| English Name | Dwarf Eel Grass, Marine Eel Grass |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Least Concern (LC) |
Description:
Perennial seagrass. Rhizomes prostrate, 0.5-1.5 mm in diam., internodes 5-30 mm, nodes with 1 prophyll and 2 fine roots. Prophylls ca. 2 cm long, sheathed, without blade and auricles. Vegetative branches with 2-4 leaves; sheath 2-10 cm long, margin membranous, auricle obtuse; leaf blade 5-35 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, apex obtuse or slightly emarginated; primary veins 3, parallel. Reproductive branches 10-30 cm long, with several to many spathes; spathaceous stipe flat, 1-2.5 cm long; spathaceous sheath 1-2 cm long, apical leaf blade 3-7 cm long, as wide as vegetative leaves or slightly narrower. Spadix rachis flat, margin with bract-like appendages; flowers small, monoecious, in 2 series on rachis, apetalous. Nuts ellipsoid to cylindrical, ca. 2 mm long, smooth, apex beaked.
Distribution:
Sheung Sze Wan, Tung Chung(San Tau), Lai Chi Wo. Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning. Japan, Russia.
Habitat and Ecology:
In sea. Flowering & fruiting: Jun.-Sept.
This seagrass has special scientific value because it is one of the few marine flowering plants in Hong Kong. It is usually found co-inhabiting with Halophila ovalis along the seaward margins of mangroves. In Hong Kong, the locality of its occurrence at Lai Chi Wo is in Marine Park under protection. Moreover, the locality at Tung Chung (San Tau) has been listed as a SSSI.
References:
郭友好、李清義，1992：中國植物誌8：90-92，圖版36。科學出版社，北京。
