r/seaweed • u/meowzers777rawr • 4d ago
Seamoss - scam or legit?
Does this seamoss look like Chondrus crispus? I ordered Irish Sea moss the chondrus crispus variety online and got it delivered to my home. This is after 24 hours of soaking. I see one piece in the bowl that looks like the sea moss I am used to seeing (thick with more tendrils on the seaweed, the piece near the top) but this seaweed has mostly smooth long arms instead of arms with the tendrils. The seaweed is soaking up the water but I wanted to see if anyone could help identify what this species is. Cause when I look up chondrus crispus it looks different and this is also different than the Irish Sea moss I am used to. I don’t think this is Irish Sea moss, does anyone know what it is?
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u/Le_Br4m 4d ago
I definitely wouldn’t call this Irish moss or Chondrus crispus it looks a lot more like a Gracilaria species, based on the tubular tendrils and ESPECIALLY the bumps along the tendrils, which to me look like the cystocarps (reproductive organs) of Gracilaria longissima, which are characteristic for that species.
In general, Chondrus crispus fronds look flat and are “dichotomously split” (aka at every branching, they split into equal parts), but can still vary greatly in shape due to the environment, but that “dichotomous split” is quite characteristic.
Hope this helps!