Porphyra umbilicalis, commonly called "laver", is a species of edible seaweed in the genus Porphyra used to make laverbread. The seaweed is commonly found around the west coast of Great Britain and east coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea, where it is also known as "sleabhac" or "slake".[1][2] It is smooth in texture and forms delicate, sheetlike thalli, often clinging to rocks.[3] Porphyra is classified as red algae; it tends to be a brownish colour, but boils down to a dark green pulp when prepared. It is unusual amongst seaweeds because the fronds are only one cell thick.[4][5]
| Porphyra umbilicalis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Clade: | Archaeplastida |
| Division: | Rhodophyta |
| Class: | Bangiophyceae |
| Order: | Bangiales |
| Family: | Bangiaceae |
| Genus: | Porphyra |
| Species: | P. umbilicalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Porphyra umbilicalis | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "British food seaweeds". Everything2. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "Laver Seaweed – A Foraging Guide to Its Food, Medicine and Other Uses". eatweeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ "Porphyra umbilicalis Kützing 1843". www.algaebase.org. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
- ^ "laverbread – WalesOnline". www.walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
- ^ Wells, Emma (2010), A Field Guide to the British Seaweeds, National Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control Scheme (p 24) Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine.
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