Zostera japonica Aschers. & Graebn.
Japanese eel-grass
Zosteraceae (Eel-grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Japanese eel-grass
Zosteraceae (Eel-grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Michael Hawkes (Photo ID #14784)
Species Information
General:
Perennial, aquatic herb from slender rhizomes; stems annual, branching, 100-300 cm long, arising from the rhizome nodes.
Leaves:
Sheaths split to the base; stem leaves alternate, 1-1.5 mm wide, 3-veined.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a spike of unstalked male and female flowers alternating in 2 rows, 3-6 (8) cm long; female flowers with ovaries tapering to short styles; male flowers with unstalked anthers.
Fruits:
Nutlets, egg-shaped, the walls translucent, about 2 mm long, smooth, the tips about 3/4 as long as the fruit base.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Tidal mudfats; rare in SW BC, known only from Boundary Bay and Tsawwassen; introduced from E Asia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Zostera americana Den Hartog
References
Green, Edmund P. and Frederick T. Short. 2003. World Atlas of Seagrasses. University of California Press, San Francisco.