Phylum: Rhodophyta

Class: Bangiophycidae

Order: Bangiales

Family: Bangiaceae

Bangia fuscopurpurea (Dillw.) Lyngbye

Description: This common red alga is especially noticeable on the surfaces of smooth boulders. It grows as thin filaments of a rusty, purplish brown, or blackish colour. As the tide ebbs, the filaments spread out over the rock in a way reminiscent of a few hairs artfully plastered down on a nearly bald head.

Habitat: On rocks in the upper and middle intertidal zones.

Pacific Coast Distribution: Alaska to California.

Eugene Kozloff, 1996

B. fuscopurpurea lain across intertidal rocks	B. fuscopurpurea on acorn barnacles
B. fuscopurpurea showing green and purple colouring	B. fuscopurpurea showing the characteristic ‘combover’ appearance

Identification by Anne K. Salomon