Egg wrack has long, yellow-brown, strap-like fronds with air bladders protruding at regular intervals along their length.

Behaviour

Egg wrack is a common wrack seaweed which grows on sheltered rocky shores, around the mid shore zone. It has long, leathery strap-like fronds with egg-shaped air bladders along the lengths. Egg wrack is a long-lived species, with individuals growing slowly for decades. They do not cope well on exposed shores (those with strong wave action), but they flourish on very sheltered shores to the extent of dominating these environments. The dense masses of Egg wrack provide shelter for many species on rocky shores.

Size

Length: up to 2m

Status

Common.

Distribution

Common on sheltered rocky shores all around our coasts.

When to see

January to December

Facts

Egg wrack, also known as Knotted Wrack, often bears tufts of a small, reddish epiphytic (plants that live on other plants) algae, Polysiphonia lanosa. This filamentous ‘Red Seaweed’ forms pom-pom-like structures on the Egg wrack.