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Zostera
Also called Marine eelgrass, Eelgrasses, Seagrass, Seagrasses
Zostera is a genus of marine seagrasses, not a houseplant, forming underwater meadows in shallow sandy or estuarine seabeds. Most grow as perennials from spreading rhizomes with ribbon-like leaves, and the key to growing them is saltwater and sand, not pots.
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass, or simply seagrass or eelgrass. The genus Zostera contains 9 to 15 species, according to different authors.
Zostera marina is found on sandy substrates or, in estuaries, usually submerged or partially floating. Most Zostera are perennial. They have long, bright green, ribbon-like leaves, the width of which are about 1 centimetre (0.4 in). Short stems grow up from extensive, white branching rhizomes. The flowers are enclosed in the sheaths of the leaf bases; the fruits are bladdery and can float.
Eelgrass has been used for food by the Seri tribe of Native Americans on the coast of Sonora, Mexico. The rhizomes and leaf-bases of eelgrass were eaten fresh or dried into cakes for winter food. It was also used for smoking deer meat. The Seri language has many words related to eelgrass and eelgrass-harvesting. The month of April is called xnoois ihaat iizax, literally "the month when the eelgrass seed is mature".
Species code: za · Species code: Zs · Species code: Zp · Zostera capricorni · Species code: Zl · Dwarf Eelgrass · Seawrack · Zostera mucronata · Species code: Zc · Species code: Zg · Zostera novazelandica · Species code: Zo
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zostera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
