Names:

Black Tang, Bladder Fucus, Bladder Wrack, Blasentang, Cutweed, Fucus, Kelp, Kelp-Ware, Kelpware, Knotted Wrack, Meereiche, Quercus Marina, Rockweed, Rockwrack, Schweintang, Seawrack, Tang, Varech. Ascophyllum nodosum; Fucus vesiculosis; other Fucus species and other brown seaweed species.

Family: Fucaceae.

Functions:

reduce phlegm, soften hardness – nodules in neck, fullness in chest due to phlegm
promote urination, reduce swelling – lower extremity edema

Dsoage: 4.5 – 15g.

Also Used For:

Orally, Kun Bu/Bladderwrack is used for thyroid disorders, iodine deficiency, lymphadenoid goiter, myxedema, obesity, arthritis, and rheumatism.

In folk medicine, Kun Bu/Bladderwrack is used for arteriosclerosis, digestive disorders, "blood cleansing," constipation, bronchitis, emphysema, genitourinary disorders, decreased resistance to disease, anxiety, skin diseases, burns, and insect bites.

Articfles

Dharmananda.  The nutritional and medicinal value of seaweeds used in TCM.