Cymathaere triplicata

Three-ribbed Kelp, Triple-rib Kelp

28 May 2021

Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait

Tide: 0.0 foot tide 09:23am PDT (measured at Port Renfrew Tidal station); -0.7 foot tide 10:18am PDT (measured at Sheringham Point Tidal Station)

Conditions: Wind, SW 20 – 30 km per hour, moderate southwesterly swell, overcast, no precipitation, 11˚C.

Phase of Moon: Waning Gibbous (approx. 54 hours into this phase at time of collection); (Previous Phase, Full Moon, 26 May 2021 at 4:13am PDT: Next Phase, Third Quarter, 2 June 2021 at 12:24am PDT.)

Figure 1: Cymathaere triplicata is the prominent brown algae in this photo. Its long and smooth blades with three “ribs” are distinctive. Sharing this habitat there is also a tangle of bull kelp, branches of wiry acid weed, sprays of flattened acid kelp, some crusts of bright pink coralline algae and a touch of green sea lettuce. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C., Canada. May 28, 2021. Photo ID 27458 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Person 1:

Very shiny and a touch more yellowish golden than other nearby kelp species.

The three ribs are very conspicuous, even at a distance.

Tiny holdfast in relation to the length of the blade. One specimen I admired was 2 meters long, 10 cm wide with a sort of disc shaped holdfast only about 2 centimeters in diameter.

Growing in “colonies” of three to ten plants in close proximity to each other.

Lies long and flat in shallow water or when exposed.

Slippery? Physically (to the touch) for certain, and possibly in its character?

Unique, delicious flavor, slightly sweet. Crisp in texture.

Sweet, lightly self-deprecating humor.

Easily fatigued?

Figure 2: This view gives a closer look at the “discoid” hold fast, the stipe and the base of the blade where the three ribs originate. The cylindrical stipe can grow somewhat longer but in this location even though many of the blades were sizeable, the stipes were relatively short. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C., Canada. May 28, 2021. Photo ID 27459 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Person 2:

Striking. Sleek.

Simple elegance, like a perfectly cut tuxedo or the contours of a tastefully designed automobile.

Parallel ribs, long and strong.

Endless.

The outer shows so strongly and the inner is strong too, but moving fast – it’s got things to do, still heading onward but with style.

Touch of blade is smooth, very smooth.

It is thick, has strength and doesn’t tear or rip easily.

Taste – very crunchy texture and chewing releases a cucumber taste, delicious.

Also simple and clean in flavor, not complicated.

“What you see is what you get” – no hiding or deception. But that could be where you’re vulnerable, others could trick you, deceive you, Cymathaere.

Figure 3: This photo shows the clear difference between Five-ribbed Kelp, Costaria costata, and Three-ribbed Kelp, our species of note – Cymathaere triplicata. Cymathaere triplicata, has such a smooth look and its ribs also are smooth; Costaria costata has five ribs but between the ribs the blade is puckered with indentations and protrusions creating a strikingly different look. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C., Canada. May 28, 2021. Photo ID 27460 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Discussion:

Person 1 found that the simplicity and sleekness of this kelp led him to thinking of a con artist. Well dressed, fast talking, smooth “operator”. This ties in with the observation of this kelps morphology of being smooth, very smooth, and the long, long ribs that just go and go, keep going, slick..., just keep the con running. You don’t let your “victim” have the chance to absorb what you’re saying.

Person 2 saw that this same element of deception was present but that it may be turned onto Cymathaere themselves – the simple look leaves no place for hiding or deception.

One thought about the end of the deception or any trickery or when the “con is up” is that this kelp cannot stand hot temperatures. The term “the heat is on” means one who is under pressure. Possibly Cymathaere is a smooth operator only when in its ideal “cool” circumstances. Of course the term to be “under the heat” can also imply a sexual component with a person feeling sexually attracted or excited. One could think of characters like “the name’s Bond, James Bond.” This character is handsome, strong, sleek and smooth and always seems to be a cool operator under pressure; he also often attracts a female or two while he’s up to his daring efforts, and he always slips away at the end, remaining single and unattached.

