The stipe or stalk is flexible and oval in cross section and may be over 1 inch in diameter and grow to 1.5 metres (5 ft) in length.

This seaweed can be distinguished from the rather similar Laminaria hyperborea by being darker in colour and having a shorter stipe that does not easily snap when bent.

[2] Laminaria digitata is found mostly on exposed sites on shores in the lower littoral where it may form extensive meadows and can be the dominant algal species.

It has a fairly high intrinsic growth rate compared to other algae, 5.5% per day, and a carrying capacity of about 40 kg wet weight per square meter.

[10] Historically, the dried stalks of L digitata, called sea-tangle tents were used in traditional medicine as an abortifacient[11] and for mechanically inducing labour.