Kombu

Kombu (Japanese: 昆布) is edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as konbu (Japanese), dashima (Korean: 다시마 dasima) or haidai (simplified Chinese: 海带; traditional Chinese: 海帶; pinyin: Hǎidài). Some edible kelps in the family Laminariaceae are not always called kombu, such as arame, kurome (ja) (Ecklonia kurome) or Macrocystis pyrifera. Most kombu is from the species Saccharina japonica (Laminaria japonica), extensively cultivated on ropes in the seas of Japan and Korea. Over 90% of Japanese kombu is cultivated, mostly in Hokkaidō, but also as far south as the Seto Inland Sea with the development of cultivation technology today.