Halodule wrightii shoalgrass

Halodule wrightii shoalgrass

Kingdom: PLANTAE
Division: ANTHOPHYTA
Class: MONOCOTYLEDONEAE
Order: HELOBIAE
Family: POTAMOGETONACEAE
Genus: Halodule
Species: wrightii

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

• Leaf blades are 3.5- 32 cm long and 0.3-2.2 mm wide
• Leaf tip is truncate and bidendate at the edge of mature leaf tip
• The leaves are clustered from a distinct node on the rhizome
• 2- 5 roots and a leafy shoot emerge from each node
• The roots are not branching

• Grows in the lower intertidal and upper subtidal zones on sandy and muddy substrates in sheltered and exposed locations
• Grows on coral reefs and in creeks in mangrove swamps
• Found in waters up to 8- 12 m deep

• Halodule is found in the Caribbean Sea

Image Credit: Drawing reprinted with permission from: Phillips, R.C. and E.G. Menez. 1998. Seagrasses. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington D.C.