Saccharina is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of 20 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and the northern Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and off Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

).

The commercially important species Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica is a marine species of Phaeophyceae , a type of kelp or seaweed, that is extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea....

(Laminaria japonica) is cultivated for Kombu

Kombu

Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , is edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....

; an important food flavouring from Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Species

The following is a list of the 20 species of Saccharina:

• Saccharina angustata (Kjellman) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina bongardiana (Postels & Ruprecht) Selivanova, Zhigadlova & G.I. Hansen
• Saccharina cichorioides (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina coriacea (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina crassifolia (Postels & Ruprecht) Kuntze
• Saccharina dentigera (Kjellman) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina groenlandica (Rosenvinge) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina gurjanovae (A.D. Zinova) Selivanova, Zhigadlova & G.I. Hansen
• Saccharina gyrata (Kjellman) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina japonica
  Saccharina japonica
  Saccharina japonica is a marine species of Phaeophyceae , a type of kelp or seaweed, that is extensively cultivated in China, Japan and Korea....
  
  (J.E. Areschoug) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina kurilensis C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina latissima (Linnaeus) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina longicruris (Bachelot de la Pylaie) Kuntze
• Saccharina longipedales (Okamura) C.E. Lane, C. Maves, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina longissima (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina ochotensis (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina religiosa (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina sculpera (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
• Saccharina sessilis (C. Agardh) Kuntze
• Saccharina yendoana (Miyabe) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders