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Of the many types of limu that grow in the waters of Hawaiʻi, limu kala (comprising four endemic species of Sargassum) is the main kind used in rituals involving forgiveness and release, which are meanings of the word kala. Mary Kawena Pukui talks about lei limu kala also being worn by hula dancers performing hula waʻa, dances that petitioned the gods of the sea to bless a fishing expedition. Integral to reef ecology, limu kala is found throughout the pae ʻāina (island chain) on reef flats and intertidal areas, but has been seen as deep as 600 ft.