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Manatee-grass family
Cymodoceaceae
シラスナ科
A seagrass family distributed in tropical to subtropical oceans. In Japan, Thalassodendron and others occur on shallow sandy-muddy bottoms in the Ryukyu Islands, supporting coral reef ecosystems. Like Zosteraceae, fully marine flowering plants.
Key Characteristics
- ●Fully marine submerged plants
- ●Rhizomes spread across the seafloor, forming seagrass meadows
- ●Flowers reduced, submarine-pollinated
- ●Elongate linear leaves with sheathing bases
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Alismatales > Cymodoceaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (ca. 55 Ma onwards)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Secondary adaptation from land to sea (independent of Zosteraceae)
- ・Creation of biodiversity hotspots through formation of tropical seagrass meadows
Plants in Manatee-grass family on this site
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