Mazzaella splendens

Splendid Iridescent Seaweed, Iridescent Seaweed, Rainbow Leaf

Port San Juan, British Columbia, Canada

9 June 2020

Interactions commenced at 10:35am PDT

Low Tide 1.0 feet at 10:32am PDT (measured at Port Renfrew Tidal Station)

Weather: Light rain, fog, 100% stratus cloud cover, light variable winds, light ripple on sea, no swell, temperature 12˚C, relative humidity 95%.

Phase of Moon: Waning Gibbous (Previous Phase, Full Moon, 5 June 2020 at 12:12pm PDT: Next Phase, Third Quarter, 12 June 2020 at 11:23pm PDT.)

Figure 1: Mazzaella splendens, newly exposed by the falling tide. Port San Juan, B.C., Canada. June 9, 2020. Photo ID 27250 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

In situ observations:

Person 1:

Out of the water… this seaweed is a boring military brown-green. Totally non-descript. Actually unattractive.

In the water I see purple iridescence against black – l like this combo.

Oil slick.

Put me in my element and I’m the shiniest, full of life.

Catch the light – I’m by far the star, the most attractive.

Person 2:

Such colors – blue, purple, turquoise, attracted me even on this rainy day!

Floating at the top of your tide pool, catching the light to reflect back colors.

Water gives you ‘magic’ with color.

Out of water less magic; just a glimpse or the potential of it.

Wide blades.

Gently ruffled.

Gentle – yes!

Soft looking; very soft and gentle.

Out of water – less color, looks drab – almost fades into the background.

Negative space/positive space aspect noted.

While photographing the iridescent colors I noticed that the red-brown blade and the pools of rich color separated out into two forms, almost two presences. One the media, the other the light show. One the structure, the other an identity freed from structure.

Without the iridescent colors, this reddish brown sheet of algae would seem to be “blocking the view” or almost completely uninteresting. I feel I’d want to get it out of the way to see what was hidden beneath it. But I wouldn’t give much time or attention to the red/brown sheet.

Figure 2: Mazzaella splendens, one plant exposed on rock lip (left) and another immersed in a tide pool (right); the interplay of light and the iridescent splendor of this seaweed is greatest when very wet or submerged. Port San Juan, B.C., Canada. June 9, 2020. Photo ID 27251 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Further Observations & Impressions:

Person 1:

The “look” and “feel” were intertwined for me with this seaweed.

I see ever changing shapes and patterns of iridescence often in sexy, curvaceous lines.

Sensuous, flowing form.

Translucent.

Fun to play with in the water.

Very smooth to touch, sensuous feel.

Feeling mildly sexually aroused while touching and observing this seaweed, especially when iridescence displayed itself.

Graceful flapping motion like a manta ray.

Looks a bit like a manta ray.

Not comfortable with my sexual arousal – didn’t want to document it.

Tried to pull the seaweed apart to taste and smell it, but it was too elastic. I had to cut into the blade with my thumbnail to start a tear.

No taste.

No smell when in water; strong iodine smell to the plant after it had been exposed to air for a while.

The common name fits the showy aspect of this seaweed, but doesn’t reflect the “dark side”? Schizophrenic?

Person 2:

A pleasing reddish brown color to this big sheet of seaweed.

Smooth surface.

Overall look; wavy, folded layers. AND when your alignment with the light is right – wow! Gorgeous iridescent pools of beautiful color can be seen in shades of lazuli blue, shining turquoise, and resplendent purples. The reddish brown fades out to be replaced by this light & color show.

Such a big wide blade has such a tiny stipe (stem). And your holdfast also seems so small.

Blade is easily as wide as it is long, and some were wider.

Cannot flatten. This blade is not on one plane. It wants to present more than one surface – but it’s just barely starting to work with more than two dimensions.

That’s what the waves and folds are about – that’s where the colors are manifest.

Looks translucent yet strong – not a flimsy appearance.

The outer edges of the blade have some finer waves and small ruffles.

When moved by wave action the movement is not sharp like a flag snapping in a strong gust of wind, but rather a graceful and almost sensual flow of form.

When I was writing this last sentence the word that first came to mind was ‘seductive’ but I hesitated to write that and put ‘sensual’ instead. I toned down the sexual connotation as if I was uncomfortable to acknowledge it.

Point of view of the observer matters!! A lot! When you tilt one way there is color; when you tilt another there is drabness.

So smooth, satiny smooth, smooth and thick and strong and somewhat rubbery.

There is no place to grasp – no branch, no fork or serration in the leaf.

So don’t hold on. Just glide over.

Could be a cover. Protective cover if you’re a water creature, suffocative if not.

Thick enough and not porous enough to breathe through, I wonder? I’ll try it – no, you can’t breathe through a sheet of this seaweed.

