Gulfweed

A genus of 150 species of brown algae, found in warm seas, mainly from Australia north to Japan in the Pacific, and as far north as Cape Cod in the Atlantic. Sargassum fusiforme, first mentioned in the Shen Nong Canon of Herbs during the later Han dynasty (CE25-220), contains 0.2 percent iodine and is effective in treating iodine deficiencies. In the late 1940s, Japanese research showed anti-coagulant action similar to that of heparin. It also contains alginic acid, which is combined with calcium in plasters to stop bleeding in major trauma. Sargaçao was a description given by Portugues navigators to floating seaweed, hence the names Sargasso Sea and Sargassum.

Yellow-brown seaweed with a broad, cylindrical holdfast and thick, fleshy, leaf-like branches with midribs, toothed to lobed margins, and axillary, spindle-shaped air sacs. Plants are attached to rocks when young and later become free-floating.

Common Name:	Gulfweed
Other Names:	Moku
Botanical Name:	Sargassum fusiforme
Genus:	Sargassum
Family:	Sargassaceae
Native Location:	Off the coasts of China, Japan, and Korea
Cultivation:	Grows on partly submerged rocks between high tide and low tide zones.
Propagation:	By holdfasts being left to regenerate.
Harvest:	Whole plants are collected in winter and spring, and dried for decoctions and powders.
Height:	20-50cm (8-16in)
:Width	20-50cm (8-16in)
Parts Used:	Whole plant (hai zao).
Properties:	A bitter, saline, cooling herb that is expectorant and diuretic, controls bleeding, lowers blood pressure and lipid levels, softens hard swellings, acts on thyroid and suppresses appetite.
Medicinal Uses:	Internally for goiter, edema, bronchitis, tuberculosis of lymph nodes, cysts, and hydrocele. Externally for hemorrhage.
Bibliography:	Encylopedia of Herbs by Deni Brown Copyright ©: 1995, 2001 Dorling Kindersley Limited pp 360-361