View source for Zostera ← Zostera You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason: The action you have requested is limited to users in the group: Users. You can view and copy the source of this page. {{Treatment/ID |accepted_name=Zostera |accepted_authority=Linnaeus |publications={{Treatment/Publication |title=Sp. Pl. |place=2: 968. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5; 415, 1754 |year=1754 }} |common_names=Eel-grass;zostère |basionyms= |synonyms= |hierarchy=Zosteraceae;Zostera |hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Zosteraceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Zostera]]</div></div> |etymology=Greek zoster, belt |volume=Volume 22 |mention_page= |treatment_page= }}<!-- --><span class="statement" id="st-d0_s0" data-properties="whole_organism duration;whole_organism duration;whole_organism architecture;whole_organism growth form"><b>Herbs,</b> perennial or rarely annual, rooted in substrate.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s1" data-properties="root quantity;root position"><b>Roots </b>5–20, nodal.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s2" data-properties="sheath shape;sheath architecture;sheath duration;sheath length or size;sheath dehiscence;fiber pubescence"><b>Leaves:</b> sheath tubular or open, persisting longer than blade, often rupturing with age but not remaining as bundles of woolly fibers;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s3" data-properties="blade shape;blade shape">blade entire or slightly denticulate distally;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s4" data-properties="vein quantity">veins 3–11.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s5" data-properties="generative shoot position;generative shoot position"><b>Generative </b>shoot lateral or terminal.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s6" data-properties="peduncle fusion"><b>Inflorescences:</b> peduncle partially adnate to stem;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s7" data-properties="spadix shape;spadix position">spadix lanceolate, enclosed permanently within spathe sheath;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s8" data-properties="inflorescence architecture;flower architecture;flower arrangement">staminate and pistillate flowers alternating on same spadix;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s9" data-properties="spadix architecture;flower prominence;flower architecture">pistillate spadix without rudimentary staminate flowers.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s10" data-properties="flower architecture"><b>Staminate </b>flowers often subtended by bract.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s11" data-properties="flower architecture;pistil arrangement or shape"><b>Pistillate </b>flowers without subtending bract, pistil elliptic.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s12" data-properties="fruit architecture;fruit shape"><b>Fruits </b>achenelike, ovoid to ellipsoid.</span><!-- -->{{Treatment/Body |distribution=Temperate waters worldwide |discussion=<p>Zostera, especially Z. marina, is very possibly the most important taxon of marine angiosperms in the Northern Hemisphere. Much has been written about the biology and economic importance of Z. marina, and the literature was summarized by C. den Hartog (1970). The species functions in sediment deposition, substrate stabilization, as substrate for epiphytic algae and micro-invertebrates, and as nursery grounds for many species of economically important marine vertebrates and macro-invertebrates. In addition to those functions, the species once was the principal material for the Dutch dikes, and it has been utilized as packing material and as stuffing for mattresses and cushions. Finally, the species has been used for food and recreation by the Seri tribe of Native Americans (R. Felger and M. B. Moser 1973).</p><!-- --><p>During the 1930s, Zostera marina of North America began to develop large brown spots on the leaves and rhizomes. Slowly the plants of a population died, the dieback eventually spreading throughout the North Atlantic, until there was very little eel-grass remaining there. This slow dieback of eel-grass became known as "wasting disease." Biologists began studying the disease and eventually determined the causative agent to be Labyrinthula zosterae, a slime mold. That dieback resulted in huge decreases in the population sizes of most fauna that depended on Zostera. Slowly, eel-grass returned to most areas that it had occupied prior to the disease.</p><!-- --><p>Species 12 (2 in the flora).</p> |tables= |references={{Treatment/Reference |id=harrison1979a |text=Harrison, P. G. 1979. Reproductive strategies in intertidal populations of two co-occurring seagrasses (Zostera spp.). Canad. J. Bot. 57: 2635--2638. }}{{Treatment/Reference |id=nomme1991a |text=Nomme, K. M. and P. G. Harrison. 1991. A multivariate comparison of the seagrasses Zostera marina and Zostera japonica in monospecific versus mixed populations. Canad. J. Bot. 69: 1984--1990. }} }}<!-- --><div class="treatment-key"> ==Key== <div class="treatment-key-group"> {| class="wikitable fna-keytable" |-id=key-0-1 |1 |Leaf sheath tubular, without membranous flaps, rupturing with age; bract absent or rarely 1 subtending lowermost staminate flower. |[[Zostera marina|Zostera marina]] |-id=key-0-1 |1 |Leaf sheath open, with 2 membranous flaps, persisting without rupturing; bract subtending each staminate flower. |[[Zostera japonica|Zostera japonica]] |} </div></div><!-- -->{{#Taxon: name=Zostera |authority=Linnaeus |rank=genus |parent rank=family |synonyms= |basionyms= |family=Zosteraceae |distribution=Temperate waters worldwide |reference=harrison1979a;nomme1991a |publication title=Sp. Pl. |publication year=1754 |special status= |source xml=https://bibilujan@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-fine-grained-xml.git/src/62857cf6bca5c4637d27b113da92d27dbf9962f4/V22/V22_608.xml |genus=Zostera |blade shape=denticulate;entire |fiber pubescence=woolly |flower architecture=pistillate;staminate;staminate;pistillate |flower arrangement=alternating |flower prominence=rudimentary |fruit architecture=achenelike |fruit shape=ovoid;ellipsoid |generative shoot position=terminal;lateral |inflorescence architecture=staminate |peduncle fusion=adnate |pistil arrangement or shape=elliptic |root position=nodal |root quantity=5;20 |sheath architecture=open |sheath dehiscence=rupturing |sheath duration=persisting |sheath length or size=longer |sheath shape=tubular |spadix architecture=pistillate |spadix position=enclosed |spadix shape=lanceolate |vein quantity=3;11 |whole_organism architecture=rooted |whole_organism duration=annual;perennial |whole_organism growth form=herb }}<!-- -->[[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Zosteraceae]] Templates used on this page: Template:Treatment/AuthorLink (view source) Template:Treatment/Body (view source) Template:Treatment/Body/Maps (view source) Template:Treatment/ID (view source) Template:Treatment/Publication (view source) Template:Treatment/Reference (view source) Template:Zosteraceae (view source) Return to Zostera.