This brown seaweed grows in dense populations, living about 4-5 years. Its brown color comes from the presence of a pigment known as xanthophyll fucoxanthin, a substance considered likely to reduce obesity. It is a stationary species that “plants” itself in its part of the ocean, living its entire life there.

While it generally only grows to a maximum length of approximately 4 ½ feet, in one sheltered condition there are bladder wrack found to be 6 feet long. Every year, this plant produces air bladders that cause it to float upward, creating a shelter underneath for small marine life.