The ocean occupies 71% of the total area of the earth. Marine plants in the marine ecosystem are also very rich. Marine plants are autotrophic organisms in the ocean that use chlorophyll for photosynthesis to produce organic matter. Marine plants are primary producers. There are huge numbers of marine plants and a wide variety of species, from lower algae without true nuclei (i.e. prokaryotic cells of cyanobacteria and prochlorophytes), to red algae, brown algae and green algae with true nuclei (i.e. eukaryotic cells), to higher seed plants, etc. 13 phyla, a total of more than 10,000 species, including many marine plants with great ornamental value.
Mangrove
Mangroves are forests growing in seawater. They are forest vegetation unique to tropical and subtropical coasts and intertidal zones of estuaries. It is a wetland woody plant community composed of evergreen trees or shrubs with mangrove plants as the main body. Mangroves have important ecological benefits and play an important role in purifying seawater, preventing wind and waves, fixing carbon and storing carbon, and maintaining biodiversity. They are known as “coastal guards” and “green lungs of the ocean”. They are also important habitats for rare and endangered waterfowl, and places for the growth and reproduction of fish, shrimp, crabs and shellfish. Mangroves are one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the sea-land interlaced areas of tropical and subtropical coastal zones. They play an extremely important role in purifying seawater, preventing wind and waves, maintaining biodiversity, fixing carbon and storing
Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Aldrovanda vesiculosa is a floating herbaceous plant of the Droseraceae family and the genus Aldrovanda, 6-10 cm long. This species feeds on small aquatic invertebrates and uses insect traps similar to Venus flytraps. The traps are arranged on the whorled leaves around the center, and the stems can move freely, hence the popular name. Raccoon algae usually grow in shallow seas or swamp wetlands; they are mainly distributed in northern and southeastern Asia, central and southern Europe, northern Oceania and Africa. Raccoon algae can be used as ornamental aquatic plants; they can also be used for greening wetlands and shallow waters such as lakesides, riverbanks, and poolsides; they also have scientific value for Eurasian flora research and the evolution of the Droseraceae system.
Water scutellaria (Pemphis acidula J. R. et Forst.)
Water scutellaria is a multi-branched small shrub of the Lythraceae family and the genus Pemphis, sometimes in the shape of a small tree, up to 11 meters high; Pemphis acidula adapts to strong light and high humidity climates, and is mostly distributed on tropical coasts in the Eastern Hemisphere, growing on tropical rocky reefs and coral islands and reefs. Pemphis acidula has multiple values such as ecology, ornamental, and scientific research. For example, Pemphis acidula has a unique dimorphic style among Lythraceae plants, which is of great significance for studying the formation and evolution of heteromorphic style plants.
Red algae (Rhodophyta)
Algae in the phylum Rhodophyta, about 3,000 species. Most of the red algae are multicellular, and very few are unicellular. The algae are purple, rose red, dark red, etc. Red algae grew in the ocean about 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion years ago. They are leaf-shaped and have many species. According to statistics, there are about 558 genera and more than 3,740 species, which are divided into two subclasses: Porphyra and True Rhodophyta. Many of these red algae have important economic value. In addition to being edible, they are also raw materials for industries such as medicine, textiles, and food.
Tacca Forst
Tacca Forst, about 30 species, all of which are produced in tropical areas, mainly in the southwest, Hainan, and Taiwan. It is a perennial herb. It has cylindrical or spherical rhizomes or tubers. All leaves are basal, entire or pinnate to palmate; the veins are pinnate or palmate. Umbel terminal; 2-6 (-12) involucral bracts, linear or absent bracteoles; perianth campanulate, 6-lobed at the top, lobes nearly equal or unequal, persistent or falling off; 6 stamens, short filaments, apex cuculate or spoon-shaped; ovary inferior, 1-chambered or incompletely 3-chambered, 3 parietal placentas, short style, 3-lobed stigma, often reflexed and covering the style. Fruit is a berry; seeds numerous, reniform, ovate to elliptical, with stripes.
Ulva lactuca
Ulva lactuca belongs to Chlorophyta, Ulvaales, Ulvaceae, Ulva genus. 10-40cm tall, bright green, fixed to rocks by holdfasts at the base, living in coastal intertidal zones, growing on rocks in the middle and low tide zones of bays, mostly distributed in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and rare in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Ulva can be extracted from ulva, which can provide moisturizing effect for the stratum corneum and regulate the characteristics of the stratum corneum. Ulva can lock in moisture and promote the transportation of nutrients. Moisture plays an important role in maintaining skin elasticity and preventing dryness and peeling.
Codium fragile
Codium fragile is also known as “sea pine” and “rat tail”. Chlorophyceae, Pinaceae. The algae is dark green, spongy, and multinucleated. It is 10-30cm tall, thin cylindrical with forked branches, and there are cysts around the pith in the body, arranged in a photosynthetic palisade cortex. The holdfast is disc-shaped or crust-shaped. Only sexual reproduction. It grows on rocks or in stone marshes in the mid- and low-tidal zones. It grows all year round, with a peak period of July to September. It is a global warm temperate seaweed, distributed in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. It is distributed along the coast of China, and is a common species along the coasts of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. It can be eaten and used medicinally.