Sea palms - *Postelsia palmaeformis* - growing on a Northern California rocky reef. These stubby, amazing kelps grow in some of the most wave-exposed intertidal habitats, capitalizing on disturbances in the mussel beds to grow. They really do look like little palm trees, with long, shaggy blades growing from the tops of their hollow stipes. Somewhat astonishingly - though it makes sense once you consider their hollow stipes - their closest relative is the huge, canopy-forming bull kelp, *Nereocystis luetkeana*.

Amazing work showcasing the value of long-term monitoring data: Gerraty et al. document declines in the sea-palm #kelp #Postelsia associated w/ the 2014-16 northeast Pacific heatwave & failure to recover due to expansion of mussel beds during the seastar-wasting epidemic. 🤯🌊🦑 doi.org/10.1002/eap....

Black and white woodblock print of a ctenophore with two tentacles

Wood block print of a stylized sea palm on black paper

Black and white woodblock print of a bull kelp forest scene

Woodblock carving

It was a pretty short holiday break for me but it was fun to work on some marine-themed woodblock carvings and prints. #ctenophore #Postelsia #Nereocystis