The one that looks like it belongs on the forest floor, not the rocky reef, has fronds that are small, branching, and densely packed, forming bushy clumps that can be 10 to 20 centimetres tall. The colour is a deep reddish-purple, sometimes so dark it appears black. It looks like moss, like a tiny shrub, like a piece of the forest that fell into the sea. It is the alga of the forest disguise, the one that pretends to be something it is not. What makes it special is the texture. The sea moss is cartilaginous, stiff and crunchy, like cartilage or firm jelly. You can bend it, but it will spring back. You can squeeze it, but it will not crush. It is the bush that bends but does not break, the one that is soft enough to flex but tough enough to survive the waves. Under your fingers, it feels like rubber, like a stress ball, like something that wants to return to its original shape. The sea moss is a red alga, a member of the Gigartinaceae family. It is harvested for carrageenan, a thickening agent used in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It is the seaweed that makes your ice cream creamy and your toothpaste smooth, the one that has found its way into your kitchen without you ever knowing its name. Biologically, the sea moss reproduces by releasing spores from specialised structures on its fronds. The spores are released into the water, carried by the currents, and settle on nearby rocks to grow into new plants. It also reproduces by fragmentation, pieces broken off can grow into new clumps. To find sea moss is to find a bushy clump of dark purple on the reef. It looks like moss, like a tiny shrub, like a piece of the forest under the sea. You can touch it, feel its crunchy texture, bend it and watch it spring back. It is the moss of the sea, the bushy one, the one that makes your ice cream creamy, the one that proves that the sea has its own forests, small and dark and full of life.