Tidepool Tim says,  “This leafy seaweed is often called "rockweed" but is quite different from the more prevalent seaweed, knotted wrack (Ascophyllum) on our rocky Maine coastlines. Though sometimes we find it in large beds, it seems to colonize the intertidal in a haphazard and scattered way on small rocks, boulders, and ledgy outcrops. Bladderwrack is a very tough & leafy seaweed with literally hundreds of small bladders along the fronds. In the summer months, enlarged bladders at the frond tips exude their spawn (a jelly-like substance) and this is how new wrack plants are produced. Tidepooling kids love to squeeze these bladders and squirt the liquid on each other with great delight! Periwinkle snails, and amphipods hide within or under the wrack at low tide using the plant as shelter from the hot sun or cold winter temps. Small specimens of wrack attached to rocks make a great addition to any cold-water aquarium - this is a tough & hardy seaweed that survives very well and provides habitat for various invertebrates."

Spiral wrack, Fucus spiralis, is also available.  This 'first-cousin' to bladderwrack is found on open ledges in areas of high tidal current.  We collect ours in our locally-famous area called 'Reversing Falls'.  Contact us if you're looking for spiral in particular.”