List of Ocean Plants
By Catherine Rees
Xenogrn/MorgueFile
The vast ocean contains a large array of plant and animal
life. According to National Geographic, the ocean covers
more than 70 percent of the surface of the planet. It holds
320 million cubic miles of water. The deepest parts of the
ocean may have little or no plant life. Because ocean plants
need sunlight, most are either designed to float on the
surface of the water, or grow on the ocean floor in water that
is shallow enough to receive adequate sunlight.
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Kelp
Kelp grows in cold coastal waters. It is the largest marine
plant in the world and can reach up to 250 feet. Kelp is also
the fastest-growing plant in the world. Kelp is typically brown
and lives on the surface of the ocean. It stays afloat with the
help of small flotation bulbs that support it.
Seaweed
Seaweed is a form of microscopic algae called
phytoplankton that floats on the surface of the ocean, much
like kelp.
Seaweed has been harvested by humans for thousands of
years as food, material for housing, rope and baskets. It is
even used as medication.
A surplus of seaweed can choke out coral reefs. Fish that
eat seaweed help mitigate this problem.
Seagrass
Seagrass grows in shallow water because it needs lots of
sunlight. These plants have roots and live on the ocean
floor. They are true flowering plants. Some types of
seagrasses are turtle grass, manatee grass and shoal
grass.
Seagrasses provide habitat for small fish and other young
marine life such as lobsters. These animals are able to hide
from predators in the grasses. Other reef fish feed on the
grasses.
Red Algae
Red algae grows in warm tropical water. This plant has
been growing in oceans for more than 500 million years.
According to the University of California-Berkeley, red algae
are red, "because of the presence of the pigment
phycoerythrin; this pigment reflects red light and absorbs
blue light. Because blue light penetrates water to a greater
depth than light of longer wavelengths, these pigments allow
red algae to photosynthesize." Red algae is harvested as
food, especially in Asia. It has a high protein content and
many vitamins.
Coralline Algae
Coralline algae consists of very fine filaments that grow over
rocks. These plants may seem more like rocks than plants,
and they are as hard as cement. Coralline algae helps
support the structure of coral reefs.
Coral and Algae
Coral is not a plant; it is an animal organism. However, coral
reefs get their color from the many species of algae that live
on the surface of the coral. Coral polyps are translucent or
white. Algae attaches itself to the coral and feeds the coral,
which eats the nutrients created as byproducts of the
algae's photosynthesis. Coral is also a carnivore; it has
barbed tentacles that it can use to capture small fish.
Though coral is an animal, it relies on a symbiotic
relationship with algae to keep it alive.