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Bladder Kelp

The sequoia of the sea, a giant bladder kelp (Macrocystic pyrifera) floats with the current in California's Monterey Bay. Reaching 200 feet (61 meters) in length, the plant serves double duty: It provides habitat and nourishment for marine life and is a source of algin, a stabilizing, thickening, gelling, and suspending agent used in human food preparation.

Photograph by David Doubilet