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Story: Estuaries

Seagrass

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Seagrass

Seagrass is the only flowering plant that lives in the sea. Around New Zealand Zostera capricorni is found growing on intertidal and subtidal mudflats, where beds of the grass help stabilise sediment and provide shelter for juvenile fish. The extent of seagrass cover has declined considerably in some estuaries since the 1940s.

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NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

by Malcolm Francis

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How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Estuaries – Plants of the estuary, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4624/seagrass (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 2 March 2009.