tengusa the Japanese name for one of the red seaweeds, Gelidium amansii. Widely used in S. and E. Asia for the production of agar-agar. In Japan, this seaweed ranks fourth in production, after wakame, kombu, and nori.
The plants are dark red when fresh, but turn yellow if bleached by sunlight or soaked. The iodine content is high.
© the Estate of Alan Davidson 1999, 2006, 2014 © in the Editor’s contribution to the second and third editions, Oxford University Press 2006, 2014.