SEAWEEDS 



There arc also olive or l^rowii seaweeds. Among 

 them are a numl^er which have stem and leaf forms. 

 Many of them have spores from which new plants grow. 

 Some of these seaweeds are quite small; others grow 

 to be several hundred feet in length. 



Last and most beautiful are the red seaweeds, in 

 color from a dainty pink to a deep purple. They are 

 not so large nor so leafiike in appearance as the brown 

 ones. Thc}'^ grow in deeper water, but are often 

 washed ashore. Many of them are beautiful feather- 

 like plants. Some, called corallines, are covered ^^^th 

 lim'e. 



Among seaweeds the plant is called a frond. A 

 disk or conelike expansion at the base of the frond 

 takes the place of the root found in flowering plants. 

 This is a holdfast by which the frond fastens itself to 

 any material under the water. Seaweeds that grow 

 on sandy shores or on corals have holdfasts that 

 branch like fil^rous roots. Holdfasts do not take in 

 nourishment for the plant, as roots do. Seaweeds get 

 their nourishment from the w^ater aroiuid tlunn. 



Some sea plants live but a year; others have a 

 long Hfe. Seaweeds vary much in different seasons. 

 If you live near the ocean, try to gc^t some each sea- 

 son and notice the differences. Those ^\'hich form 

 spores throw them off into the water. Here they 

 sink or are washed to some place where they soon 

 begin to grow. 



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