Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) C Agardh

Description: Thallus small and erect to 10 cm long. Branches arranged distichously on the main axes. Feather-like.

Habitat: Not uncommon. In low littoral rock pools and in the sublittoral.

Distribution: Widespread in the British Isles. Europe: Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Norway, Faroes and Iceland. Atlantic coast of North America: Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Further afield: west coast of Greenland, Jamaica, Canary Islands, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritania, South Africa, British Columbia to California, Australia and Japan.

Similar Species: Bryopsis hypnoides has irregular branching.

Key Identification Features:

• Distichous branches.

Distribution Map from BioMar data for Ireland - Google Earth map:  download this placemark (not got Google Earth installed?)

Distribution Map from NBN: JNCC MNCR Seasearch data - Grid map : Interactive map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.