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Species code: Zp

Zostera capensis

Also called Cape Dwarf Eelgrass

Cape Dwarf Eelgrass is a submerged marine seagrass that forms meadows in shallow bays, estuaries and lagoons along the African coast. It is a marine plant, not a garden or houseplant, and it lives fully underwater in saltwater.

Family
Zosteraceae (Zoster family)
Grows as
Aquatic, Bulb
Light
Bright indirect
Soil
Sandy or muddy seabed sediment in saltwater
Native range
SE. Kenya to S. Africa, Comoros, Madagascar
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Zostera capensis is a species of dwarf eelgrass growing along the shores of the Indian and Atlantic oceans on the African coast. Its range extends from southern Kenya, through Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and South Africa up to Angola . This species is the dominant seagrass species in South Africa, occurring as fragmented populations along the coast and occupying subtidal and intertidal habitats in shallow bays, estuaries and lagoons. The two largest meadows in South Africa are present in the Knysna lagoon and Berg river estuary. When last mapped in 2007, Zostera capensis cover in the Berg river estuary was estimated at 206 hectares, while in 2019 the Knysna lagoon was mapped at 316 hectares.

Other Zostera plants

Species code: za · Species code: Zs · Zostera capricorni · Species code: Zl · Dwarf Eelgrass · Seawrack · Zostera mucronata · Species code: Zc · Species code: Zg · Zostera novazelandica · Species code: Zo · Species code: Zt

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zostera capensis 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.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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