Purple laver is a common seaweed found on rocky shores and can tolerate long periods of air exposure between tides. It attaches to the rock with a disc-like holdfast and occurs both singularly and in colonies. The purple fronds are tough but membraneous, being only a few cells thick.
How to identify
Purple laver is a purplish-brown seaweed with very thin, membrane-like fronds that vary in shape.
Distribution
Common on rocky shores all around our coasts.
Did you know?
Purple laver is a favourite food in parts of Wales, where it is used to make laver bread and jelly, or rolled in oatmeal and fried in bacon fat. It is often served cold in Cornwall, doused with vinegar.
