Hydrocharitaceae
Halophila

Halophila engelmannii Asch.

First published in G.B.von Neumayer, Anleit. Wiss. Beobacht. Reisen: 368 (1875)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Florida to Mexico Gulf, Caribbean. It is a rhizomatous hydrogeophyte and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
Dioecious marine herb; rhizome slender, branching, 1–1.3 mm in diameter, with a single unbranched root at each node.
Morphology General Shoots
Lateral erect shoots mostly 2–4(–10) cm long bearing 2 lanceolate to obovate scales about half way to the top, and at the apex 2–4 pairs of subsessile leaves arranged in a pseudowhorl, the blades oblong or elliptic-oblong, 10–25(–30) mm long, 3–6 mm wide, of rather thick texture, with obtuse to acute apex and cuneate base, the margins minutely serrulate, the cross-veins ascending at a 30–45-degree angle
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Spathe
Spathe bracts lanceolate, acuminate, sessile in the axil of a leaf, enclosing one flower only
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Staminate flowers unknown. Pistillate flowers consisting of a minute 3-parted perianth, a sessile or subsessile ovoid ovary 3–4 mm long and a hypanthium 3–5 mm long; styles 3, ca. 3 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit and seeds not described.
Distribution
Grand Cayman. Coasts of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to Texas; Bahamas, northern Cuba, Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico.
[Cayman]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/173337/6994043

Conservation
NT - near threatened
[IUCN]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0