Seaweed Beauty

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Arusip or lato is the most common sea vegetable in the market.  It is high in folic and folinic acids.  Lato or Caulerpa is of two commercial species, C. racemosa which is cultured in estuaries and fishponds and and C. lentillifera which is usually found growing in the wild. It is the racemosa type that predominates the market. Because of frequent harvesting of this species by local residents lentillifera it is no longer popular in the market. Besides, the cultured Caulerpa is cleaner and more uniform. It has lesser damage and is less pungent than its wild counterpart. (Model: Miss Gelyn S Gabao, 19 Filipina)

 

Kulot or Gelidiella acerosa (Forsk) Feldmann and Hamel has tough and wiry thalli, greenish black to dull purple in color. They lie low and creeping on rocks and corals along the intertidal zone. It is very much branched when mature with secondary branches cylindrical at the base and flattened towards the tip and beset on both sides with irregular, pinnately short branches. The fertile branchlets have conspicuous swollen tips.

Too rich an imagination about a sea fairy  
        at the bottom of the sea;
if it were true, I would wonder less its bounty 
        than a maid's simple beauty;

Who farm the sea but a dainty, loving hand
        like that of Ceres on land;
in a world where mystery and enigma in bond
        shall forever astound man.~