Hitoegusa: Also known and sold as aosa or aonori. This seaweed belongs to the family hitoegusa in the order ulvales and is characterized by its single-layered, membranous cells. It is the seaweed used for braised seaweed, a popular rice topping, with Mie accounting for 70% of its production.

Sujiaonori: This seaweed is well-known, particularly the ones from the Shimanto River in Kochi. It is classified under the order ulvales, family ulvaceae, and genus ulva. It is a highly-valued seaweed known for its fragrant, almost tea-like notes.

Usubaaonori: While it belongs to the same order, family, and genus as sujiaonori, this seaweed is generally less expensive and much more widely used in consumption. While it is typically a bit wider in membranous form compared to sujiaonori and boaonori (where the base is tubular), some thinner varieties do exist, ultimately making it hard to distinguish them from one another by visuals alone.

Ana-aosa: This seaweed belongs to the same order, family, and genus as aonori. Its cells are arranged in a two-layered membrane. Cultivated around the Atsumi Peninsula in Aichi, it is often marked in the ingredients list as aosa powder or bando powder. It is believed to have a less favorable flavor compared to aonori but is often used in okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and yakisoba due to its ability to maintain its vivid green color in heat.

Miru: An ancient seaweed once used as a ceremonial offering and in tribute systems to the Imperial Court. Historically, it has also been used as a deworming medicine. Its shape resembles the pine tree, its needles spreading wider and wider, which is considered auspicious, leading to its use in kimono patterns and porcelain designs, known as the Miru Crest. In Mie, specifically in Urakami, it is occasionally used as an offering during Obon, the festival respecting our ancestors. Recently, a property in miru called mirulectin has been found to prevent periodontal disease and is being developed into a pharmaceutical product.

Nagamiru: A species related to miru, but with much longer seaweed bodies and elongated vesicles. Like miru, it lacks septa, meaning it can be considered a single cell organism, though it has multiple nuclei. The control of nuclear commands and division within such a cellular environment remains a mystery.

Kubirezu: Known as umibudo or sea grapes  in Okinawa, where it is mass-cultivated and shipped. Cultivation is also beginning in other prefectures.

Ichiizuta: Similar to kubirezu, this seaweed belongs to the order siphonocladales, family iwaizutaceae, and genus iwaizuta. Many seaweeds in this group contain toxic substances, and this species contains has some level toxicity. However, the problematic variant in the Mediterranean is a mutant of this species, which is over ten times more toxic than wild ichiizuta found in Japan. Fish consuming this mutant can suffer from poisoning. Additionally, it has a very high reproductive rate. In 1984, a small patch was found near the Monaco Oceanographic Museum's outflow, but it rapidly proliferated and has become a major issue along the Mediterranean coast. Eradication is not feasible. This species may also be sold as aquarium seaweed without being recognized as such, so caution is needed.

Kasanori: A cute seaweed, reminiscent of succulent plants, is referred to as "mermaid's wine glass." It is beautiful and delicate. It is well-known as a model for biological experiments indicating the presence of genetic material in nuclei, but it is admired primarily for its appearance. It features a bright green, round cap on a slender, white, calcareous stalk.

Marimo: Not a seaweed, but a freshwater green alga. It has a fibrous, moss-like body, and typically floats in the water or attaches to rocks and stones. In Lake Akan in Hokkaido and Lake Mývatn in Iceland, it forms spherical marimo. While important as a tourist attraction, its numbers are declining due to lake pollution and global warming. And while again, it is not technically a seaweed, we give ode to its similar value in Japanese culture.