Sea grapes
Caulerpa lentillifera
A green siphonous algae eaten as umi-budo in parts of East/Southeast Asia. A marine crop, not a land grape. Caulerpa species include invasives — don’t dump aquarium algae.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
A green siphonous algae eaten as umi-budo in parts of East/Southeast Asia. A marine crop, not a land grape. Caulerpa species include invasives — don’t dump aquarium algae.
From the existing encyclopedia
Sea Grapes is chosen for texture, micronutrients, and how it carries spices in real cooking, not for miracle marketing.
Edible portions
- fresh clusters in cuisines that use them
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Warm marine aquaculture
- Light. n/a
- Soil. n/a
- Planting. Not a vineyard.
- Harvest. Fresh specialty produce where sold.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Eaten fresh with citrus/soy in some cuisines — perishable
Safety
- Eat food-grade product. Do not forage random Caulerpa. Do not release aquarium Caulerpa into waterways.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- No USDA FoodData Central nutrient profile is attached here. That is not a claim that the plant contains no nutrients.
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
- Integrated from the existing aaaLifetime / quantum-biohack encyclopedia corpus (unique text preserved where it was not boilerplate).
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.