The float, which can grow to more than 30 cm, ranges in colour from pale lavender to purple. When fully extended, the tentacles can be up to 15 meters in length.
In late August 1994 many hundreds of Portuguese men-of-war washed ashore on the north and south sides of the island. Here is a pile collected from the beach. After drying in the sun, the floats had become crisp balloons, bleached of colour. They were handled with care - long after this jellyfish species has been high and dry, its stingers may revive when wet.
