Cattle Weight

Flowering Plants

Very few of the true flowering plants have moved back into the sea. A notable exception is Marine Eelgrass (Zostera spp.) which is particularly widespread in estuarine conditions. This plant is extremely important to many coastal animals, providing safe shelter for some and nutritious grazing for others - it is one of the favourite food plants of the Dugong for example. The ecological importance of the eelgrasses has been widely studied, see: A Study of Eelgrass in Buzzards Bay.

Algae

Seaweeds look plant-like, but they are not very closely related to the flowering plants. They come in red, brown and green varieties and are usually fixed to the seabed in shallow coastal habitats and on the seashore. (A notable exception is Sargassum which sometimes establishes populations that float in the open ocean, e.g. The Sargasso Sea).