Kelp

Kelp is an underwater plant that generates in most oceans.

Obtaining[]

Natural generation[]

Kelp naturally generates in any ocean biomes (except in frozen, deep frozen and warm), near and around seagrass. Each chunk has ¹⁄₁₈ chance to generate a vegetation of kelp.

Breaking[]

Kelp can be mined instantly with any tool or with the player's fist. Removing water from the kelp block destroys the kelp. Breaking one part of a kelp stalk destroys all kelp blocks above it. Each block drops a kelp item.

Trading[]

Kelp can be bought from wandering traders for 3 emeralds.

Usage[]

Kelp can be placed underwater by hand, or anywhere by the use of commands such as /setblock. Placing it by hand gives it a random age value between 0 and 24. Kelp can be placed only in water source blocks or downward-flowing water, not horizontally flowing water.

When placed in downward-flowing water, the flowing water transforms into a water source block,^[1] which is useful for faster bubble column elevator creation.

Any building block can be placed on top of a kelp plant, which is useful for building structures over a deep ocean without needing to build from the ocean floor (see also lily pad).

Cooking ingredient[]

Name	Ingredients	Smelting recipe
Dried Kelp	Kelp + Any fuel	0.1

Composting[]

Placing kelp into a composter has a 30% chance of raising the compost level by 1.

Growth mechanics[]

Kelp can be planted on a broad variety of blocks. It grows underwater if it has either a source block of water or, in Java Edition, flowing water above it.^[2] Neither players nor dispensers can remove the water source block that kelp grows in without breaking the kelp first.

Kelp does not require any light level to grow. Kelp also grows without having sky access. Bone meal can be used to grow kelp by 1 block on each use.

Kelp, when planted, is generated with a randomly chosen age value, which can be checked when pressing F3‌^{[Java Edition only]}. The age value of a newly planted kelp plant varies randomly from 0 to 24. Each time the kelp grows in height by one block, the newly generated top of the kelp plant increases its age by 1. When the top block of the kelp plant reaches an age of 25, it stops growing. This means that kelp can naturally grow to a height between 2 (if the first kelp plant had an age of 24) and 26 blocks (if the first kelp plant had an age of 0).

When a kelp plant block is broken, the age of the kelp plant block underneath is randomized to a value from 0 to 24 and the kelp continues growing until it reaches age 25. It is possible to use this mechanic to cultivate a kelp plant to increase its growth height beyond its natural maximum height of 26 blocks. This can be done by breaking the top-most block of the kelp plant each time it reaches age 25. A kelp plant cultivated by a player in this way repeatedly grows until it reaches the water surface.

Each time it receives a random tick, kelp has a 14% chance of growing.

If shears are used on the topmost block of kelp, that block automatically sets its age value to 25 and stop growing.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

Farming[]

Kelp farming is similar to farming sugar cane, although kelp must be placed underwater. Automation of harvest is easier because items float up in water.

Sounds[]

Generic[]

Java Edition:

Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`block.wet_grass.break`	`subtitles.block.generic.break`	0.8	0.8	16
Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	`block.wet_grass.place`	`subtitles.block.generic.place`	0.8	0.8	16
Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`block.wet_grass.hit`	`subtitles.block.generic.hit`	0.25	0.5	16
None^{[sound 1]}	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	`block.wet_grass.fall`	None^{[sound 1]}	0.5	0.75	16
Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	`block.wet_grass.step`	`subtitles.block.generic.footsteps`	0.15	1.0	16

↑ ^a ^b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
Blocks	Once the block has broken	`dig.grass`	0.7	0.8-1.0
Blocks	When the block is placed	`dig.grass`	0.8	0.8-1.0
Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.grass`	0.3	0.5
Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`fall.grass`	0.4	1.0
Players	Walking on the block	`step.grass`	0.3	1.0
Players	Jumping from the block	`jump.grass`	0.11	1.0
Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	`land.grass`	0.21	1.0

Unique[]

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Plant cropped	Blocks	When the tip of kelp is cropped with shears	`block.growing_plant.crop`	`subtitles.block.growing_plant.crop`	1.0	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition: None

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Translation key
Kelp	`kelp`	Block & Item	`block.minecraft.kelp`
Kelp Plant	`kelp_plant`	Block	`block.minecraft.kelp_plant`

Bedrock Edition:

