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Sheltered bedrock and boulders in the sublittoral fringe characterised by a mixed canopy of the kelp Laminaria digitata (usually in its broad-fronded cape-form) and Saccharina latissima - both species are generally Frequent or greater. Beneath the kelp canopy, the understorey of red seaweeds often includes Chondrus crispus, Dumontia contorta, Bonnemaisonia hamifera and Plocamium cartilagineum. The surface of the rock is usually covered with encrusting coralline algae as well as non-calcified red crusts and the tube-building polychaete Spirobranchus triqueter. The brown seaweeds Chorda filum, Ectocarpaceae and Fucus serratus can be present along with the green seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Ulva intestinalis. Patches of the sponge Halichondria panicea can frequently be found in cracks and crevices. Beneath and between boulders a variety of mobile crustaceans such as Carcinus maenas, the gastropod Steromphala cineraria and the starfish Asterias rubens are common.