Fucus in the bathtub

This past week was an exciting one. The Phycology Society of America had it's annual conference in Seattle. Along with the excitement of giving a talk about genetic diversity of Heterosigma, learning from other talks about seaweed ecology, seeing old friends, and making new ones; we discussed changing the society's name. My favorite so far is 'Premier Studiers of Algae,' which my mother rejoices over. Apparently, I sometimes mis-pronounce 'phycology.' I accidentally become obscene when my 'fy' sounds like 'fu'...

One of the highlights was a meal where every dish was prepared with seaweeds. I sat across from seaweed herbalists, Christine Hopkins, and Amanda Swinimer from Sooke. They told of wonderful effects of bathing with seaweeds, so I felt compelled to give it a try. Of course, last week, the kids gave me a seaweed/lavender facial so I felt game to give this next level in 'science immersion' a go. I collected drift Fucus from high tide, washed it off in the bay, and then plunked it into my tub. 'Fucus' is another algae word that can easily be mis-pronounced...

It turned out, Fucus in the tub was amazingly delightful. As I rubbed it over my arm, it left a lovely coating all over my skin. I felt like I was turning into a slimy salmon. Christine says Fucus goo also works wonders on a sunburn; much the same relief you get from fresh aloe.

Fucus is the lovely brown alga we often call rockweed, bladder wrack, pop-its, and deer toes. It grows high in the inter-tidal and will often dominate where a fresh water seep meets the beach. (like just west of the north shore boat ramps) Next time you are out walking the beach, pick a little bit up and give it a try. Sure beats a bubble bath!