Silvetia is a genus of
brown algae, commonly known as
Rockweed, found in the
intertidal zone of rocky seashores of the
Pacific Ocean. These were originally classified as members of the genus
Pelvetia. In 1999,
Silvetia sp. was created as a separate species from
Pelvetia canaliculata due to differences of
oogonium structure and of nucleic acid sequences of the rDNA. It was renamed in honor of
Paul Silva, Curator of Algae at the Herbarium of the University of California, Berkeley. There are three species and one subspecies.