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Photo credit: © Lori Morris, National Marine Fisheries Service |
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| Like all other seagrasses, Johnson’s seagrass is clonal, which refers to plants that have many semi-independent units (ramets) acting together as a single organism. It is a perennial plant species that shows some decline in winter. Identifying characteristics of Johnson's seagrass include smooth margins, spatulate leaves in pairs 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long, a creeping rhizome (a horizontal subterranean plant stem like the runners on a Strawberry plant) with stalks attached to the leaves, sessile (attached to their bases) female flowers, and longnecked fruits. The male flowers are unknown. Outstanding differences between Johnson's seagrass and other similar species are its distinct asexual reproduction, and leaf shape and form. |
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| Learn More... |
- Conservation Notes: This section includes information on threats to this species, its importance to humans and estuaries and how you can help to protect this species
- Profile: This section includes biological and life history information such as the species description, relatives, size/weight, diet, reproduction information, habitat and range.
- References: This section includes the list of articles and books cited in the information about the species.
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Did you know? Johnson’s seagrass is tolerant to wider temperature and salinity conditions than other seagrasses? |
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Type: Flowering plant |
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Diet: Photosynthetic |
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Average lifespan in the wild: Leaf pairs can live weeks or months, but the entire clonal organism can live much longer |
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Size: Individual leaf pairs are 1 to 2 inches (2 to 5 cm) in length. Patches or meadows of this seagrass can be up to 30 acres in size. |
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Weight: not applicable |
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Found in the following Estuarine Reserves: none |
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Water quality factors needed for survival: Find details about water temperature, turbidity, water flow, salinity, dissolved oxygen at this link. |
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Threats: |
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- Habitat alteration and loss
- Sedimentation
- Poor water quality
- Construction and shading
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Click map for larger image |
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