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Dieren en planten

Plants   Green seaweed   Hen pen   Flora of the sea dikes   Harbor flora   Flora on tidal flats   

Water en land

Delta   Delta region   Delta Works and nature   

Mens en Milieu

Hen pen

size:

10 centimeters long

shape:

thin branched extensions
feathered side branches

color:

Bright green except when ripe for reproduction:
male: yellowish green
female: dark green

  • Dut: Vederwier
  • Lat: Bryopsis plumosa
  • Eng: Hen Pen
  • Ger: Federtang
print print
Hen pen, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

Hen pen

Hen pen is an exceptionally pretty, feathery-shaped branched green seaweed. It is mostly bright green in color and remarkably flexible. The 'leaf' (thallus) consists of a single cell containing lots of cell nuclei without partitions. This seaweed is fairly common in the delta region, but is rare in the wadden region, only found at the foot of dikes or on pontoons. Hen pen is grazed upon by many marine organisms.

  • Nuisance

    Hen pen can also be a nuisance. Unlike Chaetomorpha, which serves as a filter for fish wastes, this seaweed profits tremendously from nutrients in aquaria. As pretty as it may be, aquarium owners are not happy with its dominant character. In open waters, conditions are less ideal and there are many more grazers, so that hen pen doesn't grow so agressively.