Mastocarpus stellatus

Mastocarpus stellatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
(unranked):	Archaeplastida
Division:	Rhodophyta
Class:	Florideophyceae
Order:	Gigartinales
Family:	Petrocelidaceae
Genus:	Mastocarpus
Species:	M. stellatus
Binomial name
Mastocarpus stellatus (Stackhouse) Guiry
Synonyms
Gigartina stellata

Mastocarpus stellatus, also called Clúimhín Cait (cats' puff), carragheen, or false Irish moss, is a species of red algae closely related to Irish Moss, or Chondrus crispus. It is collected in Ireland and Scotland, together with Chondrus crispus as Irish Moss, dried, and sold for cooking and as the basis for a drink reputed to ward off colds and flu. The fronds are channelled unlike those of Chondrus crispus, and it has a curved stipe whereas Chondrus has a flat one. It occurs commonly on rocks in the mid- and lower-intertidal.

Mastocarpus stellatus is able to coexist with C. crispus on the northern New England coast despite being a competitive inferior to C. crispus. A greater tolerance for freezing allows it to exist above C. crispus in northern environments where freezing stresses are significant. Mastocarpus is rarely found south of Cape Cod on the United States Atlantic coast because it is out competed by Chondrus when the freezing tolerances are lower.

Distribution

Generally common on all coasts of Ireland and Britain except perhaps for parts of the east of England - Lincoln, Norfolk and Suffolk.^[1]

References

1. ^ Hardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2006. A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.. The British Phycological Society. ISBN 3 906166 35 X

External links

• Mastocarpus stellatus (Stackhouse) Guiry Mastocarpus stellatus.
• Mastocarpus stellatus (Stackhouse) Guiry AlgaeBase.
• Marine Life of Britain and Ireland