E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Zostera japonica Aschers. & Graebn.
Japanese eel-grass
Zosteraceae (Eel-grass family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Zostera japonica
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Tidal mudfats; rare in SW BC, known only from Boundary Bay and Tsawwassen; introduced from E Asia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Zostera americana Den Hartog

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Zosteraceae
Flora North America treatment for Zostera japonica
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

Species References

Green, Edmund P. and Frederick T. Short. 2003. World Atlas of Seagrasses. University of California Press, San Francisco.

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-18 9:02:11 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.