Kelp	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID^{[i 1]}	Translation key
Item	`kelp`	`382`	Item	—	`item.kelp.name`
Block	`kelp`	`393`	Block & Ungiveable Item^{[i 2]}	`item.kelp`	—

↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
↑ Unavailable with /give command

Block states[]

Java Edition:
Top kelp block:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
age	`0`	`0` `1` `2` `3` `4` `5` `6` `7` `8` `9` `10` `11` `12` `13` `14` `15` `16` `17` `18` `19` `20` `21` `22` `23` `24` `25`	A freshly planted kelp starts with a random age between 0 and 24. Below age 25, a kelp may try go grow more kelp above it with the same age value incremented by one. Kelp stops growing at age 25.

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	Description
kelp_age	`0x1` `0x2` `0x4` `0x8`	`0`	`0` `1` `2` `3` `4` `5` `6` `7` `8` `9` `10` `11` `12` `13` `14` `15`	`0` `1` `2` `3` `4` `5` `6` `7` `8` `9` `10` `11` `12` `13` `14` `15`	The age of the kelp. The kelp renders as a non-top piece if there's another kelp above it.
kelp_age	`0x1` `0x2` `0x4` `0x8`	`0`	`16` `17` `18` `19` `20` `21` `22` `23` `24` `25`	`Unsupported`	Unused

History[]

Java Edition Classic
May 21, 2009			Notch shows interest in adding a "seaweed" block.
Java Edition
November 18, 2017			Kelp plants were shown in a clip of MineCon Earth.
1.13	18w07a		Added kelp.
	18w07b		Kelp now behaves more like water, meaning mobs can no longer spawn within the plant under water nor can they replenish their breath by swimming through it.
	18w10a		The texture for kelp has been overhauled.
	18w14a		Top of the kelp textures have been shifted slightly downward.
	18w14a		The generation rules for kelp have been changed, it now mainly generates in cold ocean biomes and can no longer generate in warm oceans.
	18w20a		The `kelp_top` has been changed ID to `kelp` and `kelp` has been changed to `kelp_plant`, for both the block and item forms.
	pre2		Kelp is now destroyed by sponges.^[3]
	pre6		Added 5 new sound events that apply to kelp: `block.wet_grass.break`, `block.wet_grass.fall`, `block.wet_grass.hit`, `block.wet_grass.place`, and `block.wet_grass.step`.
1.14	19w03a		Placing kelp into the new composter has a 10% chance of raising the compost level by 1.
	19w05a		Kelp now has a 30% chance of increasing the compost level in a composter by 1.
	19w05a		Added wandering traders, which sell kelp.
1.16	20w11a		Kelp can now be grown with bone meal.
1.16	20w13a		Kelp has been moved from the Miscellaneous tab to the Decoration Blocks tab in the Creative inventory.^[4]
1.17	20w46a		Kelp no longer generates on magma blocks.^[5]
1.18	21w37a		Kelp now stops growing if shears are used on the tip.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0	beta 1.2.14.2		Added kelp.
1.4.0	beta 1.2.20.1		The kelp item texture has been updated to the Java Edition's.
1.5.0	beta 1.5.0.4		The texture of the kelp plant has been updated.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3		Kelp can now be bought from wandering traders for 3 emeralds.
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.1		Kelp can now be used to fill composters.
Legacy Console Edition
TU69	1.76	Patch 38	Added kelp.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Kelp" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

This item will summon Water if thrown into ground in version 22w13oneBlockAtTime
In real life, kelp is not considered a plant. It is classified by scientists as a brown algae.
- Kelp in real life absorbs nutrients directly from the water, instead of through its root-like structure, holdfast, which merely attaches it to the seabed. This is in accordance with kelp being able to grow on almost any solid block in Minecraft

Gallery[]

Kelp shown in a clip from MINECON Earth 2017.
Naturally generated kelp in an ocean biome.
Naturally generated kelp near the shore.
An ocean with kelp visible in the far distance.
Kelp placed outside of water using the /setblock command before 18w07b.
What kelp looks like without water (water removed using a resource pack).
Kelp within a coral reef.
Kelp that generated in mid-air due to an ocean monument's water cutting through it.
Multiple kelps.
Without obstacles, kelp can grow all the way to building limit.
First image of kelp in Bedrock Edition.