Ecklonia maxima, or sea bamboo, is a species of kelp native to the southern oceans.

In these areas the species dominates the shallow, temperate water, reaching a depth of up to 8 metres (26 ft) in the offshore kelp forests.

From this root-like structure a single long stipe rises to the surface waters, where a large pneumatocyst keeps a tangle of blades at the surface to aid photosynthesis.

[3] The species is of economic importance as it is harvested for both an agricultural supplement and as food for farmed abalone.

This Phaeophyceae (or brown alga) article is a stub.