The Hawaiian Islands support legion species of maritime industrial plant , including seaweed and other alga . Various kind of seaweed , call limu in Hawaiian , were collected for food , medicine and ritual , and used by ancient Hawaiians . They are still incorporated into the diets of Hawaii ’s citizenry . Many of these maritime plant have piquant , spicy flavors . Limu is also very rich in mineral and vitamins A , B12 , C and lactoflavin . Hawaii ’s water supply also support put in exotic marine plant , some of which have become invasive .
Algae
Green , brown and red algae are all present in Hawaii ’s coastal waters where sunlight can penetrate . The major dispute between these groups of alga are their methods of photosynthesis , which involve specialized paint call chloroplasts . These pigment also give the plant their respective color . Some of these alga have interesting symbiotic relationships with various coinage of coral , which offer them a protect surround in rally for nutrition deduct from photosynthesis . Other alga live straight on rocks or sand and bring home the bacon an important solid food source for marine animals , include the endangered green sea turtleneck .
Seaweed
Asparagopsis taxiformis , called limu kohu in Hawaiian , is a voiced , furred seaweed with sprawling basal bow set up at the edges of reefs . The upper leg of this seaweed are roll up to be pounded and rolled into balls . It has a very strong smack and is used in small quantities to season Pisces . Sargassum echinocarpum , or limu kala , is a tan - colored spiny seaweed with little berry - like galls found drift near shoring . It has tremendous ethnical significance among native Hawaiians and is still used in ceremony and medicine today . Gracilaria parvisipora , or ogo , is a branch pink seaweed with flattened crown . It is betray commercially and relished by multitude of many cultures . It is illegal to accumulate reproductive plants of this species , which can be identified by prominent bootleg extrusion on the branches . Halophila hawaiiana is a creeping perennial herb with inch - long leaves . It is find on shallow , arenaceous Rand flats or along the edges of ancient coastal fishpond .
Invasive Plants
In recent years , several encroaching algae , include Gracilaria salicornia , Hypnea musciformis and Acanthophora spicifera , have been unexpectedly introduced in Hawaiian waters . Gracilaria salicornia , also dubbed " gorilla ogo " because it resembles a big , more belligerent version of the edible ogo seaweed , shape all-inclusive tangled gym mat of orange , green and purple , which literally blanket Witwatersrand . Hypnea musciformis was accidentally introduced to Hawaii in a lading of another algae entail to be raise for agar production . This tan - colored algae is covered with low hooks and forms dense mats which often wash out ashore . Acanthophora spicifera arrived in Hawaii as an unwelcome stowaway in the bilge water of a ship from Guam . This translucent , beige alga resemble a thorny tumbleweed and is very brittle . These aggressive alien species are now debate the most serious threat to Hawaii ’s coral reefs . Efforts to move out these incursive plague have been surprisingly successful , largely due to the invention of an submerged vacuum - comparable auto used to remove the alga , which has been dubbed the " super sucker . "