Feel of this seaweed on my skin is just as it looks – smooth, soft, satiny and gliding over. Until it dries out somewhat, then it clings and forms a seal over my skin and is difficult to pull off. If it was left fully to dry, I wonder if this seaweed would adhere like a second skin?

There is a smell of iodine to the drying leaf.

I do NOT want to taste this seaweed.

It is not an aversion or revulsion, I don’t want to taste it because I strongly do not want to tear the sheet or damage it – so, I didn’t.

Sheets moving against each other out of water in the wind make a rustling sound. Not a crisp rustle but a ‘wetter’ rustle, like waxy leaves of a giant magnolia tree, or like a tarp of canvas or thick plastic sheeting.

Thinking about the name, Splendid Iridescent Seaweed – yes, I agree, the iridescence is splendid to behold.

“Mazzaella” the genus name for this seaweed, it reminds me of the word ‘maze’; one could get lost in the folds of this seaweed, and easily misdirected from seeing the whole. It separates out into negative/positive, color/or no color, iridescent/dull – therefore just a maze of shapes and trails that lead to nowhere.

Figure 3: Stepping back to view a two meter section of habitat, numerous Mazzaella splendens algae are seen rimming and partly immersed in the large tide pool. The range of colors this red alga can display is evident. Port San Juan, B.C., Canada. June 9, 2020. Photo ID 27252 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Listening a bit more:

Person 1:

Wondering about the showiness (iridescence) masking the dark side.

Looking in the bowl (where I have a blade of Mazzaella to observe and interact with) I now see some evil dark creature, staring menacingly at me.

My thinking shut down after seeing this. Then I became fearful of uncertainty; I felt a tingling sensation on my face and along my forearms.

I wanted to explore this feeling more – “fearfulness of uncertainty”, but somehow stopped and shut down. I then felt as though my observations with this seaweed were complete.

Nothing new occurred for me for the next ten minutes. Then observations started to flow once again.

I’m always relating to this seaweed in my thoughts as female and feminine.

I had no thoughts of masculine traits.

Wondered then, are men uncomfortable with having feminine qualities?

Perhaps I am “beautiful, sexy and perfect” but unaware of it. This could explain my discomfort earlier to acknowledge the sexuality related to this plant; the sexuality feels newly emerged but not fully expressed or recognized / acknowledged.

Sexuality is clearly expressed physically but is not connected emotionally.

Mild sexual arousal persisted even when there didn’t seem to be any associated sexual or sensual thoughts.

The toughness (elasticity/rubbery texture) and showiness could be to hide the dark side and insecurity.

Person 2 just stated, “Can’t breathe through it”; wondered if that was parallel to my shut down thinking…, ‘stifled’…?

Person 2:

Don’t have a persona to present to the world.

Shifting and unsure, always shifting.

Do I want to be interacting with the light, or do I want to stay in the shadows?

Always a choice here.

Oh, a big force comes – I have no strength to hold to a choice anyways. I have to shift my shape to stay whole, and as a result my light and dark aspects all change places again.

Whole and broad – I don’t want to branch out or specialize. I’m feeling safe and secure this way – don’t want separate parts/aspects to me.

Why not? There’s a feeling of not being able to trust that in knowing all parts if they were separate. Communication may not yet be developed or trustworthy…? No, I think it’s that if I can’t see myself, I can’t perceive who I am, so then how could I project who I am?

Big and broad – I mean no harm; I don’t want to block others or take their space. BUT, I’m unaware of any other way to be.

I will play/interact but I need some coaxing.

Why do I need the coaxing? Because I might get carried away; since I’m not sure of my boundaries (always shifting) and I’m unaware of my extent (size), my impact could scare or overwhelm others. So playing could easily and unintentionally cause harm or pain. No! I don’t want to cause harm.

These unintended effects – naïve/childish sexuality, size accidentally harming another, it now occurs to me to wonder, should I know better?

I was compelled to use the first person pronoun and speak for this seaweed as “I”.

Naïve. Timid. Unsure. Just on the verge of understanding, just beginning to understand one’s self .

Figure 4: Lifting a part of the blade out of water, the color and iridescence and form of this seaweed are displayed. Although a photograph should be limited to visual input, the ‘feel’ of this smooth and rubbery seaweed is somehow also imparted. Port San Juan, B.C., Canada. June 9, 2020. Photo ID 27253 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Discussion:

Amorphous aspect, not blurred, but doesn’t have a crisp shape.

Sort of three dimensions, but only barely exploring this new dimension.

This is the same as how we first expressed many of our experiences with this seaweed – our descriptions were amorphous so we doubted they would be clearly understood by the reader.

What shape am I seeing?

