[APD] Re: where to get marine plants

[Charley Bay <charleyb123 at yahoo_com>]

Shireen Gonzaga wrote:
> When you talk about salt water plants, do you
> actually mean marine macroalgaes?
> 
> If you're talking about real marine plants, what
> kinds of species are you referring to?
> (I didn't know there was such a thing as marine
> plants.)

Not to interrupt the conversation, but yes, most of
these plants are probably macroalgae (lacking the
xylem and phloem tissue that vascular plants use for
internal transport of materials, and lack specialized
structures like roots).  Being in seawater, there's
usually no such need (seawater has lots of life's
building blocks *in the water* that freshwater
systems lack).

As I'm sure you know, there are many species of
macroalgae (kingdom Algae). Some of the orders are
familiar to marine aquarists like Acrosiphonaceae
(Acrosiphonia spp.), Bryopsidales (Bryopsidella spp.),

Caulerpales (Caulerpa spp.), Sargassaceae (Sargassum
spp.), Rhodophycota (Acrochaetium spp.), etc.
I've got a reference here with many dozens of 
macroalgae phyla, class, order, and families.

There are only a few marine vascular plants (marine
angiosperms), like 'turtle grass' and 'eel grass',
other seagrasses, and mangroves, but these can be
abundant in coastal areas.  The slow-growing mangroves
are somewhat popular in marine tanks as a nitrogen
sink, albeit slow growing.

I seem to recall there only being about four marine
vascular plant species typically used in the aquarium
hobby, but apparently these are hard to get a hold
of.  Maybe somebody out there can help with the 
species.

However, there are two marine genera in class
Liliopsida (Monocots), Subclass Alismatidae, Order
Hydrocharitales, Family Hydrocharitaceae.  And, 
there's a marine Family Posidoniaceae in that same
subclass, Order Najadales.

FWIW, some macroalgae like the kelps (including the 
giant kelp) have structure and growth just as complex
as a vascular plant, although it's not a vascular
plant.  ;-))

Sorry to interrupt.  ;-)

--charley


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