We all know kelp forests are underwater wonders, but are they truly plants? If not, what are they more closely related to? Trying to understand the ocean’s life forms can be tricky. Help me out here – what kind of organism is kelp most similar to on land?
No, kelp is not actually a plant. It belongs to a different classification of organisms called protists. Protists are a very diverse group, encompassing a wide range of eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, fungi, or bacteria.
Kelp specifically is a type of brown algae, classified in the order Laminariales. They share some similarities with plants, such as using photosynthesis to produce food. Kelp also has structures that resemble plant parts, such as blades that look like leaves, stipes that look like stems, and holdfasts that resemble roots. However, these similarities are due to convergent evolution, where unrelated organisms evolve similar traits to adapt to similar environments.
Kelp’s closest relatives are other types of algae, including diatoms and golden algae. These organisms share some characteristics with kelp, such as having cell walls made of cellulose and using chlorophyll for photosynthesis. However, they also have significant differences, such as the types of pigments they contain and their cellular structure.
