Seaweed
Good for telling the weather, but what else?
Seaweed is rich in nutrients, like β-carotene and B vitamins, as well as trace elements such as chromium and zinc; it is a very good source of iodine. Some seaweed, like samphire (Salicornia europaea), is edible; it's been eaten for hundreds of years in coastal regions of the UK, like Norfolk, and is now a fashionable foodstuff. Salicornia species grow all over the world; they're halophytes, salt-tolerant crops. With increased demand for water from the world's 7 billion humans, not to mention animals and industries, agriculture has been looking at salt-tolerant crops like Salicornia that can be grown on salt-marshes. The seeds are rich in protein (up to 35%) and oil (30%); much of the lipid content is unsaturated, not unlike safflower or sunflower oil in make-up. There is a lot more to the sea than seaweed. The algae make useful chemicals, like bromophycolides.
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