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Pacific Seaweeds

46 | Seagrasses

Zostera Eelgrass

Class Monocots Order Alismatales Family Zosteraceae

Number of Species

Of the 15 species of Zostera (Greek=aquatic plant), two reside in our area: Z. mar-ina and Z. japonica. Zostera marina is common; Z. japonica is uncommon and was accidentally introduced from Japan, pos-sibly as packing for Japanese oyster spat (see Sargassum, p. 195).

Description

Zostera is a true flowering and seed-producing plant. Our native species, Z. marina, has dull green leaves usually wider than 4 mm (0.16 in), flattened in cross-section and up to 3 m (10 ft) long.

Surfgrass (Phyllospadix), by comparison, generally has nar-rower blades and grows on semi-exposed to exposed rock in the low intertidal zone.

Zostera marina and other seagrasses have considerable potential for habitat conservation. Unlike seaweeds, seagrasses are adapted to living on soft marine bottoms, so they may be planted on unstable or disturbed soft bottoms, where they can curb erosion by holding down and trapping sediment. This is not to say

Zostera marina.

Zostera marina.