A southerly storm and its wild waves subsided two days ago. But evidence of the disturbance was still to be seen today on the beach at Lyall Bay, including many seaweeds looking curiously like a horde of beached creatures. The small (compared to the piles of kelp) seaweeds were still holding fast to the rocks that had secured them in the deep until the turbulence had wrenched them and washed them up.
Many of them were a gorgeous red. Closer up, you can see the soft corrugations of the red blades,
or the texure of papillae on some contrasting with the texture of the sand.
Green and brown seaweeds had also suffered this upheaval.
This brown seaweed has beautifully ridged blades, and you can see its branched holdfast holding on tight to the stone which was its secure anchor until the storm. On the stone there is a pinkness which could be a crusting red alga. I await correction!
A holdfast, as the name suggests, is a structure which holds on tight - but although it looks a bit like the roots of a plant it does not take up nutrients, just sticks incredibly tightly to the surface on which it anchors. Impressive - the holding fast and the power of the waves.