Seaweed ( *Sargassum fusiforme* )

【Naming】

Seaweed

 【Source】

Shen Nong’s Classic of Materia Medica (Ben Jing) – Middle Grade

 【Frequency of Use】

C

 【Botanical Origin】

The dried thallus of *Sargassum fusiforme* (Harv.) Setch. or *Sargassum pallidum* (Turn.) C. Ag., family Sargassaceae.

 【Appearance】

(1) Small-leaved Seaweed: The dried whole plant of *Sargassum fusiforme*, it appears as a curled, clumped mass, linear in shape. It is dark brown in color with a white, salty frost on the surface. It is brittle and easily broken. After soaking, it becomes fleshy, slippery, and pliable. The main axis is cylindrical, with short branches, and the leaf-like protrusions are club-shaped, slightly flattened, sometimes with the tips enlarged, hollow forming air bubbles, or shield-shaped. Spindle-shaped air bladders, 5-10 mm long, grow in clusters in the axils. It has a fishy odor and a salty taste.
(2) Large-leaved Seaweed: The dried whole plant of *Sargassum pallidum*, it appears as a curled, clumped mass similar to *Sargassum fusiforme*. After soaking, it becomes slippery and pliable, and the leaf-like protrusions are slightly leathery. The main axis is cylindrical with numerous short, small, thorn-like protrusions on the surface. It has many branches. The leaf-like protrusions are lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate, and linear, with larger leaves and dark brown, slightly raised spots on the surface. The final branches have air bladders that are spherical or elliptical, smaller than the previous type, stalked, and sometimes with pointed protrusions at the tip. It has a fishy odor and a salty taste.

 【Identification】

The best quality is dried, with whole branches and leaves that are long, straight, and well-arranged, and with large and numerous air bubbles.

 【Category】

Fungi and Algae