Marine Plants
Kingdom Plantae
Multicellular Algae
 Structure
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Lack leaves, stems and roots
Body is called Thallus
Blade is the flat leaf like structure
Pneumatocyst are the gas-filled bladders
that help it float
 Stipe is the stem like portion
 Holdfast anchors the plant to the bottom
 All multicellular algae undergo
photosynthesis
 Lack vascular tissue
 Leaves are different from land plants
 Economic importance
 Food, starch-like chemicals, emulsifier in dairy
foods
 Reproduction
 Mostly asexual
 Fragments
 Spores
 Sexual
 Alternation of generations
 Male/ female
Types of Multicellular
Algae
 Division Chlorophyta- Green algae
 6000-7000 species
 10% are marine
 Division Phaeophyta- Brown algae
 1500 species, almost all are marine
 Yellow, olive green or dark brown
 Division Rhodophyta- Red algae
 4000 species, only a few are freshwater
Angiosperms- Flowering
Plants
 Classified by location
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Subtidal
Estuary
Intertidal
supratidal
Subtidal- Sea grasses
 Eel grass
 Most widely distributed
 Bays and estuaries
 Turtle grass
 Muddy and sandy bottoms
 Calm water, moderately deep
 Manatee grass
 Western Atlantic
Eel Grass
Turtle Grass
Manatee Grass
Estuary- Salt Marsh
Grasses
 Cord Grasses
 Land plants that are tolerant of salt
 Located above mud flats
 Roots get wet but tops stay dry
 Halophytes
 Along the mouth of the river
Cord Grasses
Halophytes
Intertidal- Mangroves
 Shrubs and trees adapted to live along
tropical and subtropical shores
 Only roots are covered at high tide
 Mainly located in the Florida Keys
 Reproduction is unique
 Seeds germinate while attached to the
parent tree
Mangroves
Mangrove Knees
Supratidal- Other
flowering plants
 Sea Oats
 Hold the beach in place
 Primary dune plants
 Illegal to pick
 Morning glory
 Primary and secondary dune plants
 Sea rocket
 Primary and secondary dune plants
Sea Oats
Morning Glory
Sea Rocket