Ulva Intestinalis

Ulva intestinalis is a species of green alga in the family Ulvaceae, within the division Chlorophyta. It is commonly called gutweed, sea lettuce, green bait weed, or grass kelp. The alga forms branched, completely tubular fronds that expand toward the middle of the thallus, growing 10 to 30 centimeters long and 6 to 18 millimeters wide, with rounded frond tips. Its cells carry a single hood shaped chloroplast positioned to one side, typically holding one pyrenoid. It reproduces year round through an alternation of generations in which the gametophyte and sporophyte generations look identical to each other. Ulva intestinalis has a worldwide distribution, found in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans including waters near Alaska, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and northern Europe.