# Enhalus

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{{Short description|Genus of aquatic plants}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Enhalus acoroides01.jpg
| genus = Enhalus
| parent_authority = [Rich.](/source/Louis_Claude_Richard)<ref>Mem. Inst. Par. ii. (1811) (Math.-Phys.)., 64. ([Index Kewensis](/source/Index_Kewensis))</ref>
| species = acoroides
| authority = ([L.f.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus_the_Younger)) [Royle](/source/John_Forbes_Royle)<ref>
Illustrations of the Botany of the Himalayan Mountains 1 1839 ([APNI](/source/Australian_Plant_Name_Index))</ref>
| synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=309482 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref>
| synonyms =
*''Stratiotes acoroides'' <small>L.f.</small>
*''Enhalus koenigii'' <small>Rich.</small>
*''Vallisneria sphaerocarpa'' <small>Blanco</small>
*''Enhalus marinus'' <small>Griff.</small>
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |last1=Short |first1=F.T. |last2=Waycott |first2=M. |date=2010 |title=''Enhalus acoroides'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T173331A6992567 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T173331A6992567.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''''Enhalus''''' is a monotypic genus of [marine](/source/Marine_(ocean)) [flowering plant](/source/flowering_plant)s.<ref name=Larkum>{{cite book|editor-last= Larkum |editor-first=Anthony W.D. |editor2-last=Duarte|editor2-first=Carlos|editor3-last=Orth|editor3-first= Robert J.|contribution = Taxonomy and biogeorgraphy of seagrasses| title = Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation  |publisher= Springer-Verlag New York, LLC|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4020-2942-4}}</ref>  The sole species is '''''Enhalus acoroides'''''. ''Enhalus'' is a large [seagrass](/source/seagrass) native to coastal waters of the tropical [Indian](/source/Indian_Ocean) and [Western Pacific](/source/Pacific_Ocean) Oceans.<ref name=Larkum /> It is the only species of seagrass that does aerial surface pollination in which the pollen and the styles remain dry.<ref name=":22">Phillips, R.C. and E.G. Meñez. 1988. Seagrasses. Smithsonian Contrib. Mar. Sci. 34, 104 pp.</ref> ''Enhalus'' is surface pollinated with male [flower](/source/flower)s that detach from the plant to float on the surface until they reach a female flower where pollination can occur.<ref name="Larkum" /> Enhalus acoroides is considered a slow-growing, "[climax](/source/Climax_species)" species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/77/m077p289.pdf|title=Allometric scaling of seagrass form and productivity|last=Duarte|first=Carlos M.|date=November 26, 1991|website=int-res.com}}</ref>

==Description==

''Enhalus acoroides'' massive rhizomes (1.5&nbsp;cm in diameter) help it stay anchored in soft mud substrates, withstanding wave action and tidal currents. it has long strap like leaves (30–150&nbsp;cm) which make up a significant volume of total plant biomass of shallow water seagrass beds, because of the large structure of the leaves and where they are in the water column, they provide greater surfaces for [Epibiont](/source/Epibiont) organisms to inhabit.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/2066/113973/mmubn000001_025943251.pdf?sequence=-1#page=171|title=STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF SEAGRASS COMMUNITIES AND ASSOCIATED ALGAE FROM THE TROPICAL WEST-PACIFIC|last=BROUNS AND HEIJS|first=JOOP AND FRANCIEN|date=December 17, 1986}}</ref> Fruit are round and large (4–6&nbsp;cm in diameter) with dark, ribbed skin and 6-7 white seeds. The male plant bears a single pedunculate [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) or stem containing clusters of flowers, each is highly reduced in form to a small free floating device. Female Enhalus acoroides bears only a single inflorescence, but the peduncle of a female flower is much longer.<ref name=":1" />

==Distribution and habitat==

''Enhalus acoroides'' is a [littoral](/source/Littoral_zone) species living in shallow soft substrates like muddy or sand-flats and coral substrates depending the region of growth. It can be found as far east as [Papua New Guinea](/source/Papua_New_Guinea) and can range from the [Red Sea](/source/Red_Sea) south to northern Mozambique in the Indian Ocean.<ref name=IUCN/> It can be found in mixed meadows of seagrasses comprising 90% of the meadow biomass mainly with ''Thallassia hemprichii.'' <ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/fulltext/213546|title=Spatio-temporal variation in shoot size and leaf growth of the two dominant Philippine seagrasses Enhalus acoroides (L.f.) Royle and Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenb.) Aschers.|last=Rollon|first=Rene N.|date=March 10, 1998|website=balkema.nl}}</ref> it can also be found living in isolated areas. Enhalus acoroides grows best just above the level of [mean low water spring](/source/mean_low_water_spring)s and grows to generally 4 meters deep.<ref name=":22" />

==Reproduction==

''Enhalus acoroides'' is [dioecious](/source/Dioecy) and able to reproduce sexually and asexually.<ref name=":0" /> ''Enhalus acoroides'' create small isolated patches containing 25 to 200 shoots through lateral rhizome spreading. It can also produce pollen like other seagrasses but it is unique in that it is the only species of seagrasses that surface pollinates. During this process, the male flower will break off from the [spathe](/source/spathe) and rise to the surface where it has numerous flowers inside its hydrophobic [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence)s.<ref name=":0" /> Once at the surface it will release its pollen to a female inflorescence where it has reached the surface of the water by means of an elongated stalk surface. The developing fruit is drawn under the water to finish ripening. Flowering is a year round phenomenon and the amount of flowers being produced are strongly related to variations in mean water temperatures.<ref name=":0" />{{clear left}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web|last=Guiry|first=M.D.|last2=Guiry|first2=G.M.|year=2008|title=Enhalus|work=[AlgaeBase](/source/AlgaeBase)|publisher=World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway|url=http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=43003|access-date= 2009-02-21}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Enhalus|''Enhalus''}}
*[http://www.algaebase.org/search/pictures/?currentMethod=imgs&fromSearch=yes&displayCount=20&query=Enhalus Images] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302004105/http://www.algaebase.org/search/pictures/?currentMethod=imgs&fromSearch=yes&displayCount=20&query=Enhalus |date=2012-03-02 }} of ''Enhalus'' at [AlgaeBase](/source/AlgaeBase)

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2697339}}

Category:Hydrocharitaceae
Category:Seagrasses
Category:Hydrocharitaceae genera
Category:Monotypic Alismatales genera
Category:Dioecious plants

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Enhalus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhalus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhalus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.