''Ruppia maritima'' is an aquatic plant species commonly known as beaked tasselweed, ditch grass, tassel pondweed and widgeon grass. Despite its scientific name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwater species.Kantrud, H. A. (1991)
Classification and Distribution - Wigeongrass (''Ruppia maritima'' L.): A literature review.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The generic name ''Ruppia'' was dedicated by Linnaeus to the German botanist Heinrich Bernhard Ruppius (1689-1719) and the specific name (maritima) translates to "of the sea".

Distribution

It can be found throughout the world, most often in coastal areas, where it grows in

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

bodies, such as

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es. It is a dominant plant in a great many shoreline regions. It does not grow well in

turbid Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

water or low-oxygen substrates.Kantrud, H. A. (1991)
Habitat - Wigeongrass (''Ruppia maritima'' L.): A literature review.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Description

''Ruppia maritima'' is a thread-thin, grasslike annual or perennial herb which grows from a rhizome anchored shallowly in the wet substrate. It produces a long, narrow, straight or loosely coiled

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

tipped with two tiny flowers. The plant often self-pollinates, but the flowers also release pollen that reaches other plants as it floats away on bubbles.Kantrud, H. A. (1991)
Development and Reproduction - Wigeongrass (''Ruppia maritima'' L.): A literature review.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The fruits are drupelets. They are dispersed in the water and inside the digestive system of fish and waterbirds that eat them. The plant also reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome to form colonies.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

On the basis of molecular phylogenetic analyses, a species complex, named ''R''. ''maritima'' complex, had been discerned, which was then extended to include eight lineages, or nine lineages. A lectotype for '' R. cirrhosa'' is designated and the name is shown to be a homotypic synonym of ''R. maritima''.Ito, Y., T. Ohi-Toma, C. Nepi, A. Santangelo, A. Stinca, N. Tanaka, & J. Murata (2017
Towards a better understanding of the ''Ruppia maritima'' complex (Ruppiaceae): Notes on the correct application and typification of the names ''R. cirrhosa'' and ''R. spiralis''
''

Taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

'' 66: 167-171

Wetlands and wildlife

This plant and the epiphytic algae attached to the floating leaves can be an important part of the diet for selected herbivorous

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

species, but not important for predatory waterfowl that eat fish or invertebrate animals. In many areas, wetlands restoration begins with the recovery and protection of this plant.Kantrud, H. A. (1991)
Introduction - Wigeongrass (''Ruppia maritima'' L.): A literature review.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

References

External links