Halophila

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

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 been subject to revision by botanical authors.

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]

Species

Species accepted by the Kew Botanical Garden[1]

  1. Halophila australis - southern Australia
  2. Halophila baillonis - Caribbean, N South America
  3. Halophila beccarii - S + E + SE Asia
  4. Halophila capricorni - New Caledonia, islands in Coral Sea
  5. Halophila decipiens - shores of Indian + Pacific; Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico
  6. Halophila engelmannii - Mexico, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Caymans, Cuba, USA (PR, FL, LA, TX)
  7. Halophila gaudichaudii - Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  8. Halophila hawaiiana - Hawaii
  9. Halophila japonica - Japan
  10. Halophila major - Japan, Taiwan, SE Asia, Caroline Is
  11. Halophila mikii - Japan
  12. Halophila minor - Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  13. Halophila nipponica - Korea, Japan
  14. Halophila okinawensis - Nansei-shoto
  15. Halophila ovalis - Red Sea, Indian Ocean, western Pacific
  16. Halophila spinulosa - SE Asia, N Australia, New Guinea
  17. Halophila stipulacea - Red Sea, Indian Ocean
  18. Halophila sulawesii - Sulawesi
  19. Halophila tricostata - Queensland

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  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.
  • USDA plants profile for Halophila
  • Western Australia Seagrass web page for Halophila

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Halophila
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