It is native to shallow water in the northeastern Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California.

This seaweed was first described in 1889 by the Swedish botanist Frans Reinhold Kjellman as Laminaria dentigera, the type location being Bering Island, where it was said to be fairly abundant, scattered across the sublittoral zone.

The thallus is dark brown, thick and leathery, often appearing palmate because of being split into broad lobes to within 10 cm (4 in) of its base.

The thallus is supported on a robust, semi-rigid stipe, which has mucilage ducts on its surface near the upper end.

[3][4] Saccharina dentigera is one of the most abundant kelps in the southern Kodiak Islands, and is the dominant seaweed at most sites in the shallow subtidal zone.