Ulva compressa is a green seaweed that can have one of two different growth forms. The first is a flat, narrow sheet with ruffled edges, and the second form (often referred to as Enteromorpha compressa) is a hollow tube of tissue, rounded at the top. In both forms the sheets of tissue are very thin, in fact they are exactly one cell thick. Several blades or tubes arise from a common attachment point and can grow up to 200 millimeters long. Ulva compressa is a shallow water species and is often found in tide pools or on rocks in the intertidal and shallow subtidal up to 3 meters deep. As a common tidepool species, Ulva compressa is able to withstand great swings in salinity, temperature, and pH.

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Original publication: Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species plantarum, exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Vol. 2 pp. [i], 561-1200, [1-30, index], [i, err.]. Holmiae [Stockholm]: Impensis Laurentii Salvii.

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 Usage: Used dried in cooking, particularly with eggs

Other uses: Ulva compressa, in the same family as "sea lettuce" is a commonly eaten as a sea vegetable, used fresh or dried for both human and animal consumption for its high nutrient levels and good taste. This seaweed is also utilized as fertilizer to introduce a wide range of minerals to the soil. Many benefits have been associated with Ulva compressa consumption such as antimicrobial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties. Extracts of Ulva compressa are also added to cosmetics products for a soothing quality that reduces skin itchiness and tautness.

Dawes, C.J. & Mathieson, A.C. (2008). The seaweeds of Florida. pp. [i]- viii, [1]-591, [592], pls I-LI. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida.

Hayden, H.S., Blomster, J., Maggs, C.A., Silva, P.C., Stanhope, M.J. & Waaland, J.R. (2003). Linnaeus was right all along: Ulva and Enteromorpha are not distinct genera. European Journal of Phycology 38: 277-294.

Kraft, G.T. (2007). Algae of Australia. Marine benthic algae of Lord Howe Island and the southern Great Barrier Reef, 1. Green algae. pp. [i-iv], v-vi, 1-347, 110 text-figs; 11 pls. Canberra & Melbourne: Australian Biological Resources Study & CSIRO Publishing.

Loiseaux-de Goër, S. & Noailles, M.-C. (2008). Algues de Roscoff. pp. [1]-215, col. figs. Roscoff: Editions de la Station Biologique de Roscoff.

Norris, J.N. (2010). Marine algae of the Northern Gulf of California: Chlorophyta and Phaeophyceae. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 94: i-x, 1-276.

Pedroche, F.F., Silva, P.C., Aguilar-Rosas, L.E., Dreckmann, K.M. & Aguilar-Rosas, R. (2005). Catálogo de las algas marinas bentónicas del Pacífico de México. I. Chlorophycota. pp. i-viii, 17-146. Ensenada, México: Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

Tan, I.H., Blomster, J., Hansen, G., Leskinen, E., Maggs, C.A., Mann, A., Sluiman, H.J. & Stanhope, M.J. (1999). Molecular phylogenetic evidence for a reversible morphogenetic switch controlling the gross morphology of two common genera of green seaweeds, Ulva and Enteromorpha. Molecular Biology and Evolution 16: 1011-1018.

Type locality: "Habitat in Europae mari & tectis maritimis" [Probably Bognor, Sussex, England] (Hayden et al. 2003: 289). Lectotype: Dillenius (1742: pl. 9: fig. 8) (epitype) OXF (Hayden et al. 2003: 289). Notes: Northern Europe (Lipkin & Silva 2002).