''Halodule wrightii'' is an

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

in the Cymodoceaceae family. It is referred to by the common names shoal grass or shoalweed, and is a plant species native to seacoasts of some of the warmer oceans of the world. ''H. wrightii'' is an herb growing in

salt-water Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approx ...

marshes in intertidal regions, often submerged at high tide but

emergent Emergent may refer to: * ''Emergent'' (album), a 2003 album by Gordian Knot * Emergent (software), Neural Simulation Software * Emergent BioSolutions, a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA * Emerg ...

low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

.Godfrey, R. K. & J. W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States Monocotyledons 1–712. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Taxonomy

This plant was named after Charles Wright, who was an American botanist and collector. In 1853 and 1856 Wright participated in a surveying expedition and discovered ''Halodule wrightii''. Some publications cite US specimens by the synonym, ''Halodule beaudettei'', but the two names represent the same species.

Description

Seagrass is a marine

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

that possesses conductive tissue, shoot systems,

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s and flowers. It has flat leaves up to 20 cm long, dark reddish-brown, with a few teeth on the margins. The fruits are spherical to egg-shaped, about 2 mm across.

Distribution

This plant is mainly found in muddy coastal marsh waters and off the coast of many Caribbean islands. It has been reported from Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Maryland, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Tabasco,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, Belize, Panamá, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Brazil and

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. In

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, it was intentionally introduced into the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gu ...

from Texas almost a century ago, but died out a long time ago.

Ecology

These aquatic plants form sea beds and increase habitat stabilization through constant shoot and rhizome production. The string-like structure of the seagrass decrease water

turbidity 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 ...

and movement of substrate whether it is sand or mud. Seagrass beds function as an incubator for young juvenile fishes. They provide shelter from predators and reduce competition with other species. ''Halodule wrightii'' also supplies food resources to several species of fish, invertebrate marine life and

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

s. This species of plant has the ability to adapt to various levels of

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

and temperatures. ''H. wrightii'' is able to reproduce sexually and asexually, however, flowering in this species is rare.

Conservation

Recreational activities, like jet skiing and boating, damage and uproot seagrass beds with ease in shallow coastal waters. Studies such as the one performed in Brazil's Abrolhos Marine National Park tested the direct effects of anchor damage caused by intense boating activity, and found that ''H. wrightii'' abundance was deeply impacted.

Restoration

Restoration of seagrass beds has been experimentally tested many times. One such experiment in Florida attempted to use ''H. wrightii'' as a

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, ...

to stimulate natural

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

to the eventual climax vegetation dominated by '' Thalassia testudinum''. The experiment found that the application of fertilizer to transplants greatly increased their growth rate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5643366 Cymodoceaceae Flora of North America Flora of Central America Flora of South America Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Madagascar Flora of Australia Plants described in 1868 Taxa named by Paul Friedrich August Ascherson