Flowers of the intertidal seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Forsskl) Ascherson: A new record from tropical coast of Tanzania, Indo-Pacific

Abstract

Flowers of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson in Tanzania are currently unreported. The present study was conducted along the coast of Tanzania, Indo-Pacific, Kunduchi intertidal mudflats. Transplanted cuttings from Kunduchi intertidal mudflats were successfully grown in sand-mud substrate in the growth chamber in a 12 h photoperiod (1,250 µmol photons m -2 s -1) and an inductive temperature, salinity, and pH range of 24 to 28°C, 34 to 38‰, and 7 to 8, respectively. Plants began to flower after four months of culturing. No flowers were observed in the first three months; 0.229±0.50 staminate and 0.123±0.45 pistillate were recorded between April and June; 0.440±0.65 staminate and 0.221±0.03 pistillate between July and September, and 0.282±0.36 staminate and 0.105±0.78 pistillate between October and December. Although, further research is required to fully assess the pollination success and sexual reproduction including fruiting of the species, our study is the first to report the presence of flowers ex situ in Tanzania.