1. Marine Flowering Plants
Kingdom Plantae

2. Angiosperms
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Autotrophs
Have flowers used for sexual reproduction
Have pollen
Have seeds
Multicellular eukaryotes
Mostly on land-very few in the ocean
Evolved from land plants

3. Seaweeds (algae) vs. Flowering Plants
Photosynthesis
Structure/Support
Anchor
vs.
Water/Nutrient Absorption

5. Three Groups
• Seagrasses
• Mangroves
• Marsh grasses
• VERY IMPORTANT habitat for young marine
organisms – they all act like nursery grounds
for countless species!

6. Seagrasses
• Not true grasses
• Found in temperate & tropical coastal bays &
estuaries
• Subtidal = must stay underwater
• Prefer shallow, calm, clear waters
• Many species
• Zostera (eelgrass) is our type on Long Island
More about seagrasses: http://
www.flseagrass.org/ecology.php

7. Pictures of seagrass meadows

8. Seagrass Reproduction
• Sexually – stringy pollen carried away by currents
• Life cycle like land flowering plants
• Asexually – using rhizomes under the sediment

9. Mangroves
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Woody trees
Tropical & Subtropical
Intertidal=Not fully submerged
Often roots sticking out of the
water
• Several species – obviously,
none on Long Island

10. Picture of a Mangrove Forest

12. Mangrove Reproduction
• Reproduce sexually – with flowers
• “Pencil seed” germinates while
still attached to parent
– If it’s low tide: seed sticks in the mud
– If it’s high tide: seed is carried away
by current

13. Salt marshes
• Found in calm, sheltered bays on East and Gulf Coasts
of the US
• Intertidal
• Several species - our common ones are:
– Spartina alterniflora – salt marsh cordgrass
– Spartina patens – salt marsh hay
Virtual field trip through a salt marsh:
http://zottoli.wordpress.com/saltmarshes/spartina-alterniflora
/

14. Pictures of Salt Marshes

16. Marsh Grass Reproduction
• Sexually – flowers like flowering land plants
• Asexually - rhizomes

17. To Learn More…
• http://www.sglearnonline.com/seaweed-and-marineplants.html
• https://www.oceanclassrooms.com/ms101_u9_c1_sa_1
• Watch this:
http://www.oceanclassrooms.com/resources/storyline/uni
t9/MS101_U9_C1_SA_1/story.html