This seaweed belongs to a cosmopolitan group of alga. There are at least 15 species in NZ. Polysiphonia is a red, filamentous and usually well branched species.

Tends to be found intertidally on rocks.

It produces its own food through the process of photosynthesis.

The exceptional value of this species lies in it's nutritional power. It can be a source of food for impoverished coastal areas in the third world. The Cretans use to eat it raw in salads after leaving to marinate in vinegar for a while. According to a research by the University of Crete: «The nutritional and potentially important economic value of this species underlies a thorough study of the possibilities of its cultivation.”

Seaweeds of NZ; Adams