Know Your Neighbours: Twelve Toxic-Flowers

GIANT GREEN ANEMONE Anthopleura xanthogrammica (yellow lined flower animal) Large (to 25cm across), flat and bright green. Common in tidepools on shores with wave action. Often one of the most visible cnidarians on exposed coasts, the green color may come from an algae living right in the tissue of the anemone. Click here for a bigger view

AGGREGATING ANEMONE Anthopleura elegantissima (elegant flower animal). Small, bumpy green column (3-8cm) with purple tipped tentacles. On rocks and in crevices, amid barnacles and mussels in the mid to low tide range. This species forms amazing mats; some channels have a solid carpet that traps and eats all sorts of debris washing past. Above water they look like green lumps but just below the surface their pretty purple tentacles unfurl. Click here for a bigger view

METRIDIUM ANEMONES Metridium giganteum or M. senile (giant or ancient womb). Potentially huge anemones (up to a meter) on long, smooth stalks. Usually white, occasionally orange or brown. Lots of tiny tentacles. Very common in protected waters on floats, pilings and rocks at the low tide line. Hard to miss these; some rock walls have an impressive white band of them below the surface. On calm days the huge stalks and cauliflower heads are easily seen below you. On low tides they hang limply from rocks, looking decidedly less impressive (downright rude, some of them ).Click here for a bigger view

OBELIA HYDROIDS Obelia sp. (needles). Fuzzy growths, close up you'll see brownish stalks and small white bulbs. Check out floats. All sorts of hydroids grow on them, many of the genus Obelia. Sea grass is often covered as well. Looking like fuzzy plants at first, think of these as a group of tiny anemones on treelike stalks. Somewhere out there drifts a medusa (jelly) phase for most of them, their version of sexual reproduction. Click here for a bigger view

ORANGE CUP CORAL Balanophyllia elegans (elegant acorn leaf). Small (2cm), bright orange disks with pale tentacles. Rocky shores in the low intertidal (especially if sheltered) and below. True corals, these little critters secrete a limestone cup to live in like their tropical relatives Click here for a bigger view

BROODING ANEMONE Epiactis prolifera (fertile on ray). Usually small (but to 8cm), stalked anemone with juveniles often growing along the striped column. Variable colors including orange, green or a delightful pink. Attaches to rocks, docks and also eelgrass. The brooding habit and shades of pink make this a beautiful little bouquet of toxic flowers. Click here for a bigger view

PAINTED ANEMONE Urticina crassicornis (homed nettle). Large, stocky anemone with an olive column, usually streaked with red. Thick white tentacles with a faint band. Common at and below the low tide line on rocky, protected shores. The tentacles on this one look big enough to do some damage. They react quickly to intruders, firing nematocysts and pulling inwards (this feels sticky to us as the tiny barbs dig in but generally don't sting). Click here for a bigger view

BURIED ANEMONE Urticina coriacea (leathery nettle). Large (to 15cm across), column buried, usually only the short, thick tentacles are visible. Usually pale pink or green. In sand or shell beach areas. Fortunately we are too large to get caught in these living sand traps. Beach landings would even more interesting if these rings of tentacles in the sand grew to our size. Check them out next time you spot their odd shapes lurking between waves on beaches Click here for a bigger view

SEA FIR OR PLUME HYDROIDS Abietinaria sp. or Aglaophenia struthionides (splendid ostrich). Large (to 15cm), yellowish and aptly named as they look like big yellow feathers. Found on rocks and floats. Not as common as obelia but easier to spot. A close look will reveal some members of the colony are specialized to bud off jellies; others are food grabbers. Click here for a bigger view

WHITESPOTTED ROSE ANEMONE Urticina lofotensis (crested nettle). A large (to 20cm), stunning anemone set on a scarlet column with rows of white spots. The thick, colorful tentacles are usually yellowish with pink tips. Found on exposed shores, at and just below the low tide mark. These anemones have been seen eating sea stars, crabs, fish; probably anything that bumps into a tentacle is at risk Click here for a bigger view

TUBE DWELLING ANEMONE Pachycerianthus fimbriatus (thick fringed yellow flower). Lots of long skinny pale brown tentacles emerging from a parchment tube. Occasionally orange or dark wine. Just below the tide line on muddy bottoms. On calm days you may notice large numbers of them passing below your hull. They can yank down into their tubes when threatened by the giant nudibranchs that hunt them. The chance to see such drama is a fine reason to take up snorkeling or diving. Click here for a bigger view

ORANGE SEA PEN Ptilosarcus gurneyi (somebody's fleshy feather). There's no mistaking these tall (up to a meter), bright orange colonies. They grow on muddy bottoms just below the tide line. Subtidal on soft bottoms, look for their big, beautiful shapes when paddling over sand or mud at low tide. These polo retract slowly into the sand if exposed and will glow if disturbed at night. Click here for a bigger view