Common name - Irish moss
Description - Chondrus crispus, known under the common name Irish moss, or carrageen moss (Irish carraigín, "moss of the rock"), is a species of red alga which grows abundantly along the rocky parts of the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. In its fresh condition the plant is soft and cartilaginous, varying in colour from a greenish-yellow, through red, to a dark purple or purplish-brown. The principal constituent of Irish moss is a mucilaginous body, made of the polysaccharide carrageenan of which it contains about 55%; the plant also has nearly 10% of protein and about 15% of mineral matter, and is rich in iodine and sulphur. When softened in water it has a sea-like odour, and because of the abundant cell wall polysaccharides it will form a jelly when boiled, containing from 20 to 100 times its weight of water. This red alga has large clumps of fan-like fronds, 3 to 7 inches tall. The fronds are flattened and may be narrow, branched, curled, or twisted. Several blades arise from a single holdfast and the tips of the blades are rounded. The color varies with locality and season, ranging from white, when washed ashore on beaches, to green and dark purple-red.
Habitat - Chondrus crispus occurs abun-dantly on rocks or horizontal ledges at or below the low tide mark and-in the shallow subtidal zone. It grows in sheltered, open coastal, and estuarine sites with strong tidal currents. It has also been found in water as deep as 60 feet.
Foraging - Irish moss is a perennial and is at peak for harvest in spring and summer. Harvesting in the summer is best for high vitamin A content. This seaweed is raked by hand at low tide from small boats or cut with sickles by wading out in shallow water. Storm-cast seaweed is often harvested from beaches.
Uses - As a source of the valuable carrag-eenan, this alga is of great commercial importance. When Chondrus is dried and boiled in water, carrageenan is extracted. Carrageenan is a gummy substance made of very large molecules that remain dispersed and suspended in liquids without settling to the bottom. It is used primarily as a thickener, stabilizer, and gelling agent in food and food products (jello, ice cream, salad dressings, chocolate and evaporated milk, pudding, frozen desserts, etc.), pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, paints, and textile sizings.
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