Kappaphycus alvarezii

Thallus large, coarse, creeping or erect, bushy, caespitose, wiry, fragile, to 2 m long, shiny olive-green to blackish-brown. Branching irregular, dense or sparse, alternate or secund, with ultimate spine-like branchlets. (branching pattern is very variable, depending on environmental conditions). Branches cylindrical, thick, to 2 cm in diam., gradually tapering towards the apices. Apices sharply pointed. Loosely attached to hard substrate by fleshy, disc-like holdfast. Growing on sandy bottom with stones, dead coral fragments, in sheltered to moderately exposed shores, in the intertidal to subtidal zones (20 m deep).

Note: The species is cultivated in Japan, China and Vietnam.

In tropical and subtropical waters of Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Common in Asia-Pacific Countries: Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Pacific Islands.