Rockweed

What it looks like

Rockweed is found attached to rocks on the beach. It is dark brown where it attaches to the rocks and a light golden brown on the ends. The tiny, egg-shaped ends have small lumps on the surface giving it a bumpy texture. The swollen ends make a "popping" noise when crushed.

What it was used for

Rockweed is an alga, another name for seaweed or sea vegetable. Rockweed was used mainly for healing people, as a dressing to treat sores and swollen feet, or fresh, rubbed on legs and feet to treat aches, pains and paralysis of the legs. Rockweed was mixed with yellow cedar boughs in steam baths to treat rheumatism. It was sometimes used for steaming butter or littleneck clams in a steam pit (a big hole in the ground with hot coals and rocks). Rockweed was also used with eel-grass for steaming wood to make it soft and flexible; the wood might then be used for boxes and halibut hooks.