Sargassum that also can mean all seaweed species washed up on shore. "Sargassum" species are found throughout tropical areas of the world and are often the most obvious macrophyte in near-shore areas where "Sargassum" beds often occur near coral reefs. The plants grow subtidally and attach to coral, rocks, or shells in moderately exposed or sheltered rocky or pebble areas. These tropical populations often undergo seasonal cycles of growth and decay in concert with seasonal changes in sea temperature. In tropical "Sargassum" species that are often preferentially consumed by herbivorous fishes and echinoids, a relatively low level of phenolics and tannins
Sargassum and "S. fluitans") have become holopelagic—reproducing vegetatively and never attaching to the seafloor during their lifecycles. The Atlantic Ocean's Sargasso Sea was named after the algae, as it hosts a large amount of "Sargassum". "Sargassum" was named by the Portuguese sailors who found it in the Sargasso Sea after the wooly rock rose ("Halimium lasianthum") that grew in their water wells at home, and that was called "sargaço" in Portuguese (). The Florida Keys and its smaller islands are well known for their high levels of "Sargassum" covering their shores. Gulfweed was observed by Columbus. Although it was formerly thought