Alaria

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Alaria (order Laminariales) A genus of brown algae, in which the thallus consists of a branched, root-like holdfast, a short stipe, and a thin, leaf-like blade with a pronounced midrib. During the summer, spores are produced in characteristic club-shaped ‘leaflets’ arising from the short stipe. There are several species; only A. esculenta (dabberlocks) occurs in Britain. Alaria species are found attached to rocks at and below low-water mark, often on very exposed shores.