Laver

laver, (genus Porphyra), Japanese nori, genus of 60–70 species of marine red algae (family Bangiaceae). Laver grows near the high-water mark of the intertidal zone in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It grows best in cold nitrogen-rich water. Laver is harvested, dried, and used as food in greater amounts than any other seaweed, giving it significant economic importance. It is also used as a soup base, as a flavouring for other food, and as a covering for rice-filled sushi. On the Welsh and Scottish coasts, it is sometimes grilled on toast (sloke) and is reported to have an oysterlike taste. In East Asia it is cultivated on ropes in extensive inshore fields.

Laver species exhibit an alternation of generations in their life cycles. The haploid thallus, a sheet of one or two layers of cells embedded in a thin gelatinous stratum, varies in colour from deep brown or red to pink. The thallus ranges in shape from linear to ovoid, and the largest species can reach about 1 metre (3.3 feet) in length. The sexual reproductive structures are borne at the margin of the thallus, and many species can also reproduce asexually by spores. The diploid stage, known as the conchocelis, is usually microscopic and consists of branched filaments of cells.