Ruppia maritima
From The Plant Encyclopedia
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Ruppia maritima | |
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | |
| Class | |
| Order | Alismatales |
| Family | Ruppiaceae |
| Genus | Ruppia |
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About
Ruppia maritima is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name wigeongrass. Despite its Latin name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwater species.<ref name=class>Kantrud, H. A. (1991). Classification and Distribution - Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.): A literature review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.</ref>
Distribution
It can be found throughout the world, most often in coastal areas, where it grows in brackish water bodies, such as marshes. It is a dominant plant in a great many shoreline regions. It does not grow well in turbid water or low-oxygen substrates.<ref name=habitat>Kantrud, H. A. (1991). Habitat - Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.): A literature review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.</ref>
Description
Ruppia maritima is a thread-thin, grasslike annual or perennial<ref name=class/> herb which grows from a rhizome anchored shallowly in the wet substrate. It produces a long, narrow, straight or loosely coiled inflorescence tipped with two tiny flowers. The plant often self-pollinates, but the flowers also release pollen that reaches other plants as it floats away on bubbles.<ref name=repro>Kantrud, H. A. (1991). Development and Reproduction - Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.): A literature review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.</ref>
The fruits are drupelets. They are dispersed in the water and inside the guts of fish and waterbirds that eat them.<ref name=repro/> The plant also reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome to form colonies.<ref name=repro/>
Wetlands and wildlife
This plant is an important part of the diet of many species of waterfowl. In many areas, wetlands wetlands restoration begins with the recovery and protection of this plant. <ref>Kantrud, H. A. (1991). Introduction - Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.): A literature review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.</ref>
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