Zosteraceae (one of the fourseagrasses families, Kubitzki ed. 1998) is a family ofmarineperennialflowering plants found intemperate andsubtropicalcoastal waters, with the highest diversity located around Korea and Japan. Mostseagrasses complete their entirelife cycle under water,[3] having filamentouspollen especially adapted to dispersion in an aquatic environment and ribbon-like leaves that lackstomata. Seagrasses areherbaceous and have prominent creepingrhizomes. A distinctive characteristic of the family is the presence of characteristic retinacules, which are present in all species except members ofZostera subgenusZostera.
Zosteraceae has long been accepted by taxonomists asmonophyletic. TheAPG II system of 2003 recognizes this family and places it in themonocot orderAlismatales. The family contains approximately twenty-two species divided between two genera,Phyllospadix andZostera totalling 22 known species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016[4]).Zostera contains three subgenera:Heterozostera (formerly considered a separate genus[5]),Zostera andZosterella.[6] Zosteraceae is closely related toPotamogetonaceae, a family of freshwater aquatics.
^Dumortier (1829).Analyse des Familles de Plantes : avec l'indication des principaux genres qui s'y rattachent. Tournay.
^Ackerman, JD (1997). "Submarine pollination in the marine angiospermZostera marina (Zosteraceae) I: The influence of floral morphology on fluid flow".American Journal of Botany.84 (8). Botanical Society of America:1099–1109.doi:10.2307/2446153.JSTOR2446153.PMID21708665.
^Kubitzki (ed.) 1998.The families and genera of vascular plants, vol 4, Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
^Kubitzki (ed.) 1998.The families and genera of vascular plants, vol 4, Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
