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Types of Red Seaweed

There are three main types of seaweed algae: green, brown and red. Red seaweed can grow at depths of up to 879 feet, deeper than brown and green seaweed, according to Fact Monster. The red seaweed's pigment, a clear red or purplish color, allows plants to absorb blue and violet light at such depths. Most of the thousands of known species of red algea in the Rhodophyta family are in saltwater, and are common in warm and tropical climates.

Porphyra
- Porphyra is a species of seaweed that the Japanese use to make Nori, or a rice ball wrapped in seaweed, a valuable food product. Nori is also a common ingredient of sushi.
Purple Laver
- Purple Laver is a common seaweed that you can find on rocky shores. The seawood is edible and was once used for making laver bread in Wales.
Purple Dulse
- Purple Dulse is an edible seawood that Northern European coastal civilizations have used in cuisine for millenia. The purple seaweed can be found in rock pools. It is rich in vitamins, iron, fluoride and potassium.
Coral Weed
- You can find this seaweed in pools on rocky shores, according to PZNOW. The seaweed forms a thick carpet and its color varies depending on the light, turning a deep purple in the shade. It is called "coral weed" because it is hard and rigid.
Red Epiphyte
- This small, feather-like plant grows on Egg Wrack, a brown seaweed in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Red Epiphyte uses Egg Wrack's buoyancy to get closer to the sunlight.
Lithothamnia
- Lithothamnia is a red seaweed that grows in rock pools, sometimes covering them entirely. It absorbs calcium from the seawater and secretes it, turning it into a white shade when out of water and directly in sunlight. It appears purple when in the water and in the shade.
Carragheen
- Carragheen is an edible seaweed that is used in jellies and food additives. It will appear green in the sunlight but purple in the shade.
Ceramium
- Ceramium is a common seaweed with more than 20 species. You can find it on other seaweeds and on rock surfaces. The plant has fine filaments with both light and dark red bands of color on the leaves.

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