Tangleweed is (among other things) the common name for a form of ocean-growing Kelp that has health-enhancing properties for those who consume it.  It has a slender, horny stem that is brown to olive green in color and divided into numerous fingers. 

 Kelp hit the spotlight a few years back when a dental researcher was engaged in an international study of tooth decay. Among his subjects were tribal peoples living at 16,000 feet in the Andes Mountains of Peru. While working with these tribes, he noticed that each individual carried a little bag. Out of curiosity, he looked into the bags and discovered … kelp. When he asked his study subjects why they had made the long trip from the mountains to the ocean to bring back this seaweed, they replied simply, “To guard the heart.”

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