ໄຄ / River weed
APA 6th ed. ໄຄ / River weed. (2021, August 30). Retrieved from https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000068
MLA 8th ed. ໄຄ / River weed. Pha Khao Lao, 30 August 2021, https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000068.
Chicago 17th ed. Pha Khao Lao. 2021. "ໄຄ / River weed." Published August 30, 2021. https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000068.
Spirogyra varians is a common species of freshwater green alga that grows in shallow rocky rivers and streams. It appears as a filamentous green mass attached to the rocky river bed. The unbranched filaments are cylindrical, up to 1 m long, and are coated in mucilage which makes them slimy to touch. This mucilage holds them together in a mat. The cell membrane consists of three layers: two inner cellulose layers and an outer layer of pectose. Each filament consists of a number of elongated cells, joined end to end. An adapted hold fast cell adheres the filament to the substrate. Spirogyra species contain chlorophyll which is responsible for their green color. They reproduce sexually by means of conjugation. Of the three freshwater river weed genera – Cladophora, Microspora, and Spirogyra – S. varians is the most common locally grown species in Laos.
Food: River weed is highly nutritious and commonly available. Many local people have a long-standing tradition of cooking it for food in many ways.
Product: River weed in some localities is a popular commodity and river weed processing is in high demand. From a survey in 2015, production of khai paen in 25 villages in Luang Prabang was found to produce an average income of 6 million kip (up to 38 million kip and at least 1 million kip) per family per production season.