Sargassum natans is in the taxonomic family Phaeophyta (classical Greek 'phaios' = brown and 'phyton' = plant) in the kingdom Chromalveolata which includes tiny dinoflagellates, the kelp forests of California as well as the weed found in the Sargasso Sea. 'Avienus' (the 4th Century AD Latin writer Rufus Festus) mentions portions of the Atlantic Sea covered in weed, citing a long-lost account by the 5th Century BC Carthiginian explorer Himilco.
