© Ian Manning, some rights reserved (CC-BY) · iNaturalist
Overview
Palmaria is a small genus of red seaweeds in the family Palmariaceae, of cold northern coasts, the main species being Palmaria palmata, known as dulse. Plants form flat, membranous, leathery fronds 4-16 inches (10-40 cm) long, attached by a small disc-shaped holdfast, with a short stalk that widens into a broad blade splitting into hand-shaped (palmate) lobes. The fronds are deep red to purplish-red, sometimes drying almost brown, and lack the midrib and internal veins of true leaves; the whole frond is a single sheet of tissue. There are no roots, stems, or flowers. Reproduction follows a complex red-algal cycle in which tiny male plants and large female-derived plants take part, releasing spores rather than seeds. New fronds grow in spring and summer, often on rock or on the stalks of kelp, and the plants withstand cold water, wave action, and exposure at low tide. Dulse has long been gathered for food along the North Atlantic and is dried and eaten as a snack or seasoning.