Halophila engelmannii star grass

Halophila is the only genus of seagrasses whose leaves do not have basal sheaths
Leaves are long and elliptical and finely serrulate
Leaf blades are 1- 3 cm long and 3- 6 mm wide
At the base of the leaf there are 2 scales and 2 scales halfway up the leaf stem
6- 8 pairs of leaf veins
Leaves are in a psuedowhorl of 4- 8 leaf blades with a small (2 mm) or no petiole
Dioecious

HABITAT

Grows in sheltered sites from the lowest tide level to 90 m deep
Found on sandy and muddy substrates and may occur on shell- hash

DISTRIBUTION

Plants are widely distributed in the northern Gulf of Mexico, southern Florida,Cuba, and the Bahamas

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