Amikusa - Amikusa

A seaweed of the Rhodophyta family, the family Caryophylla. It has long, thin, branching filaments and dark red body threads that form loose clumps that entwine around the bodies of Sargassum species and flourish from spring to summer. It is an annual alga that grows almost all along the coasts of Japan, but is more prevalent in the central and western Sea of ​​Japan, the west coast of Kyushu, and the Seto Inland Sea. It is used as a secondary ingredient in the manufacture of agar, and when it dries it turns pink and then fades to white, losing its original shape as it loses moisture, but the hair-like spines that cover its surface remain, allowing it to be distinguished from other algae.

[Moriaki Shinzaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

紅藻植物、イギス科の海藻。細長い糸状分枝型で、暗紅色の体糸は緩い団塊をつくり、ホンダワラ類の体上に絡んで、春から夏にかけて繁茂する。一年生藻で、ほとんど日本全沿岸に産するが、日本海中西部、九州西岸、瀬戸内海に多産する。寒天製造の副原料であり、乾燥するとピンク色になり、やがて白色へと退色し、水分を失って原形をとどめないようになるが、体表を覆う毛状刺は残るので、他藻と識別できる。

［新崎盛敏］

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