| Thalassia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Thalassia hemprichii [1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Hydrocharitaceae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrilloideae |
| Genus: | Thalassia Banks ex K.D.König [2] |
| Type species | |
| Thalassia testudinum Banks ex K.D.König [3] | |
| Synonyms [4] | |
SchizothecaEhrenb. | |
Thalassia is a marine seagrass genus comprising two known species. [3]
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families, all in the order Alismatales. Seagrasses evolved from terrestrial plants which recolonised the ocean 70 to 100 million years ago.
Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family including 16 known genera with a total of ca 135 known species, that including a number of species of aquatic plant, for instance the tape-grasses, the well known Canadian waterweed, and frogbit.
Zosteraceae is a family of marine perennial flowering plants found in temperate and subtropical coastal waters, with the highest diversity located around Korea and Japan. Most seagrasses complete their entire life cycle under water, having filamentous pollen especially adapted to dispersion in an aquatic environment and ribbon-like leaves that lack stomata. Seagrasses are herbaceous and have prominent creeping rhizomes. A distinctive characteristic of the family is the presence of characteristic retinacules, which are present in all species except members of Zostera subgenus Zostera.
Laminaria is a genus of brown seaweed in the order Laminariales (kelp), comprising 31 species native to the north Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans. This economically important genus is characterized by long, leathery laminae and relatively large size. Some species are called Devil's apron, due to their shape, or sea colander, due to the perforations present on the lamina. Others are referred to as tangle. Laminaria form a habitat for many fish and invertebrates.
Cordyline is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants in family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae. Other authors have placed the genus in the Agavaceae. Cordyline is native to the western Pacific Ocean region, from New Zealand, eastern Australia, southeastern Asia and Polynesia, with one species found in southeastern South America.
A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and long green, grass-like leaves. They produce seeds and pollen and have roots and rhizomes which anchor them in seafloor sand.
Mesostigma is a genus of freshwater green algae, with a single species Mesostigma viride. As of February 2022, AlgaeBase classified it as the only genus in the family Mesostigmataceae, the only family in the order Mesostigmatales, the only order in the class Mesostigmatophyceae. It is now considered to be one of the earliest diverging members of green plants/algae (Viridiplantae).
Posidonia is a genus of flowering plants. It contains nine species of marine plants ("seagrass"), found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia.
Althenia is a genus of aquatic plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. This has long been a group of two species in the Mediterranean Europe and South Africa, but in 2016 was revised to include an Australasian relative, Lepilaena.
The Seagrasses of Western Australia are submerged flowering plants found along the coast, around islands, and in Estuaries of Western Australia. The region contains some of the largest seagrass meadows in the world, and is the most diverse in the number of species. The variety of habitats along its western and southern coasts is often soft sands in shallow subtropical waters, ideal for these plants.
Phyllospadix, surfgrass, is a genus of seagrass, a flowering plant in the family Zosteraceae, described as a genus in 1840. Phyllospadix grows in marine waters along the coasts of the temperate North Pacific.
Enhalus is a monotypic genus of marine flowering plants. The sole species is Enhalus acoroides. Enhalus is a large seagrass native to coastal waters of the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. It is the only species of seagrass that does aerial surface pollination in which the pollen and the styles remain dry. Enhalus is surface pollinated with male flowers that detach from the plant to float on the surface until they reach a female flower where pollination can occur. Enhalus acoroides is considered a slow-growing, "climax" species.
Chaetosphaeridium is a genus of green algae. Several classifications have been proposed. Its traditional classification is in the order Coleochaetales, related to the genus Coleochaete. AlgaeBase places it in the order Chaetosphaeridiales.
Smaragdia viridis. common name the "emerald nerite" is a species of small, green sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.
Thalassia testudinum, commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of marine seagrass. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle grass and other seagrasses form meadows which are important habitats and feeding grounds. The grass is eaten by turtles and herbivorous fish, supports many epiphytes, and provides habitat for juvenile fish and many invertebrate taxa.
Halophila decipiens, commonly known as Caribbean seagrass or paddle grass, is a seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It grows underwater on sandy or muddy sea floors in shallow parts of tropical seas.
Halodule wrightii is an aquatic plant in the Cymodoceaceae family. It is referred to by the common names shoal grass or shoalweed, and is a plant species native to seacoasts of some of the warmer oceans of the world.
Halodule uninervis is a species of seagrass in the family Cymodoceaceae. It is native to the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Common names include narrowleaf seagrass in English and a'shab bahriya in Arabic.
Lobophora variegata is a species of small thalloid brown alga which grows intertidally or in shallow water in tropical and warm temperate seas. It has three basic forms, being sometimes ruffled, sometimes reclining and sometimes encrusting, and each form is typically found in a different habitat. This seaweed occurs worldwide. It is the type species of the genus Lobophora, the type locality being the Antilles in the West Indies.
Halophila baillonis is a species of aquatic plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is referred to by the common name clover grass. It is native to Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as "vulnerable" due to its naturally rare occurrence and fragmented populations.
