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Algae
The algae are a large and varied artificial grouping of plants. The largest are the familiar seaweeds, which include the edible ‘dulse’.
Most algae in the Museum’s plant collection (herbarium) are preserved as pressed specimens on sheets of paper. William Thompson (1805–1852) was a Belfast pioneer in marine botany, active in the early 19th century. He collected the pictured specimen of a saltmarsh variant of bladder wrack from Skye in 1850; it can still be found in Strangford Lough today.
Highlights: Objects of Desire Online Tour (Red Alga Lithothamnion glaciale)
Image: Dulse, the edible red algae Palmaria palmata