Halophila

Halophila is a genus of seagrasses in the family Hydrocharitaceae, the tape-grasses. It was described as a genus in 1806.[2] The number of its contained species, and its own placement in the order Alismatales, has evolved.

Tape-grasses
Halophila johnsonii – Johnson's seagrass
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Hydrocharitaceae
Subfamily: Hydrilloideae
Genus: Halophila
Thouars
Synonyms[1]
  • Barkania Ehrenb.
  • Lemnopsis Zipp. ex Zoll.
Bed of Johnson's seagrass

It is widespread in tropical waters, the distribution range also extends to subtropical and temperate waters primarily the Indian and Pacific Oceans but also the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas and the Gulf of Mexico.[1]

Unlike other seagrasses, the leaves of some species of Halophila do not have basal sheaths (i.e. the bases of the leaves do not wrap around the stem to form a sheath).[3]

The Latin specific epithet halophila refers to salt loving.[4]

Species

Species accepted by the Kew Botanical Garden.[1]

  1. Halophila australis - southern Australia
  2. Halophila baillonis - Caribbean, North and South America
  3. Halophila beccarii - South + East + Southeast Asia
  4. Halophila capricorni - New Caledonia, islands in Coral Sea
  5. Halophila decipiens - shores of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean; Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico
  6. Halophila engelmannii - Mexico, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Caymans, Cuba, United States (PR, FL, LA, TX)
  7. Halophila gaudichaudii - Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  8. Halophila hawaiiana - Hawaii
  9. Halophila major - Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Caroline Is
  10. Halophila mikii - Japan
  11. Halophila minor - Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  12. Halophila nipponica (syn. Halophila japonica)- Korea, Japan
  13. Halophila okinawensis - Nansei-shoto
  14. Halophila ovalis - Red Sea, Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  15. Halophila spinulosa - Southeast Asia, North Australia, New Guinea
  16. Halophila stipulacea - Red Sea, Indian Ocean, invasive in the Caribbean
  17. Halophila sulawesii - Sulawesi
  18. Halophila tricostata - Queensland
gollark: Oh, you just killed it.
gollark: Ah, you are adding "security"?
gollark: *Every message on every modem channel* except GPS replies is sent to skynet's logs.
gollark: I HAVE ONE. How did you think I managed to DO this?
gollark: I can also use a rednet logger.

References
  1. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  2. Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars 1806. Genera Nova Madagascariensia 2
  3. Halophila engelmannii star grass Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  4. Stearn, William (1972). A Gardenerer's Dictionary of Plant Names. London: Cassell. ISBN 0304937215.
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