Beach is turned into a giant salad by mysterious 'sea lettuce' algae

Beach is turned into a giant salad by mysterious 'sea lettuce' algae that has swamped the shoreline

• Enteromorpha prolifera is edible and rich in magnesium and other nutrients

By Anna Edwards
PUBLISHED: 13:27 GMT, 13 June 2013 | UPDATED: 20:08 GMT, 13 June 2013 
 

A seashore looked more like a meadow after huge piles of seaweed was washed up onto the shoreline.
A beach in Rizhao, Shandong, has been given a whole new look after the lush green mess lay tangled on the beach.
The pile of seaweed - also known as sea lettuce - arrived on Saturday, and shows no sign of disappearing as the sea waves are constantly pushing them on to the land.
Scroll down for video

Swamped in seaweed: The non-poisonous algae covers a beach in Rizhao, Shandong

The large quantity of enteromorpha has arrived on the Qingdao and Rizhao coast in Shandong province

The pile of seaweed - also known as sea lettuce - arrived on Saturday, and shows no sign of disappearing

 

But it's not only brought a flash of green to the city - it can also be tucked into.

More...

• 'The smell of burning flesh filled the room': Workers reveal hellish conditions in Chinese labour camp where man hid letter pleading for help that was found U.S. store's decorations box
• Chinese farmer who claimed he had electrocuted an alien and kept it in his freezer is JAILED for lying

Enteromorpha prolifera is edible, and rich in magnesium and many other nutrients, the Shanghaiist reported.
But clean up teams will have to work quickly to clean up the green stuff, before it decomposes and begins to rot.
Tidal currents are predicted to move the seaweed to Qingdao next.
In 2008, when Qingdao was inundated with the sea lettuce, the government had to step in, the Atlantic reported.

Clean up teams will have to work quickly to clean up the green stuff, before it decomposes and begins to rot

A sea of green: It's not only brought a flash of green to the city - it can also be tucked into

Enteromorpha prolifera is edible, and rich in magnesium and many other nutrients

Because it was the site of many sailing events for the Summer Olympics, soldiers were  sent to speedily remove the mess right away.
Seaweed has been praised as being a vitamin-rich food source that can help improve skin and lower blood pressure.
This particular type of seaweed can grow up to 50cm in length, typically growing near the shore, on rocks or other algae, on open coasts or in estuaries and harbours.
The Shangdong province lays in the east of China, and borders on the Bohai and Huanghai seas in the east.
It overlooks the Korean Peninsula and the Japan Archipelago and is frequently affected by marine monsoons.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2340993/Seaweed-China-Beach-turned-giant-salad-mysterious-sea-lettuce-algae-swamped-shoreline.html#ixzz2WA3Iuhr1