Gut Weed vs Sea Lettuce

Ulva intestinalis compared with Ulva lactuca

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gut Weed	Sea Lettuce
Kingdom same	Plantae (planta)	Plantae (planta)
Phylum same	Chlorophyta (Chlorophyta)	Chlorophyta (Chlorophyta)
Class same	Ulvophyceae (Ulvophyceae)	Ulvophyceae (Ulvophyceae)
Order same	Ulvales (Ulvales)	Ulvales (Ulvales)
Family same	Ulvaceae	Ulvaceae
Genus same	Ulva	Ulva
Species	Ulva intestinalis	Ulva lactuca

Evolutionary Relationship

Gut Weed and Sea Lettuce share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Ulva.

Conservation Status

Gut Weed

LC — Least Concern

Sea Lettuce

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gut Weed	Sea Lettuce
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gut Weed

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and Oceania, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil).

Sea Lettuce

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Lebanon, Taiwan, Turkey), Europe (4 countries), North America (Mexico), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan