Kappaphycus alvarezii Kappaphycus alvarezii Kappaphycus alvarezii, the elkhorn sea moss, is a species of red algae. It is one of the most important commercial sources of carrageenans, a family of gel-forming, viscosifying polysaccharides. Farming methods affect the character of the carrageenan that can be extracted from the seaweed. This alga grows to two meters long and is green or yellow in color. It is very fast-growing, known to double its biomass in 15 days. Different carrageenan types differ in composition and conformation, resulting in a wide range of rheological and functional properties. Carrageenans are used in a variety of commercial applications as
Tyrian purple the purple". Some speculate that the dye extracted from the "Bolinus brandaris" is known as () in Biblical Hebrew. Another dye extracted from a related sea snail, "Hexaplex trunculus", produced a blue colour which could be the one known as (), used in garments worn for ritual purposes. The dye substance is a mucous secretion from the hypobranchial gland of one of several species of medium-sized predatory sea snails that are found in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These are the marine gastropods "Bolinus brandaris" the spiny dyemurex, (originally known as "Murex brandaris" Linnaeus, 1758), the banded dye-murex "Hexaplex trunculus", the