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Zostera muelleri
Also called Dwarf Grass Wrack, Eelgrass, Seagrass
Zostera muelleri is a marine seagrass, a flowering plant rather than a seaweed, found in shallow coastal waters of southern Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. It is grown only in marine or estuarine settings, not as a garden or houseplant, and is best known for forming meadows that shelter fish and feed wading birds.
Zostera muelleri is a southern hemisphere temperate species of seagrass native to the seacoasts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania and New Zealand. Today, Zostera muelleri can be found in regions of Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, as well as areas of the eastern Indian Ocean, and the southwest and western central Pacific Ocean. Zostera muelleri is a marine angiosperm, and is commonly referred to as eelgrass or garweed. It is a fast growing and readily colonizing species that serves as a feeding ground for wading birds and aquatic animals, and a breeding ground for juvenile fish and shrimp species.
Seagrasses are a flowering plant species, not to be confused with seaweed, which do not form flowers, fruits, and seeds to reproduce. Seagrasses are important to the marine ecosystem for many reasons.
Zostera muelleri is a perennial species, meaning populations of it endure year round. They are mostly found in places such as littoral or sublittoral sand flats, sheltered coastal embayments, soft, muddy, sandy areas near a reef, estuaries, shallow bays, and in intertidal shoals. They aren't common on reefs because there is little space and nutrients for them to grow there. Zostera muelleri is a marine species, but it can tolerate some freshwater inputs. It mostly occurs in mono-specific meadows, but it can grow alongside Ruppia, Halophila, and Lepilena. Zostera muelleri is widespread in Southern Australia, and its also found in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Species code: za · Species code: Zs · Species code: Zp · Zostera capricorni · Species code: Zl · Dwarf Eelgrass · Seawrack · Zostera mucronata · Species code: Zg · Zostera novazelandica · Species code: Zo · Species code: Zt
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zostera muelleri 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.
