Sargassum
| Sargassum | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| (unranked): | SAR |
| Superphylum: | Heterokonta |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Fucales |
| Family: | Sargassaceae |
| Genus: | Sargassum |
| Species | |
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Sargassum is a genus of brown (class Phaeophyceae) macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs, and the genus is widely known for its planktonic (free-floating) species. While most species within the class Phaeophyceae are predominantly cold water organisms that benefit from nutrients upwelling, genus Sargassum appears to be an exception to this general rule. Any number of the normally benthic species may take on a planktonic, often pelagic existence after being removed from reefs during rough weather; however, two species (S. natans and S. fluitans) have become holopelagic—reproducing vegetatively and never attaching to the seafloor during their lifecycle. The Atlantic Ocean's Sargasso Sea was named after the algae, as it hosts a large amount of sargassum.
Sargassum was named by the Portuguese sailors who found it in the Sargasso Sea after a species of rock rose (Helianthemum) that grew in their water wells at home and that was called sargaço in Portuguese (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐɾˈɣasu]).
The Florida Keys and its smaller islands are well known for their high levels of Sargassum covering their shores. Gulfweed was observed by Columbus. Although it was formerly thought to cover the entirety of the Sargasso Sea, making navigation impossible, it has since been found to occur only in drifts.
Sargassum is also cultivated and cleaned for use as an herbal remedy. Many Chinese herbalists prescribe powdered Sargassum, either the species S. pallidum, or more rarely, hijiki, S. fusiforme, in doses of 0.5 gram, to be dissolved in warm water and drunk as a tea. It is called "hai zao" in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it is used to resolve "heat phlegm."
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Wikipedia