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Concept
Eucheuma
Summary
Eucheuma, commonly known as sea moss or gusô (ɡuˈsɔːʔ), is a rhodophyte seaweed that may vary in color (purple, brown, and green). Eucheuma species are used in the production of carrageenan, an ingredient for cosmetics, food processing, and industrial manufacturing, as well as a food source for people in the Philippines, Caribbean and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Eucheuma cottonii – which grows in the Caribbean and cultivated in the Philippines – is the particular species known as gusô. Other species include Betaphycus gelatinae, Eucheuma denticulatum, and several species of the genus Kappaphycus, including K. alvarezii. Since the mid-1970s, Kappaphycus and Eucheuma have been a major source for the expansion of the carrageenan industry.
Commercial seaweed farming of gusô (as well as Kappaphycus) was pioneered in the Philippines. Though commercially significant, species of Eucheuma are difficult to identify without the aid of close scientific examination, as different species may have similar morphologies. Some eighteen to twenty species alone fall within the genus Eucheuma, represented by the groups Cottoniformia, Gelatiformia, and Anaxiferae.
Gusô is listed in the Ark of Taste international catalogue of endangered heritage foods of the Philippines by the Slow Food movement.
Eucheuma are naturally found within the range of 20 degrees either side of the Equator in the Indo-Pacific region from eastern Africa to Guam, and are most concentrated in Southeast Asia. A few species are found on Lord Howe Island and in southwestern Australia.
As a commercial crop, Eucheuma has since been distributed to many regions away from their original natural habitats, including Japan, Hawaii, and island nations in the South Pacific.
Eucheuma are typically found below the low tide mark to the upper subtidal zone of a reef, growing on sand to rocky seafloor areas along a coral reef, where water movement is slow to moderate.
Their growth is similar to terrestrial plant species, where Eucheuma have a growing tip, or apical meristem, which is also capable of dividing to form new growing branches.
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