Which color am I seeing?

What aspect of this seaweed am I experiencing?

What aspect is the seaweed herself expressing?

A state of being just on the verge of knowing or learning about one’s self (or, indeed, that there is a self to know) and then you are “shifted’ (by an outside influence) and this knowing is lost, and it would be meaningless for this new ‘self’ anyway.

Can’t be grasped, nothing to hold onto.

A synonym for ‘amorphous’ is nebulous. Nebula – photographs of these remind me of the colors that are possible to view in the folds of Mazzaella. A nebula is defined as a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, a star-forming region that can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and cosmic dust. This links back to Person 1’s early observation – “catch the light, I’m by far the star”. But awareness of that star quality is, we feel, nebulous – easily dissolves into cloud of dust and leaves hardly a memory in its wake.

Contemplating the iridescent light show of this seaweed, it was easy to note what the observer could sense. Only later, did it occur to question how it felt from within.

What does it feel like to interact with light? To create iridescence?

Pondering…, staying with this question and exploring it, the feeling is of levitation, as if a part is set loose and floating above my own self/surface – gliding, wafting and freed from tight physical boundaries. Free floating.

What does it feel like to dwell in shadows/darkness?

Pondering on this…, it’s a feeling of being lost in amorphism – no dimensions, no view, no perspective. Free floating again, but in an unpleasant way. Is this where the monsters lurk; is this where menacing forms emerge from? Is this why fear and anxiety and awareness of evil seem never far away?

The problem of this seaweed is that unity is challenged – a strange state of dimensionlessness, being indefinite in measure, and therefore there is little to identify with, to hold onto and grasp.

How does this affect interactions?

All interactions seem to be in early stages of development – just beginning to manifest, tentative, insecure and passive.

This could seem naïve and childish because it is all so newly begun and still very changeable.

Almost amorphous shape – not yet individuated.

Catching the light to reflect, but does not generate light.

Is insecurity stemming from unawareness? What are you? Are you going to be beauty and color, or shadowy and dark? Positive / negative, good / evil, convex / concave, dark / light, black/ colored…?

Figure 5: Detail showing the short stipe, only 1 cm long, of this Mazzaella splendens blade. Notable also is the ‘broken silhouette pattern’ – one result of the iridescent surface of this seaweed. Port San Juan, B.C., Canada. June 9, 2020. Photo ID 27254 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Biology & Natural History Information:

Description:

Thallus is an undivided, cordate to lanceolate blade to 30cm or taller (up to 120cm) on stipes up to 6cm long, but usually much shorter. The blades are thick, very rubbery, and usually an iridescent dark brown or purplish red. When dry during low tide the blades can turn other shades of brown or even black depending on the phase. Each blade is elongate or broadly ovate, sometimes with a terminal cleft, and tapers to a wedge-shaped or heart-shaped base. In sheltered areas it is common for blades to be broader than they are tall.

Researchers working near Vancouver, British Columbia, have shown that gametophytes of this species are more abundant than tetrasporophytes in summer, a time when gametophytes exploit favorable environmental conditions. In winter, tetrasporophytes (which are better at surviving adverse environmental conditions) are more abundant than gametophytes. These alternate phases are morphologically isomorphic but have walls composed of polysaccharides with different chemical compositions.

The iridescent sheen that helps easily identify this species when wet is caused by the selective reflection of white light by the varying thicknesses of a cuticle on the surface of the blade.

Tetrasporophyte and gametophyte phases of this red alga can form their own populations that vary with the seasons, the amount of shelter from or exposure to surf, and other factors. The dominance of one phase over another is aided by carrageenan analysis.

This alga and also other reds contain in the cell walls a carrageenan (gelatin-like substance) that is extracted for commercial purposes and used as a smoothing and thickening material in toothpaste, ice cream, puddings, paints and other products.

Carrageenan is also useful in identification of the alga’s isomorphic reproductive phases. The chemical, resorcinol (a phenolic compound) is used to identify different kids of carrageenan and researchers have identified that kappa-carrageenan is found in the gametophyte stage and lambda-carrageenan is associated with the tetrasporophyte stage.

Habitat:

This annual (with perennial crustose base) grows on rock in the low intertidal and upper subtidal of semi-protected to exposed habitats.

Pacific Coast Distribution:

Gulf of Alaska and northern Southeast Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.

Classification:

Phylum: Rhodophyta

Class: Florideophyceae

Order: Gigartinales

Family: Gigartinaceae

Genus: Mazzaella

Species: Mazzaella splendens (Setchell & N.L.Gardner) Fredericq 1994

Synonyms and Alternate Names:

Iridaea cordata var. cordata, Gigartina cordata, Iridaea cordata var. splendens, Iridaea splendens.