Species are distributed in the waters of East Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hainan Island, the Philippines, and Micronesia.

[1] Genus Kappaphycus is "morphologically plastic",[2] with few visible characters that can be used to separate the taxa, so distinguishing the species can be difficult.

[2][3][4] In general, these algae have fleshy thalli that grow erect from one or more anchors.

Gavino Trono is a Filipino biologist dubbed the “Father of Kappaphycus farming”.

[5] Kappaphycus alvarezii is widely cultivated as a raw source of carrageenan, and other species are used, as well.