Pyropia was originally erected by Jacob Georg Agardh, a botanist and professor at Lund University.

They have folded blades, which are membranous and monostromatic, coming in red, brown, and dark green colorations.

Pyropia grows in intertidal zones and down to 10 meters in some bodies of water based on clarity and substrate.

They are especially able to handle heat stress; some Pyropia species will halt metabolic systems that are not essential to homeostasis, such as photosynthesis.

[4] The ability of Pyropia species to adapt to deal with these stresses makes them heavily studied organisms.