Underwater

Gutweed Ulva intestinalis

I love how the sunlight sparkles and shimmers within the rippling movement of the waters on the coast. These are abstract worlds which I would like to glimpse more often than I do, full of the richness of life and wonder. These images feature what I believe is a seaweed called Gutweed (Ulva intestinalis).

Gutweed Ulva intestinalis

Gutweed Ulva intestinalis

Gutweed Ulva intestinalis

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Shanklin Beach, Isle of White, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.

Gutweed

Ulva intestinalis

This aptly named bright grass green seaweed forms an inflated, tube-like frond which resembles an intestine. Length up to 80cm.

Found attached to rocks and stones on sandy or muddy shores, in sheltered estuaries and rock pools on the upper shore. A common and widespread species.

Photographs taken April 2013, Llandudno, Wales, and August 2015, Meadfoot Beach, Torquay, Devon.