Wine Glass Hydroid (Obelia, polyp form)
Wine Glass Hydroid (Obelia, polyp form)
Common name: wine-glass hydroid, obelia, sea fur
Scientific name: Obelia ssp.
Locations: tidepools, mooring floats, kelp fronds
Seasonality: spring - late fall
Colors: white
Size: 3” - 6" samples
Collected: by hand
Quantity: sold by the clump or cluster on rocks, shells, pieces of kelp
Tidepool Tim says, “These hydroids grow quickly can cover everything in a tidepool by summers end - rocks, seaweeds, shells, snails, crabs, etc. They are easiest to collect on kelp plants and mooring lines. We like to watch bushy-backed nudibrancs eat them as they graze across the surface of the kelp plants.”