[3][4] Nereocystis luetkeana forms thick beds on subtidal rocks, and is an important part of kelp forests.

The species Nereocystis luetkeana was named (as Fucus luetkeanus) after the German-Russian explorer Fyodor Petrovich Litke (also spelled Lütke) by Mertens.

Nereocystis in particular, similar to Pelagophycus porra, can be identified by a single large pneumatocyst between the end of its hollow stipe and the blades.

[7] Nereocystis has a holdfast of about 40 cm (16 in), and a single stipe, topped with a pneumatocyst containing carbon monoxide, from which sprout the numerous (about 30-64) blades.

The thallus of this common canopy-forming kelp has a richly branched holdfast (haptera) and a cylindrical stipe 10–36 m (33–118 ft) long.

The gametophytes produce gametes, and if fertilization occurs, a new sporophyte organism may develop and begin to grow up from the seafloor.

[9] The species is common along the Pacific Coast of North America, from Southern California to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

This annual kelp grows on rock from the low intertidal to subtidal zones; it prefers semi-exposed habitats or high-current areas.

[6] Its distribution is limited by the requirement of light for photosynthesis, and preference for areas of high water movement where the microscopic gametophyte stage will not be covered by sediment.

[17] According to studies by Weigel, the microbial communities that grow on Nereocystis are composed mostly of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes.

In South Korea, Nereocystis used to make miyeok-guk (Korean kelp soup) weekly by new mothers as it's revered as a blood-cleanser.