This new species of Laurencia was discovered in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico,
and it is on display in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., USA.
This species was named in honor of the pioneering work in the Laurencia chemistry of Emeritus Professor Toshi Irie, Hokkaido University.
Prof. William Fenical, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, dedicated the scientific sample of Laurencia irieii to Prof. Irie on the occasion of his ninty-seventh birthday. The plate of Laurencia irieii has been on display in The Hokkaido Universy Museum.