A popular jazz or rhythm and blues song entitled ‘Smooth Operator’ released by Sade in 1984 conveys some of these aspects. The Lyrics are:

He's laughing with another girl
And playing with another heart
Placing high stakes making hearts ache
He's loved in seven languages
Diamond nights and ruby lights high in the sky
Heaven help him when he falls

Diamond life, lover boy
We move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy
City lights and business nights
When you require streetcar desire for higher heights

No place for beginners or sensitive hearts
When sentiment is left to chance
No place to be ending but somewhere to start

No need to ask
He's a smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator

Coast to coast, LA to Chicago, western male
Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale

Face to face, each classic case
We shadow box and double cross
Yet need the chase
A license to love, insurance to hold
Melts all your memories and change into gold
His eyes are like angels but his heart is cold

No need to ask
He's a smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator

Coast to coast, LA to Chicago, western male
Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator

Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator
Smooth operator

So with Cymathaere triplicata is there deception, or indeed the propensity to be deceived, in love as well as in other matters, too? It seems this could be a strong possibility.

Figure 4: Three Ribbed Kelp in hand shows the size and proportions of this sleek annual kelp species. These individuals are robust and in the prime of growth. Within two months they will have peaked for the season and begun breaking off and deteriorating. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C. Canada. May 28, 2021. Photo ID 27461 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Biology & Natural History Information:

Description:

Three-ribbed kelp is composed of a long, linear, single blade (to 4 meters long and 18 centimeters wide) attached to an unbranched cylindrical stipe (up to 25 cm long); it arises from a simple, disc-shaped holdfast. Color ranges from yellowish brown to reddish brown, and is lighter in color than most kelp species. The common name is derived from the three distinctive central folds, or ribs, that run along the entire length of the blade; no other kelp has this configuration. These ribs are comprised of ridges with shallow troughs running parallel to them and they range in depth up to 2.5 cm; generally speaking, the older the blade, the deeper the folds. Apart from these three ribs the blade has a smooth surface with no wrinkling and a mature blade is thick and has a leathery texture. This species has a sweet, cucumber-like scent which is often discernible from a distance and unmistakable when blade is torn and the severed edges are sniffed.

Habitat:

Three-ribbed kelp grows on rock, often cobble, in lower intertidal and upper subtidal areas in both inshore and more exposed outer coastal waters. This is an annual species of kelp and by late summer it is generally disintegrating and individuals washed ashore will be often severely tattered.

Distribution:

This kelp is found along the coast of the northern Pacific from the Kurile Islands in Russia east along the Bering Sea to Alaska, and south along coastal British Columbia to northern Washington State.

Remarks:

Lab tests on Three-ribbed Kelp from southern British Columbia and Washington show that the upper temperature tolerance of these individuals is between 15 and 18˚C, which is the lowest of any algae species found in that region. This explains the southern limit of its range in the north Pacific. It also is a factor in the swift decomposition of the plants as summer warms the ocean to its annual maximum temperatures.

The genus name, Cymathaere, is derived from the Greek meaning ‘wavy’.

This is the type species (holotype) of the genus Cymathaere.

Classification:

Phylum: Ochrophyta

Class: Phaeophyceae

Order: Laminariales

Family: Laminariaceae

Genus: Cymathaere

Species: Cymathaere triplicata (Postels & Ruprecht) J.Agardh 1868

Former name(s): Laminaria triplicata Postels & Ruprecht 1840; Saccharina triplicata (Postels & Ruprecht) Kuntze 1891.

Figure 5: This cluster of Cymathaere triplicata was growing in a similar region as the other robust individuals previously depicted but here we see some of the damage grazers can create. All kelps grow from the meristem – the part of the blade that is just above the stipe, so the newest growth will continue, at least for a few more weeks while the tattered ends likely will not endure much longer. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C. Canada. May 28, 2021. Photo ID 27462 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com