here as Porphyra in some of the guides. According to Druehl and Clarkston (2016), most of the Porphyra we encounter in Oregon have been reassigned to Pyropia. Those featured here are common on the high intertidal rocks. Pyropia is rubbery to the touch and somewhat iridescent. A heavy growth can obscure rocky details, making for treacherous footing.
Pyropia on a mid- to high mussel bed | Galiano Island, BC Canada 
Pyropia can completely cover intertidal rocks 
Pyropia will share it’s space 
Where sand burial is prevalent, you’ll sometimes see Pyropia poking out of the sand 
Some forms have short broad blades 
Some forms have long narrow blades 
Dark Pyropia draped over the foreground 
Pale yellow Pyropia 
This patch of Pyropia is rarely submerged, but it gets a lot of splash 
Blades have a rubbery feel and tend to be translucent
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Bald sea hair, Bangia
You’ll find Bangia on rounded high intertidal rocks, where it looks and behaves like thinning human hair. Bangia is featured in A Brief Account (with Video!) of the Bangia-Human Hair Resemblance. Bangia can be surprisingly easy to pass by.
Look for Bangia on smooth round high intertidal rocks 
Don’t forget Bangia; it’s easy to overlook 
Bangia is sometimes called black sea hair 
Bangia, showing off its true red 
Bangia looks like a limp mop of thinning black hair
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Nail brush, Endocladia muricata
Also called sea moss, Endocladia is one of the common tufts in the high intertidal.
Endocladia loves the tops of rocks 
Endocladia on the Mytilus bed 
Tiny spines and a wiry hand feel, even when wet, help identify Endocladia 
Endocladia is at home in the barnacle zone 
Endocladia is one of the common tufts of the higher zones
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Hairy seaweed, Cumagloia andersonii
A band of Cumagloia andersonii (red) just above Ulva (green); a little Pyropia (blackish) 
Cumagloia andersonii shares upper intertidal space with B. glandula | Good looking June stalks 
You can see why they call it hairy seaweed 
The strands look rubbery, and they are! 
Hairy seaweed seems to love draping over a vertical surface 
You might pass right by Cumagloia andersonii without giving it much notice
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Horn-of-plenty, Mazzaella parksii
A fun one to know, it’s another one of those reds that isn’t very red. Look for it on surf-exposed high intertidal rocks. On my home beaches, March through May is a good time to find nice looking patches.
April is a good month to find Mazzaella parksii 
The base of the blades is deep purplish-red 
M. parksii is sometimes called frilly turf 
M. parksii playing its part in the high intertidal
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Turkish washcloth, Mastocarpus (erect phase)
One of the common bladed reds in the upper midlittoral zone. I used to confidently call this wide-bladed form Mastocarpus papillatus. But it turns out, as Druehl and Clarkston (2016) explain, the genus is a complex of variable species. To make things more interesting Mastocarpus also has a black crust life history phase.
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Black pine, Neorhodomela
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Bleached brunette, Cryptosiphonia woodii
Cryptosiphonia woodii can be turfy or tufty. My experience is that it’s more delicate and goes a lot limper when exposed than Neorhodomela (above). The branch tips supposedly bleach to a blondish color in the summer, which accounts for the common name, bleached brunette. The other common name, dark branching-tube seaweed, isn’t worth mentioning.
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Sea sacs, Halosaccion, probably H. glandiforme
I have encountered Halosaccion only on the sheltered shores of the Salish Sea.
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Beauty bush, Callithamnion pikeanum
Apparently not too common in northern Oregon, the two featured below are from Bandon, in southern Oregon. Some of the references mention that the branches are often covered with diatoms. I don’t know if the distinctive fuzzy look is due to a covering of diatoms.
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Bleach weed, Prionitis
With several species of Prionitis in our area, I’m hesitant to make a specific identification call on this one. When conditions are right it can produce dense growth and a thick somewhat treacherous mat of blades at low tide.
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Plocamium
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Flat-tipped forked seaweed, Ahnfeltiopsis linearis
I’m pretty sure about the ID here, but like all of these reds, my IDs are open to interpretation. Attractive and photogenic, A. linearis is at home with periodic sand burial. Ahnfeltiopsis was featured in Seaweeds in the Sand.
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Turkish towel, Chondracanthus exasperatus
When I see Chondracanthus, it’s usually as drift on the sandy beaches. Chondracanthus was featured in a brief older post, Turkish Towel.
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Cryptopleura or Hymenena
Or maybe both! These reds washed ashore in a diverse mass of drift macroalgae. The irridescence stands out pleasingly in the drift line. My identification is tentative and general; please drop me a line if you have identification ideas.
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Red sea leaf, Erythrophyllum delesserioides
This fragment washed ashore in a mass of drift macroalgae.
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Red wing, Ptilota filicina
There are a few species of delicate fern-like reds in the lower intertidal. The coverage of these in the references cited below is variable and kind of confusing. Thus, identifying most of these with certainty isn’t possible for me. I like the treatment of P. fillicina in Mondragon and Mondragon (2010) and Oregon’s Rocky Intertidal by Kate Krieg.
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Succulent seaweed, Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii
I’ve seen S. gaudichaudii only at low tide on Salish Sea shores.
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Red fringe, Smithora naiadum
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Cup and Saucer, Constantinea simplex
Always a low intertidal treat.
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Something approximating red sea skein, Antithamnionella
If indeed it is Antithamnionella, you’ll see it as Irtugovia in some of the guides. It also goes by hooked or red skein. There are several filamentous reds which are hard to tell apart from photos alone. Antithamnionella a common epiphyte on bull kelp stipes, so I’m trusting that’s what at least two of these images show. They all seem to have the same look so I’ve lumped in the reds on the drifted timber too.
Delicate epiphytes on a bull kelp stipe 
An eye-catching red adorns a drift timber 
Drift bull kelp is aways worth a closer look
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Mysteries From the Drift Line
A lacy epiphyte. This one gives a much different impression than Antithamnionella (above). Whatever is is, it appeared in my brief post, Epiphytic Reds, a Cherry on Top
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A rose red mystery
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Rose-purple frills on a purple blade
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References
Druehl, L. D. and B. E. Clarkston. 2016. Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide To Common Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast. 2nd ed. Harbour Publishing Co.
Harbo, R. M. 2011. Whelks to Whales: Coastal Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. 2nd ed. Harbour Publishing Co.
Kozloff, E. N. 1993. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast. 3rd ed. University of Washington Press.
Lamb, A. and B. P. Hanby. 2005. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing.
Mondragon, J., and J. Mondragon. 2010. Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast. Shoreline Press.
Sept. J. D. 2009. The Beachcomber’s Guide to Seashore Life in the Pacific Northwest. Revised ed. Harbour Publishing.
Online Resources for Reds
Netarts Bay Today – reds.
Biodiversity of the Central Coast – reds.
Seaweeds of Alaska – reds.
Give the Seaweed Sorter App a try!
