Enhalus

Enhalus is a genus of marine flowering plants in the seagrass family Hydrocharitaceae. It is a small genus currently represented by a single widely distributed species, Enhalus acoroides, commonly known as tape seagrass or tape-hay seagrass.

Description: Enhalus acoroides has thick, ribbon-like leaves that can reach up to 2 meters in length and several centimeters in width. The leaves arise from a robust rhizome that forms dense underwater meadows on sandy or muddy substrates in sheltered tropical coastal waters.

Distribution and habitat: The species is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the central Pacific, including the Red Sea and waters around Indonesia, Australia, and New Guinea. It inhabits shallow, well-lit seagrass beds in bays, lagoons, and estuaries, typically at depths up to 20 meters.

Ecology and reproduction: Tape seagrass contributes to sediment stabilization, nutrient cycling, and provides habitat and nurseries for a variety of fish, invertebrates, and dugongs. Enhalus acoroides reproduces both vegetatively via rhizomes and sexually through flowers that form on inflorescences; flowering can be seasonal, with flowers sometimes emerging above the water surface. Seeds enable longer-distance dispersal.

Conservation and use: Seagrass meadows are sensitive to turbidity, pollution, and physical disturbance; Enhalus populations are affected by coastal development and climate change. Restoration and protection of seagrass habitats are goals of coastal management due to their ecological and commercial importance for fisheries and coastal protection.