kelp

kelp
/kelp/, n.
1. any large, brown, cold-water seaweed of the family Laminariaceae, used as food and in various manufacturing processes. See illus. under stipe.
2. a bed or mass of such seaweeds.
3. the ash of these seaweeds.
v.i.
4. to burn these seaweeds for their ash.
[1350-1400; appar. dial. var. of ME culp < ?]

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Any of about 30 genera of large seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales (brown algae), found in colder seas.

Laminaria, abundant along the Pacific coasts and the British Isles, is a source of commercial iodine. Its stipe (stemlike structure) is 3–10 ft (1–3 m) long. The largest known kelp, Macrocystis, grows up to 215 ft (65 m) long. Its body, which has a large rootlike holdfast, a hollow stipe, and branching blades with hollow gas bladders, resembles that of higher plants. It is rich in minerals and algin, a complex carbohydrate used as an emulsifier to prevent crystal formation in ice cream. Species of kelp are widely eaten in East Asia.

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      any of numerous large coastal seaweeds growing in colder seas and belonging to the order Laminariales (about 30 genera) of brown algae. Until early in the 19th century the ash of such seaweeds was an important source of potash and iodine. Giant kelps, of the genus Macrocystis, are rich in minerals and produce algin, a complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide) useful in various industrial processes, including tire manufacture. Algin is added to ice cream before freezing to prevent ice crystallization and is also used as a suspending and emulsifying agent in other food products.

       Laminaria, a large brown seaweed (1 to 3 metres [3.3 to 9.8 feet] long) abundant along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, has a stipe that superficially resembles the stem of land plants. Growth extension occurs at the meristematic region between the stipe (which is perennial) and the blade (which is shed annually).

       Macrocystis, the largest known kelp, up to 65 metres (215 feet) long, is limited in distribution because it reproduces only at temperatures below 18–20 °C. The complicated plant body, in some ways similar in appearance to that of higher plants, has a large rootlike holdfast for attachment to the ocean floor, a stemlike stipe for the internal transport of organic material, and long branching stalks with blades that stay afloat by means of gas bladders.

      Nereocystis, an annual kelp that grows primarily in deep waters and rapid tideways, can attain lengths up to 40 metres (130 feet). Internally the plant structure is similar to Macrocystis; externally the stalk is tough and whiplike, terminating in a single large bladder containing up to 10 percent of carbon monoxide. The long leafy outgrowths from the stalk carry out photosynthesis and reproduction.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
, (impure) / (from which barilla is made)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kelp — (k[e^]lp), n. [Formerly kilpe; of unknown origin.] 1. The calcined ashes of seaweed, formerly much used in the manufacture of glass, now used in the manufacture of iodine. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) Any large blackish seaweed. [1913 Webster] Note:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • KELP — could refer to:* KELP, the ICAO designation for the El Paso International Airport. *KELP (AM), a radio station (1590 AM) licensed to El Paso, Texas. *KELP FM, a radio station (89.3 FM) licensed to Mesquite, New Mexico. For other uses, see Kelp… …   Wikipedia

  • Kelp — steht für: große Seetange, siehe Kelpwald Asche aus Seetang, siehe Braunalgen#Verwendung Personen: Justus Kelp (1650–1720), deutscher Germanist und Gelehrter Martin Kelp (1659–1694), evangelischer Theologe, Historiker und Pädagoge …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kelp —   [englisch] das, s, Asche von Seetang; verwendet zur Gewinnung von Jod, früher auch zum Düngen der Felder. * * * Kẹlp, das; s [engl. kelp = Name verschiedener Seetangarten]: zur Gewinnung von Jod, früher auch als Dünger verwendete Asche von… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • kelp — n 1) any of various large brown seaweeds (orders Laminariales and Fucales) and esp. laminarias of which some are used for food esp. in China and Japan and as sources of alginates, iodine, and medicinal substances 2) the ashes of seaweed used esp …   Medical dictionary

  • kelp — [kelp] n [U] a type of flat brown ↑seaweed (=a plant that grows in the sea) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Kelp — das; s <aus gleichbed. engl. kelp> an den europ. u. amerik. Küsten gesammelte od. mit speziellen Schiffen geerntete Braunalgenmasse, aus der u. a. Jod u. Soda hergestellt werden …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • kelp — [ kelp ] noun count a large brown type of SEAWEED (=a plant that grows in the ocean) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • kelp — kelp; kelp·er; …   English syllables

  • kelp — [kelp] n. [ME culp] 1. any of an order (Laminariales) of large, coarse, brown algae 2. ashes of seaweed, from which iodine is obtained …   English World dictionary

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