4/30/11 - Sieglind sent a bigger picture of that overgrown oyster shell and the mystery is solved! She's right, it *is* algae.

4/30/11 - Sieglind sent a bigger picture of that overgrown oyster shell and the mystery is solved! She's right, it *is* algae. Believe it or not! (see description) This is a type of articulated coralline algae. Articulated means it has joints, coralline means it's hard (calcified). It grows as deep as 40 feet and it comes in a variety of hues. The interesting thing about this algae is that it needs to be able to move so as not to break into pieces, so it's articulated. It has joints. The joints aren't calcified and that's what allows the plant to live in an environment of fierce motion without breaking. From time to time a piece of this finds it's way onto a beach in California.