Green Slime (Enteromorpha spp.)
Green Slime (Enteromorpha spp.)
Common Name: green slime
Scientific Name: Enteromorpha ssp.
Location: sandy, cobbly sheltered clam flats, hard mud, mid intertidal
Seasonality: available all year (best in spring - fall months)
Color: bright green
Size: 4” - 6" fronds, sometimes longer
Collected: by hand
Tidepool Tim says, “Green slime is an invasive species in our waters that seems to form dense mats on the mud flats when the conditions are right. Shallow protected coves get the most growth of this green algae. In the fall, storms will windrow the fronds and push them toward the high water mark relieving the intertidal areas of this pest. In summer months, soft-shell clams can be suffocated by the covering of this seaweed. Often the clams will come to the surface of the flats in order to survive this covering of seaweed. Gulls and other predators will have a heyday eating these now exposed clams.”