CHLOROPHYTA : Bryopsidales : BryopsidaceaeGREEN ALGAE

Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) C.Agardh, 1823


Bryopsis plumosa image: bryopsis_plumosa_2
Bryopsis plumosa

Description: Thallus small and erect to 10 cm long. Branches arranged distichously on the main axes. Feather-like.

Habitat: Not uncommon. In low littoral rock pools and in the sublittoral.

Distribution: Widespread in the British Isles. Europe: Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Norway, Faroes and Iceland. Atlantic coast of North America: Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Further afield: west coast of Greenland, Jamaica, Canary Islands, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritania, South Africa, British Columbia to California, Australia and Japan.

Similar Species: Bryopsis hypnoides has irregular branching.

Key Identification Features:

  • Distichous branches.

Distribution Map from NBN: Bryopsis plumosa at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Bryopsis plumosa at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Bryopsis plumosa at World Register of Marine Species.

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 Morton, O., Keatley, L., Morrow, C.C. & Picton, B.E. (2026). Bryopsis plumosa. (Hudson) C.Agardh, 1823. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://habitas.org/mbdp/species.php?item=ZS3920. Accessed on 2026-11-01