Winged Kelp (Alaria esculenta)

Tidepool Tim says, “Edible kelp is very distinctive. It really stands out among the other kelp species here in Cobscook Bay. The frond looks like something a vogue fashion designer dreamed of. It is long, ruffled, and has beautiful little 'kelp-lets' branching off from the bottom. the holdfast is very gnarly and fingerlike. In the spring one can spot the holdfasts tenaciously hanging onto the high current ledges. As the earth tilts back towards the sun this kelp responds with gusto growing inches every day and seems to be the fasting growing kelp in our bay.  Bare holdfasts sprout into 2, 3, and 4' foot long specimens in just a few weeks. by mid-summer it has completed it's life-cycle and is beginning to wither and succumb to the grazing snails and sea urchins and by fall it's all but gone. The name edible kelp comes from the fact that it is very palatable to eat. My kids and I have many times munched on the tender 'kelp-lets" while tidepooling along. As imagined, it's salty but very tender and pops as you nibble. Very yummy indeed.”