Zosteraceae

Zosteraceae
File:Zostera marina nf clean.jpg
Zostera marina, from Lindman (1917-1926)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Alismatales
Family:	Zosteraceae Dumort.
Genera
Phyllospadix Zostera

Zosteraceae (the seagrass family) is a family of marine perennial flowering plants found in temperate and subtropical coastal waters, with the highest diversity located around Korea and Japan. Most seagrasses complete their entire life cycle under water, having filamentous pollen especially adapted to dispersion in an aquatic environment and ribbon-like leaves that lack stomata. Seagrasses are herbaceous and have prominent creeping rhizomes. A distinctive characteristic of the family is the presence of characteristic retinacules, which are present in all species except members of Zostera subgenus Zostera.

Zosteraceae has long been accepted by taxonomists as monophyletic. The APG II system of 2003 recognizes this family and places it in the monocot order Alismatales. The family contains approximately fourteen species divided between two genera, Phyllospadix and Zostera. The latter contains three subgenera: Heterozostera (formerly considered a separate genus ), Zostera and Zosterella. Zosteraceae is closely related to Potamogetonaceae, a family of freshwater aquatics.

Zosteraceae is a conserved name.

Further reading

Waycott, M, McMahon, K, Lavery, P 2014, A Guide to Southern Temperate Seagrasses, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, ISBN 9781486300150

External links

• Zosteraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
• The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27 April 2006.
• Zosteraceae in the Flora of North America
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser
• links at CSDL, Texas