Subordinate Taxa
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Zostera L., Sp. Pl. 968 (1753)
Synonymy:
  • = Zostera sect. Heterozostera Setch.
  • Heterozostera (Setch.) Hartog
Vernacular Name(s):
Karepō; Nana; Rehia; Rimurehia; Seagrass
 Description

Spadix sessile, unbranched, permanently enclosed in the sheath of the uppermost If; axis flattened to a thin, membr. strap bearing ∞ fls on its concave outer face; stamens alternating with carpels in 2 longitudinal, often crowded series. Stamen of 2 pollen sacs joined by a curved connective adnate to the axis, each sac simulating a single, ovate, sessile, 1-celled anther. Carpel flask-shaped, rounded at base, attached above the middle by a cushion of tissue. Rhizome ± compressed, creeping, rooting at nodes and there producing either vegetative shoots with short internodes and long lvs or erect, short-lived, sympodial reproductive shoots with longer internodes and us. shorter lvs. Lvs ± translucent; sheath long, open or closed, ± auriculate above; lamina entire, top bluntly truncate or emarginate by erosion; primary nerves parallel, at least 3 (1 median and 2 sub-marginal), sts more; interstitial nerves more delicate, intersected at intervals by ± horizontal cross veins. Plants forming grass-like, mud-collecting swards.

[From: Moore and Edgar (1970) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 2.]

 Biostatus
Indigenous (Non-endemic)
Number of species in New Zealand within Zostera L.
CategoryNumber
Indigenous (Non-endemic)1
Total1
 Bibliography
Linnaeus, C. 1753: Species Plantarum. Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm.
Mabberley, D.J. 2008: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 3. Cambridge University Press.