Posidonia oceanica- Neptune Grass- the Biggest Flowers on Earth

Posidonia oceanica

The marine “flower” known also as Neptune grass covers an area of about 15,000 square miles in the Mediterranean. It plays a key role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, but it is currently threatened by rising water temperatures. It forms a thick meadow on sandy bottoms no deeper than 130 feet.

Posidonia oceanica


Source: Oceánidas

This flowering grass that proliferates in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Australia grows in clonal colonies. It even produces a fruit and reproduces by means of seeds.3

BACKGROUND

Posidonia oceanica belongs to the family Posidoniaceae, with only one kingdom (Posidonia). This is a superior plant that develops a root system, and this is why it needs a sandy or muddy substrate for the roots to attach to. It has flowers and therefore fruits and seeds. It blooms in the fall and its fruit usually appears on our beaches in May or June, commonly known as the “sea olive”. After germination, it produces an underground stem, called a rhizome, from which roots grow; and it also produces several short stems from which long, narrow leaves emerge. The rhizomes can form very long chains that can be more than hundreds of meters long, for example in some well-preserved areas of the Balearic Islands. It is through these rhizomes that plants that can also reproduce asexually can reproduce like plants by their rhizomes. Posidonia oceanica also needs a lot of light to live, that’s why it cannot be found at depths of more than 100 meters.

Posidonia seagrasses have many important environmental functions: they facilitate the deposition of suspended particles as well as water clarity; stabilize marine sediments, reduce hydrodynamics and coastal erosion; generates a large amount of oxygen and organic matter; and provide important habitat for the reproduction, growth, incubation, feeding, and habitation of many species.

Posidonia oceanica has a distribution around the Mediterranean. The population distribution in Andalusia is more concentrated in the eastern part of the region, from Almeria, where populations are continuous, to Malaga, where populations form smoked sites in some areas. coastal area.

Threats and protection status

Among its main threats are untreated sewage dumps; sand extraction from the seabed; beach regeneration near Posidonia grasslands; Mesh bottom; yacht anchorage; compete with invasive species such as Caulerpa taxifolia; and climate change.

Give a Comment